The NHC is part of a consortium of northern landlords and partners seeking to transform how residents can influence the services they receive. 

 The group, led by Together Housing, has secured funding from the government’s Social Housing Innovation Fund to explore innovative approaches to resident scrutiny. 

 Four housing association partners Together Housing, Vico Homes, Incommunities and Leeds Federated will use the Government funding of over £100,000 to test a range of resident‑led methods.  The NHC, the Healthy Homes Initiative at the University of Huddersfield and tenant engagement expert Yvonne Davies from YD Consultancy are also part of the partnership.  

 The project will seek to make scrutiny more flexible, accessible and reflective of the wider tenant experience, supporting the move away from traditional scrutiny models that can often rely on the views of a smaller number of engaged residents. The approach aims to develop new approaches that enable quicker, more effective and more inclusive scrutiny. 

A key focus is widening participation so that scrutiny reflects the experiences of residents with different backgrounds, schedules and needs. This includes trialling flexible formats that fit around work and caring responsibilities, as well as ways for residents to raise issues and shape services.  

One of the project’s major innovations will be see if a Rapid Response Scrutiny model can be developed to help landlords act more quickly on urgent or high‑impact concerns. 

The partnership will also test community-based scrutiny approaches, giving residents a stronger voice on local service issues such a grounds maintenance or tackling Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB). The intention is to pilot a joint scrutiny review with external partners such as local authorities or the Police.  

Residents will play a key role in the project through a Lived Experience Group made of up of representatives of the four landlords. Residents will be recruited in April for the Group.   

 

Tracy Harrison Chief Executive at Northern Housing Consortium added: “We’re pleased to be part of this project as making sure tenants have a strong voice that makes an impact has been a longstanding priority for the NHC. We look forward to sharing learning which will support our members to develop their approach to resident engagement and scrutiny.” 

 

Daniel Klemm, Director of Customer Experience and Communications from Together Housing Group said: “We are proud to be leading this partnership. The investment from the Social Housing Innovation Fund enables us to work closely with residents, landlords and partner organisations to develop scrutiny models that truly reflect the priorities and lived experiences of our residents. Our focus is on creating practical, inclusive and effective ways for residents to shape the decisions that influence their homes and communities.” 

 

Professor Philip Brown from the University of Huddersfield said: “This project creates an important link between innovation and ongoing policy debates around resident voice and accountability. We’re proud that we can support this important project, particularly in the dissemination phase, by hosting a major event on the outcome of the work in late March 2027.”   

 

Tenant engagement expert Yvonne Davies from YD consultants is also playing a key role in the project.  Yvonne commented: “I am looking forward to working with tenants from Together Housing, Vico, Leeds Federated and Incommunities to try out new and innovative scrutiny approaches over the next year.” 

Navigating AI – A Leader’s Guide to Innovation and Governance 

NHC members came together for an online event designed specifically for senior leaders across the social housing sector. Navigating AI: A Leader’s Guide to Innovation and Governance explored the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, with a focus on the strategic, ethical, and practical implications for housing organisations. 

Chaired by Leann Hearne, NHC Board Member, the session brought together insights from: 

• Ian Cresswell, Director of Technology, Magenta Living 

• Guy Marshall, Director, Fuza Ltd 

• Jo Sedley Burke, Associate, Campbell Tickell 

Key Themes and Insights 

AI is reshaping business models. Speakers highlighted that major global organisations are already being transformed by AI, with companies such as Oracle and Salesforce making substantial organisational changes in response. The message for the housing sector was clear: AI is not an add-on, but a strategic shift that will influence every part of service delivery. 

Choosing the right technology partners. As outcomes increasingly become the service, selecting the right AI vendor is critical. Attendees were urged to understand vendor roadmaps, ensure alignment with organisational goals, and be absolutely clear about the implications of what they are signing up to. 

