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According to data from Housemark, only 42% of providers achieved full compliance with the Gas Safety Regulations in 2025/26, down from 57% in the previous financial year.  Landlords blamed ‘no access’ issues for the non-compliance rates, as well as delays to injunctions granting legal access to tenants’ homes.

On 24th July, returning Housing Secretary Angela Rayner told BBC Breakfast that the rent controls were not under consideration, since  legislation recently enacted to limit rents was a “better way of stabilising the market”.  She cited unfavourable outcomes from the introduction of rent controls in Scotland, arguing that the Renters' Rights Act is “actually having an impact on the market which is more favourable to renters”. 

The new construction skills package, funded by the Department for Education, will deliver more than 20,000 construction courses, alongside industry placements, while investing in training facilities and equipment at colleges across the capital.  Announced by Sir Sadiq Khan on 27th July, the funding aims to tackle skills shortages, accelerate the delivery of new homes and make existing homes more energy efficient.

The Mayor of the North East plans to deliver 15,000 social and affordable homes across the region over the next ten years.  On 21st July, Kim McGuinness launched her Plan for Homes, which has been approved by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority’s Cabinet and is backed by £143million of central government funding.  The plan also includes improving the existing housing stock via retrofit schemes and embedding a regional approach to homelessness prevention.

Government policies including the ten-year grant programme, the long-term rent settlement, and the establishment of the National Housing Bank have increased the flow of private capital into the sector.  A report published by law firm Winckworth Sherwood on 23rd July identified four key themes in this area:

• The establishment of the National Housing Bank, whose role is to de-risk schemes, unlock stalled sites, and crowd in institutional investment, should be a game changer.
• Delivery is increasingly being provided through a range of partnerships, involving a combination of housing associations, institutional investors, for-profit providers and local authorities.
• Investors increasingly want evidence of stock condition, resident outcomes, sustainability performance and data quality before committing capital. 
• The trading of stock portfolios has moved from being just about rationalising the footprint to strategic capital transactions to strengthen balance sheets and to fund energy efficiency and building safety programmes.

While accepting that the target will be difficult to achieve, Angela Rayner said that the target remained in place as she returned to the role of Housing Secretary.  Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme on 24th July, Ms Rayner attributed the decline in delivery in 2025/26 to a lag from the previous (Conservative) government, together with the impact of higher costs due to the conflict in the Middle East.

While this would lead to a reduction in the number of homes that could be delivered through the Programme, this could be offset by focusing Section 106 homes on Affordable Rent and making use of low-interest loans from the National Housing Bank.  The Resolution Foundation's Housing Outlook for Quarter 3 of 2026 noted that government investment would need to increase significantly if Andy Burnham's promised "biggest council house building programme since the post-war period" is to be realised.  It also pointed out that delivering a material increase in the number of affordable homes would take years and therefore called for housing support for lower-income private renters to be re-pegged to actual rents.

Easy Housing Association (EHA) could be removed from the register of social housing providers due to a “persistent and longstanding” failure to meet regulatory standards.  The lease-based provider has failed to fully comply with the terms of an enforcement notice issued in 2025, including a requirement to appoint a manager to manage its social housing affairs.  It had also not adequately cooperated with the individuals appointed to its board by the RSH in 2025, with the aim of strengthening governance and providing valuable senior-level sector expertise in finance, governance and tenant safety.  EHA will now have the opportunity to make representations before the regulator makes a final decision.

This was the only recommendation from the House of Lords Built Environment Committee's report into drought preparedness, published in May, which was rejected by the government.  In its response to the report, it pointed out that the MHCLG had "implemented a new plan-making system which will ensure better join-up between water and development planning processes".  This includes prescribing water and sewerage companies in ‘requirement to assist’ regulations so they will be obliged to help with plan-making “where reasonably requested”.  In the government's view, issues such as water capacity, drainage and wastewater management, are "best dealt with at a strategic level, where it is easier to identify and mitigate capacity issues or damaged infrastructure early, and which can act as a point of reference for planning application decisions.”

This was made possible by a collaboration between housing association Broadacres, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, and Homes England.  It will see nine new homes being constructed on the site of former agricultural buildings around one mile inland from the coast in Skipsea.  Funding the £3.1million cost of the scheme was made up of £800,000 from the Council's Changing Coasts project (funded by DEFRA), a further £244,000 from the local authority, £1million from Homes England and just over £1million from Broadacres.

These resulted in four deaths and 256 injuries.  These fires start without warning when the battery goes into thermal runaway.  They involve the emission of toxic explosive gases which can result in an explosion or a very fierce fire.  E-bikes are often kept in flats, making it difficult for occupants to escape if there is a fire.  Some RPs have programmes to educate residents about these risks or to undertake free health checks on these and similar devices, including mobility scooters.

