Protecting consumers in the letting agent market: call for evidence

On 1st  October 2017, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, announced proposals to address the imbalance of power in the private rented market by regulating letting and managing agents.

A call for evidence sought views on a new regulatory model and how best to protect and empower tenants and leaseholders.

The Northern Housing Consortium has responded to the Call for Evidence and you can read the response in full here.

The NHC has welcomed an approach to a more professional managing agent market and believe that, if framed correctly, there are benefits for property management agents as well as for tenants and leaseholders. We believe that regulation creates a level playing field, and will help responsible agents to not be undermined by a minority of agents with poor practice and will help improve the reputation of all.

The Government will bring forward detailed proposals early next year, following analysis of the evidence submitted.

NHC response to Planning for the Right Homes in the Right Places

The Northern Housing Consortium (NHC) has responded to Government proposals to reform the planning system to increase the supply of new homes and increase local authority capacity to manage growth.  The full consultation response is available here.

The proposals are focused on providing the potential for greater pace, simplicity, and transparency in the planning process.  We support this; however, the supply of the right homes in the right places needs to have recognition of the planning system as a significant driver of economic growth and quality of life through its importance in place-making.

We support a streamlined and simplified process, but we are concerned that a standard approach as a way of calculating local housing need will not allow for the complexity and unique needs of local housing markets, which vary significantly from place to place.  For many parts of the North, we believe the standard methodology will create challenges with the alignment between housing need and economic growth and regeneration.

The NHC hosts Alok Sharma tenant engagement programme

Alok Sharma talks to tenants

On 26th October, the Northern Housing Consortium facilitated landlord and tenant engagement sessions with Alok Sharma, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, alongside colleagues from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

Representatives from around 30 NHC members attended the meeting for landlords, and the tenant engagement event attracted more than 80 residents from a cross section of providers in the North East and Yorkshire and Humber. A separate North West event was hosted by Community Gateway Association in Preston.  The Minister was fully involved in the lively and well received session, both addressing and sitting with tenants to listen to their concerns and ideas. At the start of the session, NHC Deputy Chief Executive Tracy Harrison described this as a “golden opportunity to make your voice heard” which the Minister agreed with, encouraging the audience to be as frank as possible.

Discussions between tenants and the Minister covered a wide variety of topics including tenant voice, funding and investment, quality of stock and recognition of local issues. At the end of the session, Mr Sharma promised to write to each of the attendees in person and told them their comments, views and ideas would be used to shape the upcoming  Social Housing Green Paper, “setting out what we’ve learned [from the sessions] and what needs to change.”

“At the end of my time as Housing Minister, I want to feel that I’ve done my part to get fairness back into the social housing system” Mr Sharma said while also mentioning a desire to “invest in modular housing similar to those made in Germany and Scandinavia” and the importance of incentivising private landlords to provide longer tenancies.

Commenting on the event, Tracy Harrison said “The NHC was delighted to facilitate this event with the Minister and his team at DCLG. The event presented our members and their residents with a real opportunity to discuss how they feel about where they live, and how services are provided to them by their landlord. I was particularly encouraged by the acknowledgement that local decision making can play a part in reconnecting isolated or fragmented communities — these are issues we know are key to our members — and we look forward to seeing how this shapes the Social Housing Green Paper next year.”

Fourth Universal Credit Impact Report Published

The Northern Housing Consortium has published its fourth Impact of Universal Credit Round. This report outlines the findings of the final in a series of four surveys and builds upon the results of the first three reports, which can be accessed from NHC’s website here. The research investigates how the implementation and continuing rollout of Universal Credit is affecting housing organisations and their tenants in the north.

We continue to track members’ responses to core questions on arrears levels, delays in processing claims and on how the system impacts on tenants’ health and well-being. This latest survey, however also introduced questions to explore confidence in service centres and respondents’ relationships with DWP Partnership Managers. Some of the key findings from the Round 4 report are:

  • over four-fifths of respondents said that delays in processing claims led to tenants being short of money.
  • more than three-quarters have seen enquiries to money advice teams increase due to Universal Credit.
  • almost three-quarters said that getting information from service centres is either fairly or very difficult.
  • all respondents were aware of tenants using food banks.

We continue to use findings from the research to engage with DWP officials through NHC’s roundtable programme to raise members’ concerns and experiences of procedural issues and we will work with DWP to make the new system as smooth as possible for tenants, housing providers and DWP alike.

Now that the research is complete and there is a whole year’s worth of data collected, a final report will soon be published that pulls together all of the data from the four surveys to provide trend analysis and some conclusion from the findings. If you need any more information on this project, please contact Business Intelligence Officer Barry Turnbull.

