During my career in social housing I worked with some incredible tenant board members such as Shaun Lansfield, Ben Middleton, Mary Burke, Alistair Moss, Annabelle Louvros, Imani Douglas Walker, Stephen Bitti, Linde Carr and Arike Oke. I had so much respect for each of them – all of whom became friends. They vigorously participated in…
Social landlords and tenants are in a long-term relationship underpinned by a clear legal contract. The tenancy agreement, and the Landlord and Tenant acts which lie behind it explain very clearly the obligations and rights of the two parties. In summary, the landlord provides a home which must be safe and of a satisfactory quality,…
Concern for the environment is a key part of the government’s agenda, but there is a conflict with the strong drive to deal with the pressing housing emergency and build, build, build. Replacing 1.5mn social homes lost through Right to Buy will take decades and will demand time, money and innovation. So one really useful…
These days, I give advice to companies as a way of making a living. One of the best, and simplest pieces of advice I can give is to simplify. As someone who loves ideas, enjoys discovery, experimentation and debate I actually enjoy complexity, connection and lateral thoughts that seem to pop up continually in my…
The Green Belt. Or the Nation’s landbank, as I see it. During the 1930s, the Green Belt was designed to prevent urban sprawl, protect the countryside, and provide opportunities for the public to enjoy trips to the country. The 1947 Town and Country Planning Act formalised the policy. Its aim was to create some delineation…
The “Rethinking Repairs and Maintenance” report, produced by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and National Housing Federation (NHF), has been published to help housing providers deal with the dire state of their repairs service. The new guidance has six key themes – improving cultures and behaviours, inclusivity and tackling discrimination, structuring engagement, involving colleagues,…
The Open Data Exchange now exists. Let me explain why. Housing associations have a headache. And it looks like this: 1. Tenant dissatisfaction. This is not simply feeling bad because we are continually disappointing those we serve, but it invites regulator action, which is the only guaranteed terminal event for Associations. 2. The main cause…
One of the great privileges of running a large company is that you meet people who are dying to show you something they have designed or invented to make your business better. The most memorable of these was being shown a robotic window cleaner. Although the founders could authoritatively tell us how much build-to-rent providers,…
Social Landlords – Who knows more about your homes? Last week I asked my LinkedIn followers to give their view, and about 3/4 said the tenants, 15% said the front line or call centre staff with just 8% thinking the maintenance contractors knew the most. No one felt the Board or senior team knew what…
Back in 1981, I was allocated a council flat in Wandsworth. At the time there was an oversupply of social homes in the capital, unwanted and empty. Homes that were impossible to let through the normal channels for one reason or another were advertised periodically. Our’s was on the 14th floor. With a couple of…