In July, the Court of Appeal ruled that housing intended to be affordable under a Section 106 agreement is no longer subject to this restriction if repossessed by the mortgagee due to default by an RP.  This applies even if they are purchased from the mortgagee after the RP has been deregistered.  The case concerned 16 homes in Westminster originally purchased by RP Kinsman Housing in 2016 for use as affordable housing.  Kinsman was subsequently deregistered in 2023, triggering a default on its loans.  Its lenders took possession of the properties and sold them to a third party, which intends to let them on the open market.  Following the case, this will now be able to proceed.

One of these would involve developers contributing 1.5% of the property value to enable buyers to have an interest-free loan for the first five years of homeownership.  The proposals, which are all designed to be cost-free to the government, aim to increase housing supply, address need and improve quality.  The report also called for the income threshold for shared ownership to be increased from £80,000 to £120,000 outside London, and from £90,000 to £135,000 in the capital.

Writing in Social Housing, Karen Doran of the RSH identified the key themes that they regulator had identified through its casework:

• Good, up-to-date data is needed on both homes and tenants to ensure that homes remain safe for their residents
• Boards should listen to tenants and integrate their views into decision making
• To drive value for money, RPs should set clear objectives, together with a clear risk appetite, linking their spending decisions to those objectives
• Strong management of financial risk and performance is needed to deliver planned outcomes
• Boards need to know enough about the strategic risks to be able to challenge before outcomes worsen, and to drive continuous improvement
• When things go wrong, making a self-referral to the regulator at an early stage will help to ensure effective and sustained improvements.

This will prevent firms having to return to complete further work.  On 22^nd July, Lord Roe, Chair of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), told a Q&A session with the media that, while this could be “painful”, it was better for both landlord and residents to complete the work in one go.  The BSR also expects to find issues unrelated to cladding when it examines fire safety measures in existing blocks as part of the process of granting a fire safety certificate.

In July, developer Arada London agreed the forward sale of 136 homes in the London Borough of Camden to Clarion Housing Group.  This was made up of 79 homes in Primrose Hill, and 57 across two sites in Camden Town, all of which will be for social rent .  

In July, Cross Keys Homes secured a £50million sustainability-linked loan from HSBC.  The borrower will receive a discount on the loan margin if it achieves KPIs on environmental improvements to properties and working with local suppliers.

On 20^th July, it passed an amendment to the Social Housing Bill requiring the government to undertake a review of the operation and effectiveness of the shared ownership scheme in England.  This would have to be completed within twelve months of the Act being passed.  The amendment was put forward by Lord Young of Cookham who cited “ongoing affordability, service charges, fees, problems with staircasing and lease extension and, finally, barriers to sale and, crucially, the absence of buyback when misfortune strikes.”

The Mayor of London has been given powers to deliver £58.7million through a new Home Energy Saving Fund.  This scheme, which was launched on 22^nd July, is the first devolved funding for retrofit schemes.  It will support the provision of better insulation, solar panels and heat pumps for up to 5,000 households in social housing in the capital.

Local economic growth and devolution strategy have transferred from the MHCLG to the new Number 10 North.  At the same time, several functions, including the Office for Equality and Opportunity, have moved from the Cabinet Office to the MHCLG.  A new Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC) will be created, covering Number 10, Number 10 North and the Cabinet Office.  An AI taskforce will also be established within the OPMC.   On 21^st July, Baroness Smith told the House of Lords that Number 10 North would be the “engine room of devolution” and the “dominant driver of the UK’s economy”.

This will require certain conditions to be met and for landlords to make a written submission.  On 13^th July, following a hearing at Southampton County Court, Judge Glen allowed an application by Stonewater to vary an injunction that required a resident to grant the organisation access to their home to carry out an electrical inspection.  This followed multiple unsuccessful attempts to gain access after an earlier application to force entry had been refused.  The judge inferred that the tenant was not present rather than actively opposing access.  He suggested some changes to tenancy agreements that would permit an RP to enter a property without notice in an “emergency” without needing to get authority from the Court.

This will deliver the first ten sites in the Borough’s Accelerated Housing Programme, providing 351 new homes.  This is the first phase of a programme that will deliver up to 3,300 new homes on 42 council-owned sites, with a minimum of 51% affordable housing.

This includes certainty on future regulatory requirements, which can add cost, complexity and uncertainty to the plans of RPs.  Writing in Social Housing, Mark Hattersley of Clarion Housing Group called on the government to give more consideration to the costs, benefits and impact of legislation and regulation.  He highlighted that the broad coverage of Phases 2 and 3 of Awaab’s Law required Clarion to hold back financial capacity to deal with the associated uncertainty.