Ethics, data quality, and customer trust. Ethical considerations—particularly around data, connected devices, and resident privacy—were central to the discussion. While AI can improve data integrity and break down organisational silos, transparency with customers is essential. Used well, AI can rebalance power toward residents, enabling new forms of co‑design and co‑creation. 

Human oversight remains vital. All speakers reinforced that AI must support, not replace, professional judgement. Poor quality data will inevitably lead to poor decisions, and robust oversight is essential to mitigate risk. 

Magenta Living: Practical AI in Action 

Ian Cresswell shared how AI underpins Magenta Living’s wider transformation programme, spanning: 

• Traditional AI 

• Generative AI (including tools like Copilot) 

• Agentic AI, enabling staff to build tailored agents to automate tasks and solve operational problems 

Benefits already emerging include more personalised customer services, investigation of IoT sensors, and rapid sentiment analysis of consultations—allowing the organisation to understand customer views within hours rather than weeks. 

Magenta is working with the Wirral AI Academy and is recruiting an AI Business Partner to help teams design and deploy agents. A monthly steering group oversees agentic AI governance and approves use cases where required. The overarching message: use existing governance frameworks—don’t reinvent the wheel. 

A powerful example showcased how AI is transforming work for colleagues. This video highlighted Donna, an allocations and lettings officer with dyslexia and neurodiversity, who shared how AI tools—particularly Copilot—have boosted her confidence and enabled her to focus on her strengths. 

Notably, Magenta’s growing community of “AI Masters” are not technical specialists, demonstrating the accessibility of these tools. 

Additional Resources 

• housingai.org (HAILIE – Housing AI Leadership and Implementation Exchange) a free resource aimed at supporting individuals to develop their AI knowledge, chaired by speaker Guy Marshall 

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/get-started-with-microsoft-365-copilot/, a walk through CoPilot basics 

We’ll be featuring AI in several of our upcoming events, with more information to follow. In the meantime, if there’s a particular area of AI you’d like to see us focus on, please let kate.maughan@northern-consortium.org.uk know. 

Temporary Accommodation in the North Seminar supports members to address homelessness 

We held the second Temporary Accommodation in North Seminar, in collaboration with Devonshires and Campbell Tickell as part of the national Temporary Accommodation Network. 

NHC members are facing increasingly acute challenges in addressing homelessness. The seminar brought together over 40 local authorities and registered providers to discuss emerging approaches to make sure temporary accommodation is as safe, comfortable and people are offered a more permanent home as soon as possible.  

We heard from: 

• The North East Combined Authority, discussing how strategic authorities were responding to the National Plan to End Homelessness and a role for Mayors in driving regional coordination and collaboration. 

• Liverpool City Council, sharing an update on their Test and Learn Pilot, and how their emerging prevention approach was having a huge impact on the number of children in B&B’s and hotels. 

• Calderdale Council, talking through their Built for Zero work with Crisis, an innovative culture shift that was resulting in better outcomes for people using temporary accommodation. 

• The Temporary Accommodation Network (Campbell Tickell & Devonshires), briefing attendees on how the Government’s National Plan was impacting on temporary accommodation, and the subsidy gap faced by Local Authorities.   

Key points from the discussion include: 

• Quality, timely data is a catalyst for change – from developing real time dashboards to building a clearer regional picture of demand and provision. 

• Test-and-learn approaches can deliver impact fast – with a focus on prevention, keen oversight of spend, and culture change. 

• Culture and ways of working matter – real-time problem solving, accountability without blame, and a bias towards action can shift outcomes. 

• Prevention remains hard to measure – but storytelling and partnership working can help demonstrate impact while the evidence base grows. 

• System-wide collaboration is essential – across local authorities, combined authorities, housing providers and wider partners. 

To learn more about the Northern Housing Consortium’s work with members around the Private Rented Sector, homelessness, and temporary accommodation, contact Liam Gregson, Senior Engagement Manager (Devolution and Place Lead) – liam.gregson@northern-consrtium.org.uk