 

Lords and MPs attend APPG for Housing the North meeting

MPs and Lords came together last Wednesday to hear how a range of NHC members were benefitting their communities through transformative regeneration projects. Joining Chair Ian Mearns MP and Vice Chair Kevin Hollinrake MP for the APPG for Housing in the North, a strong group of 20 people attended including Shadow Housing Minister Tony Lloyd MP and Lord Shipley, the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Communities, Decentralisation, and the Northern Powerhouse. Although the day was dominated by an Opposition Day Debate on Universal Credit, Ian Mearns MP declared it noteworthy that the group had still attracted the attention of parliamentarians around the region with the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and Humber all represented.

As explained by Pete Bailey, NHC Associate, the purpose of the APPG was to get the debate on regeneration out into the open. Although having garnered a negative reputation as a by-word for gentrification, regeneration had an important part to play in addressing not just the housing crisis in the North but as a way of improving the economic opportunities of whole areas.

Tom Warburton, Director of Place at Newcastle City Council, described how a combination of new builds and early intervention in preventing homes becoming empty had seen “the beginnings of thriving communities” around the city. This work would soon be complemented with the introduction of local infrastructure such as shops and a GP practice to allow places to grow further.

Paul Beardmore, representing Manchester City Council as Director of Housing, continued on this theme. With a strong emphasis on engagement and matching regeneration with similar ambitions to grow employment, some of Manchester’s more deprived estates were being turned around. This revival could be seen in an increase of residents in work and school places being taken up locally. A point of pride was the high level of existing residents that were moved into new properties once completed and thus remained part of the community.

The meeting’s overarching theme of intrinsically linked physical and community development was summed up by RBH’s “Quality of Life, Quality of Place” approach. Clare Tostevin, Director of Communities, underlined the importance of an area having suitable homes and comparable job opportunities as part of an aspirational offer to current and prospective residents. Members around the room agreed and were aware of the issue of residents moving out of an area due to wage growth not being matched by the uplift of the overall town.

In discussing the next steps for the group, a consensus emerged that more could be done to evaluate the long term impact of upfront government investment. It was clear that this funding played a key role in the success of ambitious regeneration schemes and a body of evidence was needed to bolster the argument that investment in the short term was justified by long term returns.

Full meeting notes will be available soon from the NHC’s dedicated page for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Housing in the North.

Housing needs of the North represented at Number 10

Housing remains high on the government agenda this week as they hosted a roundtable at Number 10 for government officials and key representatives from the housing sector.

The meeting was attended by a small group of developers and builders, modular construction specialists, the Chartered Institute of Housing, National Housing Federation, Local Government Association,  members of the G15, and the Northern Housing Consortium (NHC), alongside Melanie Dawes, Permanent Secretary DCLG; Sajid Javid, Secretary of State; Gavin Barwell, Chief of Staff and Alok Sharma, Housing and Planning Minister.

The discussions covered topics such as planning, skills shortages, and modern methods of construction (MMC), all of which were focused on the question: what do we need to do more to increase housing supply?

Tracy Harrison, Deputy Chief Executive, Northern Housing Consortium said:

“The NHC was delighted to have the opportunity to specifically represent the views of the North at a meeting which otherwise could have been dominated by London and the South East.

We were able to highlight the key opportunities in the North and emphasise the commitment to development from our Northern members, our history of innovation and collaboration in the North between local authorities and registered providers, and our excellent supply of developable land.

We also shared the challenges we face: low land values and the high cost of bringing that land to market. We highlighted the need for support with land remediation and land assembly costs through upfront investment and patient capital.”

She continued,

“We believe local authorities can play a key role in development but we have to address the loss of capacity and skills. There are real opportunities to rebalance the economy and build the kind of housing markets that will support a Northern Powerhouse.”

Other key topics discussed around the table included; the argument for government to make a commitment and set targets around MMC, pressure for councils to be able to borrow against their assets, flexibility required around programmes and policy to enable localised solutions and the need for pathways to ownership through different tenures.

The NHC was delighted to see Gavin Barwell at the meeting who understands these issues and the challenges highlighted in the NHC Commission for Housing in the North report. The NHC will continue these discussions when it meets with Alok Sharma at the landlord and tenant engagement session it is hosting in York next week.

 

Key contacts

Claire Henderson, Communications Manager, Northern Housing Consortium, Claire.henderson@northern-consortium.org.uk  01915661032

David Hetherington, Marketing Officer, Northern Housing Consortium, david.hetherington@northern-consortium.org.uk 0191 5661038

 

About the Northern Housing Consortium

The Northern Housing Consortium represents the views of housing organisations in the North of England. We are a membership organisation made up of local authorities, ALMOs and associations that provide social housing for tenants.

Not only does the NHC bring its members together to share ideas, we represent their interests and ensure they are heard at a regional and national government level.