On 29th January, 23-year-old Joshua Robbins died after a railing collapsed on the fifth floor of a block owned by Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA).  At a pre-inquest review hearing was held at St Pancras Coroner’s Court on 21^st July, Detective Inspector Mark Paterson told the coroner that the Metropolitan Police is investigating corporate manslaughter in relation to the incident.  ISHA was reported to be “fully compliant” with requests for information.

91 of these homes will be made available for Key Worker Living Rent, with the remainder for shared ownership.  The regeneration scheme at Clapham Park will more than double the number of homes on the estate to 4,200, of which more than half will be affordable. 

The review will make evidenced-based recommendations for change.  It will be delivered in partnership with thinktank New Local, and overseen by an advisory board, chaired by Terrie Alafat.  A call for evidence was launched on 9^th July, with providers asked to share their experiences of current approaches to funding, commissioning and delivering supported housing.  The NHF hopes that the results of the research will inform the supported housing strategies that local authorities are now required to produce, as well as influencing decisions in the 2027 Spending Review.

In 2025, the company’s seven for-profit RPs made an aggregate pre-tax loss of £22million.  This was attributed to a fall in property valuations, the business being in its growth phase, reductions in grant income, and some cost increases.  The results also cited continuing cost of living pressures, a challenging market for new home development, and the introduction of additional legal and regulatory obligations.

On 20^st July, Angela Rayner was reappointed as Housing Secretary, with Matthew Pennycook remaining as Housing Minister.  Mr Pennycook will now also attend Cabinet meetings.

In its response to a consultation on changes to Approved Document B, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) called for the wider provision of evacuation lifts to support residents who are unable to use stairs.  This would ensure everyone can reach a place of safety without external assistance.  While current proposals would require evacuation lifts only on buildings over 18metres tall, the NFCC believes that safe evacuation should be based on people’s needs rather than the height of a building.  The body also called for the increased use of sprinklers in specialised housing, with or without care provision.

The additional funding will go towards the Optimised Retrofit Programme, which funding energy efficiency improvements in the sector.  This was announced by Siân Gwenllian on 20^th July, alongside additional funding for private housing and for households that are reliant on heating oil or liquefied petroleum gas.

He made this pledge, while announcing additional funding of £340million, in his first speech as Prime Minister on 20^th July.  This initial investment will provide 1,200 homes and intensive support for at least 3,000 people.  He also said that the country would build more council homes as a “fair and sustainable way to bring the welfare bill down”.

At a Westminster Hall debate on 15^th July, Luke Murphy, the Labour MP for Basingstoke, highlighted three key issues in this area: financial accountability and transparency, uncertainty, and trust.  He highlighted that, with a complex regeneration scheme involving the local authority, a housing association and a private developer, both accountability for delivery of the scheme and the financial model underpinning the scheme were unclear.  In addition, many existing residents faced significant uncertainty over the future of their homes over long period, including a lack of clarity over which homes were included in the proposed scheme.  The trust issue was largely driven by the poor performance of the housing association on repairs, including complaints ignored, long waiting times, missed appointments, and poor / incorrect work.

Views are sought on the draft regulations to implement the policy, which include relief from 50% of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) for schemes with 20% affordable housing.  Higher relief will be available for those with a higher proportion of affordable housing.  The regulations also set out a specific clawback method when developers fail to deliver on their agreements, such as starting schemes within the qualifying period, or if the amount of affordable housing pledged is reduced.  The consultation closes on 18^th September.

On 20^th July, Steve Reed resigned from his role as Housing Secretary, citing his loyalty to the outgoing Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer.

On 14^th July, Lee Dillon, the Liberal Democrat MP for Newbury, asked whether the Department had done any contingency planning in relation to Vistry’s “financial difficulty”.  Permanent Secretary Will Garton refused to be drawn on the detail.  “We monitor the performance of the big house builders, keep a close eye on the market and are aware of all developments,” he said

On 15^th July, The Times reported (£) that the incoming Prime Minister had told MPs that he planned to force government departments to give up land to support a major council housebuilding programme.  In response, Gavin Smart of the CIH pointed out that “after years of cuts and funding pressures”, local authorities would “need sustained investment in their capacity if they are to build at the scale needed to help tackle the housing crisis”.  Shazia Bashir of Winckworth Sherwood commented that it would take time and money to rebuild and maintain the expertise for councils to deliver such a programme, and that “budgets are not there”.  He pointed out that housing associations have the necessary expertise in this area and called for a partnership approach between local authorities and RPs.

Despite this setback, the new Welsh Government promised continued investment in new social homes.  On 14^th July the Senedd voted down the proposed Supplementary Budget, which included an additional £20million of Welsh Social Housing Grant to build an additional 100 new homes for social rent.  Labour refused its support due to a dispute over funding for additional learning needs.  The government said that it would bring back a Supplementary Budget later in the financial year, while reiterating its commitment to increasing its investment in the supply of social housing.

