Insightful first session at new Decent Homes Network

nsightful first session at new Decent Homes Network

We recently held the first meeting our new Decent Homes Network, a collaboration between NHC and NHC Procurement, bringing together housing providers, procurement specialists and policy colleagues to consider the implications of significant reform to housing standards and regulation. The first session of the network covered major aspects of housing policy announced by government at the beginning of the year and gave members the chance to discuss the implications for their organisations.

The session opened with Simon Thirtle, Partner – Built Environment at Ward Hadaway, providing an overview of the current legislative landscape, including the phased introduction of Awaab’s Law and the move towards a single Decent Homes Standard across social housing and the private rented sector. Simon engaged with members as they discussed the policies in detail and provided important clarity on reforms.

NHC Procurement’s Drew Frame and Alistair Merchant outlined procurement and regulatory changes under the Procurement Act 2023. Procurement will play an important role in enabling members to implement regulatory changes – so procurement will be continued theme in future sessions.

The NHC’s Karen Brown discussed the review of government guidance for the implementation of the new Decent Homes Standard and the opportunity for the sector to influence clearer, more practical interpretation. Karen invited members to discuss the most recent sector engagement information from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on how the Decent Homes Standard can be applied in practice. We recently submitted a consultation response about implementation of the new Standard to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, read it here.

Our next meeting will take place on 16 June, 10:00-11:30 and will involve colleagues from MHCLG sharing what they have learned from their sector engagement work. You can find more information on this here.