Download the Commission for Housing report

Ministerial Visits with Alok Sharma MP

Alok Sharma MP, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, is meeting with tenants across the country. The NHC is hosting one of these sessions on Thursday, 26th October in York. A second session, hosted by Community Gateway Association, is taking place on Thursday, 9th November in Preston and the details for both are below.

NHC Session
26th October
Priory Street Centre, 15 Priory Street, York, YO1 6ET
The visit will take place in two sections (these timings are subject to change):

1:30pm – 2:30pm
Q&A with the Minister, NHC members (Registered Providers and Local Authorities)

3:00pm – 5:00pm
Q&A and roundtable discussions with tenants from across the three Northern regions


Community Gateway Association Session

9th November

1:00pm – 2:00pm
Q&A with the Minister, Registered Providers and Local Authorities Community Gateway Association,
Harbour House, Port Way, Preston, PR2 2DW

4:30pm – 8:00pm
Q&A and roundtable discussions with tenants
Preston North End FC, Sir Tom Finney Way, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 6RU
(To book on this session please contact Community Gateway Association’s Claire Smith.)

The main aim for the day is to enable the Minister to speak directly with social tenants, to hear their views and build a picture of the common concerns that can help inform a national approach going forward. The Minister and his team are keen to hear from as wide a selection of tenants as possible to include, but not limited to:

  • a range of geographies (rural, coastal, urban).
  • a mix of tenure (social tenants, leaseholders).
  • a good diversity of tenants (age, race, gender).

The landlord session in the afternoon can only be attended by landlords who are sending tenants from their organisations to the tenant event in the evening. The Minister has expressed a desire to engage with any staff members who work closely with tenants.

If you would like more information on how to attend this session, please email events@northern-consortium.org.uk by 20th October. You can put forward a maximum of six tenant attendees. We will accommodate as many people as possible, but to ensure a broad cross section the North we may later ask you to reduce the numbers.

First APPG meeting of the new Parliament announced

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Housing in the North will meet on Wednesday, 18th October 2017 for the first time in the new Parliament.

The APPG remains a vital part of the NHC’s work to represent member’s views at the highest levels of Parliament and government. As Secretariat to the group, the NHC uses the APPG to raise issues of concern and initiate debate. Most recently, the group has been key in promoting and gaining support for the findings of our Commission for Housing in the North which, through close consultation with our members and industry leaders, put forward recommendations on what is needed to address the housing challenges faced in the Northern regions.

The APPG for Housing in the North was established as a forum for parliamentarians to look closely at the impact of housing policy in the North and to set an agenda that addresses the needs and ambitions of our communities. As members will know, the challenges faced in the North require a more nuanced response to the housing crisis which has until recently centred on building more homes. Increasing supply is one part, but our region requires a greater balance between building homes and revitalising the assets we already have.

With this in mind, the theme for this meeting is regeneration. How can we reconnect the areas that have fallen behind to the growing economic opportunities that exist in surrounding towns and cities? Moderated by the APPG’s Chair-Designate Ian Mearns MP, a range of guest speakers will discuss the transformative projects they have been involved in across the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and Humber. Together, the group will continue the work being done to underline just why regeneration is important to the North and understand how those best placed to deliver this change can be brought together to do so.

The next meeting of the APPG for Housing in the North will take place Wednesday 18th October 2017.  Meeting Notes will be published on the NHC website’s dedicated page or look out for our APPG Recap in a future edition of the eZine.

DCLG Secretary announces “wide-ranging” green paper on social housing

The Government will publish a “wide-ranging” green paper on social housing, the communities secretary announced this week.

Speaking at the National Housing Federation (NHF) annual conference on Tuesday, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid said it is clear there needs to be a “fundamental rethink of social housing in this country”.

The green paper will be a “wide-ranging, top-to-bottom review” of the issues facing the social housing sector and will be the “most substantial report of its kind for a generation”, he said. It is intended to “kick off a nationwide conversation on social housing – what works and what doesn’t work, what has gone right and what has gone wrong”.

The green paper will not only look at the safety of social housing following the Grenfell Tower fire, it will also cover the quality of social homes, “many of which are now beginning to show their age”, Mr Javid said.

It will include a look at the management of social homes, the rights of tenants and how complaints are handled.

Mr Javid said the green paper would not be “rushed” because it would take time to get this “substantial piece of work” right.  He admitted that “successive governments” have not done enough to take social housing “seriously”.

The Government will seek the views of tenants alongside the views of housing associations and other stakeholders. The NHC is delighted to be facilitating a landlord and tenant engagement session on Thursday, 26th October in York with Alok Sharma MP, Minister of State for Housing and Planning. The Minister will speak directly with social tenants, to hear their views and to help build a picture of the common concerns that can help inform a national approach going forward.

For more information on the DCLG landlord and tenant engagement session on 26th October, please contact Member Engagement Manager Callum Smith  or call 0191 566 1029.