Having been established without a pipeline of projects, its approach is “reactive and demand led”.  According to a report published by the Public Accounts Committee on 17^th July, the government has “no clear and measurable success criteria against which to assess outcomes” from its £21billion investment in the Fund.  The Committee was therefore concerned that the Fund would not deliver “a balanced portfolio of projects in a range of locations which support the objectives of the NHDF”.

From 1^st April 2028, the affordable housing threshold will return to 35% for eleven of the city’s 32 boroughs, mainly those covering inner London, plus the City of London.  According to the Draft London Plan, published on 16^th July, this threshold will increase to 25% in a further eight boroughs, while remaining at 20% for the remainder.  The Plan could deliver as many as 558,000 new homes by 2037, although this will require “the right national support, including investment in key transport infrastructure that will help to unlock large housing projects”.

The government is going ahead with a suite of reforms to strengthen protections for leaseholders, including more transparency around service charge costs.  On 15^th July, the MHCLG published its response to the consultation on planned reforms in this area.  Social landlords will need to provide a standardised service charge demand form but will not be required to provide tenants with an annual report in order to avoid overlap with the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs).  Housing associations will have to prepare written statements of account for each block, including details of reserve funds where applicable.  However, they will be exempt from “the full requirement to comply with a reporting standard” and will not have to have the report prepared by an external qualified accountant.  While the government plans to implement these measures in 2027, social landlords will be given 24 months’ notice, taking into account the challenges associated with their larger portfolios and accounting practices.

The RSH has made it clear that such compliance is an absolute requirement under the Safety and Quality Standard.  Writing in Social Housing, Christopher Smith of Savills Affordable Housing Consultancy called on boards to take a more proactive role in defining their assurance requirements in this area, rather than deferring to officers.  They should ensure that compliance data is subject to regular, rigorous validation and reconciliation routines, including the use of independent, third-party assurance.  In addition, board members need to be appropriately skilled and experienced to analyse the information provided, identify gaps in the data, and provide sufficient challenge to the officers.  

A reduction from 4.7% to around 3% could increase staircasing rates by up to five times, unlocking around £13 billion for housing associations to reinvest into new affordable housing over a five-year to ten-year period.  In July, the G15 Resident’s Group wrote to the Housing Minister with this proposal, highlighting that, not only would it benefit existing shared owners, but it would also help to address unmet housing need.

A reduction from 4.7% to around 3% could increase staircasing rates by up to five times, unlocking around £13 billion for housing associations to reinvest into new affordable housing over a five-year to ten-year period.  In July, the G15 Resident’s Group wrote to the Housing Minister with this proposal, highlighting that, not only would it benefit existing shared owners, but it would also help to address unmet housing need.

A reduction from 4.7% to around 3% could increase staircasing rates by up to five times, unlocking around £13 billion for housing associations to reinvest into new affordable housing over a five-year to ten-year period.  In July, the G15 Resident’s Group wrote to the Housing Minister with this proposal, highlighting that, not only would it benefit existing shared owners, but it would also help to address unmet housing need.

On 23^rd June, it launched a consultation on making the sale of land intended for the construction of social housing to be zero-rated.  This would remove the current, cumbersome, golden brick requirements, improving the viability of land-led schemes for both RPs and landowners.  Writing in Social Housing, Adam Cutler of Crowe encouraged associations to respond positively to the consultation, which closes on 18^th August.

This brought one of the sector’s largest providers into the framework, significantly increasing the number of shared ownership homes covered by the Code.  At the time of the announcement on 14^th July, a further eight landlords were progressing through the adoption process.

The government plans to legislate for the SCR as soon as parliamentary time allows.  This includes a requirement for consistent information standards, which will support automated information exchange as well as increased trust and faster and cheaper safety assurance.  In its response to a consultation on the proposals, published on 9^th July, the government confirmed that the SCR will oversee buildings, products and professional regulation, as well as taking over the functions currently delivered by the Building Safety Regulator.

This will give time for the new administration to sign it off.  On 14^th July, Steve Reed told the HCLG Committee that the new administration would also make an announcement on strategic partnership allocations under the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP).  Although Andy Burnham’s team will have to make the final decisions on the SAHP, Mr Reed said that there was “no need for any delay in housebuilding getting going”. 

The older person’s specialist has restructured its top team following the departure of another senior executive.  Julie Wittich stepped down as Operations Director in July after only a year with the organisation.  This followed the departure of Chief Executive Sarah Jones in summer 2025 and CFO Amanda Holgate in April 2026.  Following the latest change, Development Director Oliver Boundy has taken on additional responsibility for assets, while Dan Ryan, who joined the provider earlier this year as Executive Director of Care Services has become Executive Director of Housing and Care.

Andrea Keenoy, the organisation’s current Chief Operating Officer, will take up the role on 1^st August for up to six months.  At an HCLG Committee session on 14^th July, it was revealed that the government’s latest recruitment process had been withdrawn after the government decided that the criteria for the position should be amended to require a greater level of experience in the housing sector.

The government should take immediate action to stop speculation around its planned new towns to avoid affordable homes and vital infrastructure being squeezed out of developments.  On 14^th July, Dr Alexander Budzier of the University of Oxford told the House of Lords Built Environment Committee that ministers already have the powers to prevent such speculation.  He argued that the announcement of major developments should not take place before environmental and delivery assessments have been completed.

Landlords sometimes failed to identify or respond to tenant vulnerability at first contact.  Research into Phase 1 of Awaab’s Law, published by the MHCLG on 13^th July, also produced the following headline findings:

• For more complex cases, there was often a tension between acting quickly to demonstrate compliance and taking the time required for proper diagnosis and long-lasting remediation
• Tenant satisfaction is driven more by clear communication and visible progress than strict compliance with timescales
• The ability of tenants to use Awaab’s Law to challenge poor service is reduced by low awareness and understanding of the legislation
• Operational decisions around Awaab’s Law are complicated by unclear definitions and a lack of well-defined benchmarks and thresholds
• Many landlords are therefore concerned about their preparedness for Phases 2 and 3.
• Some landlords have had to slow down cyclical maintenance programmes of planned service transformation plans in order to redirect resources towards compliance activities.

According to a survey by Housemark, more than a quarter of landlords are “unprepared to some degree” for the expanded requirements.  The data analytics firm said that the findings showed a “confidence gap in sector readiness”.

Over the next ten years, the total cost of compliance will be £213.6million at 2026 prices, of which £136.2million will fall on private RPs.  This does not include the costs of updating IT systems or renegotiating contracts as a result of the additional hazards included in Phase 2.  However, according to the government’s impact assessment, published on 13^th July, the policy is expected to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of tenants, increase customer satisfaction, raise educational attainment, improve energy efficiency, generate savings for the NHS, and increase productivity.

A report from the Industry Safety Steering Group published on 6^th July highlighted the need for this change to be “fully recognised and translated into meaningful action”.  It called for a firmer approach to get the industry to take ownership of underlying problems and to deliver real change.  It raised concerns that, because the Grenfell Phase 2 report concentrated on actions for government, the industry had taken this as an indication that it had got off lightly.  Other concerns raised include:

• The capacity and independence of testing houses for construction products
• Problems with the Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) gateway 2 and gateway 3 processes for Higher Risk Buildings (HRBs), including the poor quality of applications and a lack of openness from the BSR about the issues
• Emerging evidence of rejections at gateway 3 and high rates of refusal for building assessment certificates for existing HRBs
• A lack of demand from the industry for efforts to improve competence and define good practice
• A lack of engagement from the insurance and financial sector on building safety issues
• Certain forms of contract drive the wrong behaviours in the industry and create a race to the bottom – this includes retentions which are driven by an assumption that work will not be done properly.

The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) has downgraded confidence in the delivery of this programme against its 2025 Business Case assumptions from amber to red.  In its Annual Report on Major Projects, published on 13^th July, it said: “This reflects risks to pace and affordability which are constraining delivery against planned timelines, including higher-than-anticipated social housing volumes, Building Safety Regulator constraints impacting progression of works, the need to accelerate delivery through developers and anticipated construction cost inflation.”

The long-term future of the shared ownership tenure will be shaped by what happens after residents move in.  Writing in Social Housing, Natasha Greenwood of the New Homes Quality Board observed that the satisfaction of shared owners with their tenure is low and tends to decline over time.  This is being driven by issues with rents and service charges, repairs, landlord communication, and difficulties with the staircasing process.  She called on RPs to adopt the Shared Ownership Code, not only as a compliance exercise, but also as a sign of confidence in the organisation’s ability to give shared owners a positive long-term experience.

According to a report published by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 13^th July, 670,000 homes could be created through the reuse of vacant or under-used historic buildings.  The report cited international examples, including Italy’s €1 homes scheme and renovation tax incentives, which demonstrate how targeted interventions can bring vacant heritage assets back into productive use, supporting housing delivery and revitalising communities.  It called on the government to adopt a “reuse-first” approach, embedding this principle in policy across departments, and to develop a heritage-to-housing scheme for the UK that draws on lessons from overseas.

Its new target of 20,000 additional social homes by 2030 will be limited to homes for social rent and intermediate rent where affordability is secured in perpetuity.  According to a Written Statement from Siân Gwenllian, Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, on 13^th July, the target will focus on delivering genuinely affordable homes that remain accessible to communities over the long term.  It will therefore not include shared ownership and leased homes that had been included in the previous government’s target.

From this date, the scope of the law, which requires social landlords to respond to hazards within specific timescales, will be extended to cover electrical faults, falls, fire risks, excess cold and heat, structural defect, and hygiene issues such as pest infestations.  On 13^th July, the MHCLG confirmed that, for these hazards, landlords will be required to:

• Investigate and make safe hazards that pose an immediate danger within 24 hours
• Investigate other hazards within ten working days
• Provide a written summary of what is wrong and what they plan to do about it within three working days
• Carry out urgent safety work within five working days of the investigation
• Commence longer-term repairs within twelve weeks.

Guidance to support social landlords in complying with Phase 2 of Awaab’s Law was published at the same time.

A report published by the Institute of Public Policy Research on 13^th July called for a housing-led approach to tackling homelessness.  Its recommendations included:

• Mayors to use their powers to set ambitious affordable housing requirements for new developments
• A programme, involving housing associations, to bring empty homes back into use.
• Strengthening the duty for RPs to cooperate with local authorities by housing homeless households referred to them – some RPs were felt to be reluctant to take on tenants perceived as “high risk” – subject to any impact on the ONS classification of associations as private sector.

Less than 2% of private rental properties advertised across Britain are affordable to households receiving housing benefit.  According to research by Crisis and Citizens Advice, published on 6^th July, the proportion of properties covered by the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) fell from 2.7% in 2024/25 to 1.9% in 2025/26.   It found that the average gap between the LHA and the cheapest 30% of two-bedroom homes in England was £419 per month.

A freeze in private rents at 2024 levels would save the government at least £2billion a year in housing benefit expenditure, while saving the average renting household £1,300 per year.  A report from the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose and the New Economics Foundation found that this change would make only 2.3% of private landlords unprofitable.  These proposals have support from the Green Party, whose Leader, Zach Polanski, spoke at the launch of the report on 10^th July.

This is both a regulatory requirement and a fundamental part of effective governance.  Writing in Social Housing, Sarah Darvell of Capsticks highlighted that many assets and liabilities registers contain errors or omissions that can undermine compliance, distort risk analysis, and limit funding opportunities.  This also breaches the regulatory requirement to maintain a complete, accurate and up-to-date dataset that can be accessed quickly of the RP gets into financial difficulties.  Ms Darvell called on RPs to improve the quality of this data, for example by cross-referencing asset data to Land Registry records. 

This will provide greater support for duty holders while maintaining high standards of building safety.  On 9^th July, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) said that the new approach would be more proportionate, targeted, intelligence-led, and risk-based.  During a transition period, while future processes are being finalised, the BSR will concentrate on working through existing applications.  The agency commented that applications often fail because they focus solely on compliance, rather than the effective management of safety.

On 30^th June, Notting Hill Home Ownership (NHHO) lost its appeal to pass service charges on to shared owners at a block in Battersea for amenities provided to private homeowners on the development.  Although NHHO had entered into a lease that required it to contribute towards the costs of services provided across the whole scheme, the Upper Tribunal agreed with the findings of the First Tier Tribunal in July 2025 that shared owners could not be charged for services such as a gym, concierge and communal gardens that they could not access. 

In July, Manchester Jewish Housing Association and Liverpool Jewish Housing Association merged to form a single regional provider.  The newly formed North West Jewish Housing Association now manages 310 homes.  Its portfolio includes sheltered, supported and general needs accommodation, as well as the Hillel House student accommodation in Liverpool.

Around 317,000 more construction workers are needed to build the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament.  According to a report published by the National Audit Office on 13^th July, 130,000 more workers are needed to upgrade up to five million homes by 2030 through the Warm Homes Plan.  At the same time, the construction sector has the “highest sectoral rate of hard-to-fill vacancies” due to skills shortages, 45% in 2024.

In 2024, it is estimated that Londoners living in social housing contributed £27.8billion in economic output in 2024.  According to a report published by the G15 on 10^th July, 65% of employed social housing residents work in key worker occupations, compared with around 40% of London’s general workforce.  The report warned that the affordability and availability of housing in the capital is “now a real barrier to sustainable economic growth”.

Concerns have been expressed that this will lead to job losses.  Anna Moore of retrofit specialist Domna Homes told Inside Housing that social value requirements in procurement support local jobs and apprentices.  However, Rico Wojtulewicz of the National Federation of Builders said that, in recent years, social value scoring had become “a costly tick-box exercise” that was driving the wrong behaviours.

As a result of growing demands from the regulator, there is a danger that RPs spend more time demonstrating compliance than improving the experience of tenants.  Writing in Social Housing, David Levenson of Coaching Futures also raised the following points on the RSH’s discussion paper, More and better social homes:

• Setting “specific expectations for minimum levels of performance on key financial metrics” could create a perverse incentive for RPs to optimise to the regulatory measure rather than using stress testing to ensure genuine resilience.
• The RSH may not have the skills to assess meaningfully the appraisals of development capacity and capability, which it is proposed RPs will be required to publish.
• Raising the threshold for full regulatory engagement from 1,000 to 2,500 homes would reduce the RSH’s caseload by around 40%, while keeping more than 90% of the sector’s homes in the fully regulated framework.

In July, Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) secured £250million in funding from NatWest.  The funding package comprises a ten-year term loan and a three-year revolving credit facility.  Part of the funding will be used to refinance existing debt. 

In July, it was announced that the National Housing Bank had agreed loan deals worth a total of £35million to support housing and regeneration initiatives.  These consist of:

• A £14million infrastructure loan to JV partners Scarborough Group and Metro Holdings, catalysing the deliver of 1,900 homes on brownfield land at Middlewood Locks in Salford
• A £10million infrastructure loan to Tikehau Capital to support the redevelopment of Walnuts Shopping Centre in Orpington, which will include 440 new homes
• An £11million development finance loan to Pickstock Homes to support the delivery of 90 new homes in Ludlow, being the third phase of a scheme that whose earlier phases had received support from Homes England.

In July, the Hill Group appointed Claire Studdart to the newly-created position of Head of Affordable Housing.  This was created to help drive the house builder’s “continued growth and commitment to strengthening its partnerships with RPs and public sector organisations”.

Funding under this scheme will be prioritised for properties posing the greatest risk to residents.  Applications for funding may be made from August, with allocations being handled by Homes England.  An application process will launch on 17th August and will be open for eight weeks.

During the year, the number of homes for social rent started by NHF members increased by 57% to 13,275, while the number completed rose by 49% to 9,583.  In total, associations started 35,570 homes in 2025/26, a 15% increase on the previous year, while completions rose by 5% to 42,792.

This will come into force in October, alongside the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs).  While the RSH had originally planned for competence and conduct requirements to be part of the Transparency, Influence and Accountability (TIA) Standard, it decided to create a separate Standard in response to consultation feedback. 

Action taken to generate cash, including higher discounts on sales, accelerated asset sales, and changes in site mix and build rates reduced profits for the period by around £50million.  However, the company expects a “significant improvement in profitability” and a “materially stronger balance sheet position” in the second half of the year, with a net cash position in excess of £100million forecast for the year end.

In July, during a period of extremely hot weather, a number of groups campaigning on behalf of leaseholders affected by the building safety wrote to the MHCLG about this issue.  They highlighted a gap in public health guidance that leaves residents, including families with babies and young children, older people, disabled people and those with underlying health conditions, at increased risk of overheating when temperatures are very high.  They pointed out that restrictions on opening windows and on balcony access may be introduced while remediation is taking place, preventing residents from adequately ventilating their homes.  In response, the government said that it had written to developers, asking them to take all necessary steps to support residents during period of extreme heat, and to confirm what action they were taking.

In July, in an interview with Inside Housing, Deputy Mayor London Tom Copley said that the government should consider this policy.  This would help to mitigate the impact of low demand for house purchase in the capital, which is holding back residential development.  While accepting that Help to Buy was “not without its problems”, Mr Copley said that action needed to be taken to increase access to the housing market.

On 8^th July, the government announced a new data sharing partnership between the Cabinet Office’s Public Sector Fraud Authority and Airbnb that will enable councils to match social housing records against short term lets.  Illegal subletting cases will face eviction, fines and up to two years’ imprisonment.  Early trials in Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster had already identified around 470 potential fraud cases.  Other platforms are being encouraged to join so that more of the estimated 5,800 suspected illegally sublet social homes can be recovered for families on waiting lists.

ISHA is exposed to financial risks associated with reliance on sales of high-value empty homes to fund its investment in new and existing homes.  It had stabilised its financial position following the impact of elevated building safety costs by securing additional liquidity, revising covenant arrangements, and implementing a programme of selective disposal of empty homes.

Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA) required improvement in a number of areas .  The RSH  identified some weaknesses in ensuring that all of the required actions arising from fire risk assessments are carried out within appropriate timescales.  The association was seeking to increase its knowledge of the diverse needs of its tenants to effectively tailor services and also needed to monitor the outcomes being delivered by the repairs service to ensure they are equitable.  Its approach to anti-social behaviour required improvement due to low levels of tenant satisfaction.  Weaknesses were also identified in the steps taken by ISHA to ensure the safety of shared spaces that are not the responsibility of the landlord.  It also needed better assurance that its tenant engagement is meaningful and directly contributes to delivering better outcomes for its tenants.  The complaints service needed to further improve communication to address low levels of tenant satisfaction and a high proportion of stage two complaints.

According to research by the Local Government Association (LGA), expenditure on TA increased ten-fold between 2011/12 and 2024/25.  The LGA called on the government to amend the basis on which councils can claim back housing benefit costs from the DWP from 90% of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in 2011, to 90% of the current LHA.

In July, Bromford Flagship LiveWest (BFL) appointed Rhys Moore, currently the NHF’s Executive Director of Public Impact to the role, with a start date in October.  He will lead delivery of BFL’s long‑term strategy, working with government and partners to maximise the group’s investment capacity and influence.

26% of government-funded cladding remediation projects have been completed, while 60% are on site or in the completion stages, compared with 10% and 19% respectively for projects being delivered under the Developer Pledge.  According to research by The Property Institute (TPI) it could take around a decade for all developer-pledged schemes to start on site.  The TPI called for the Remediation Bill to add legally binding time limits on developers to complete these projects, as well as landlords and for the scope of the Bill to cover internal safety defects as well as external cladding.

This is expected to enable the delivery of around 2,000 new affordable homes across the UK.  The pledge, announced on 6^th July, was made on top of a 2024 commitment to provide £200million to small and specialist providers, which has now been delivered.

Treasury strategies should take a holistic approach to minimising funding costs, while maximising flexibility and access to diverse sources of capital.  Writing in Social Housing, Henrietta Podd of Allia C&C called on associations to routinely consider buying back bonds where the savings in interest costs would make it worth the additional refinancing risk.  She also noted that, due to a lack of bond issuance in the sector recently, there should be opportunities for RPs, especially those with an EMTN programme, to negotiate more attractive deals, for example involving unsecured debt or sub-benchmark size.  She highlighted the importance of close engagement with investors, both to reassure them about strategy and competence, and to identify unmet demand.

Octopus Capital’s Affordable Housing Fund has funded the construction of 1,000 homes, the majority of which are owned by its for-profit provider, NewArch Homes.  On 8^th July, the investment firm told Social Housing that it planned to reach 5,000 new homes within the next three years.

The Labour Party has lost support in the capital due to the lack of a clear policy on how to reduce these costs.  Zoë Garbett, who was elected as Mayor of Hackney for The Green Party in May, made housing central to her campaign, citing it as the number one issue in council surgeries and on the doorstep.  In July, Sem Moema, a Labour member of the London Assembly told the Fabian Society’s Housing Summit that she would continue to raise rent control in discussions around housing policy due to the impact of housing costs on support for her Party.

In July, the regulator confirmed that the organisation had appealed against its May decision to remove the organisation landlord from the registered providers list.  Therefore Pivotal, which is “balance sheet insolvent”, remains registered while its appeal under Section 121 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 is heard.

This is in the context of ongoing price inflation and supply chain turbulence.  Writing in Social Housing, Guy Stapleford of Procurement for Housing advised RPs to review and, where necessary, strengthen the following aspects of contract management:

• Clarity over who is responsible for managing each contract
• Access for contract managers to training and specialist support
• Defining and testing KPIs and how they will be measured
• Analysing trends in KPIs to identify early warning signs on performance
• Ensuring invoices are in line with contract terms
• The arrangements for handling requests for price changes
• Assessing the impact of proposed contract modifications prior to approval.

Sanctuary Supported Living  completed the acquisition, which involved 600 supported and retirement living homes from Your Housing Group, in July.  The transaction will strengthen Sanctuary’s older persons’ housing offer and aligns with its strategy to grow supported living services where this supports long term sustainability.  Both landlords highlighted the positive feedback from residents and staff during the consultation process.

This took place on 6^th July, only three months after joining the Group as a subsidiary.  As a result, Arhag customers now benefit from Hyde’s digital customer services platform, in-house repairs team and financial stability.  This is believed to be the shortest time in which a merger has moved from creating a subsidiary to full integration.

Proposals to remove affordable housing requirements from sites with between 10 and 49 homes would remove virtually all of the affordable housing delivered via Section 106 agreements in rural areas.  In July, Kate Henderson of the NHF called on the government to scrap these proposals, pointing out that, due to the high cost of housing in rural areas, families living in these areas are in the most acute need of affordable homes.

In July, the then Housing Secretary Steve Reed said that the government would publish guidance later this year on new housing quality regulations and would consult on extending the Right to Manage so housing association tenants can take over management where services remain poor.  Speaking at the Lloyds Social Housing Forum, he framed the reforms as a way to give social tenants similar choice and control over repairs and estate services as homeowners.  He also linked extending Right to Manage with the Social Housing Innovation Fund and promised stronger oversight and enforcement where homes are mismanaged or safety is at risk.

From October, around 315,000 working‑age residents in supported and temporary accommodation will be able to keep more of their earnings before their Housing Benefit is reduced.  On 6^th July, the DWP announced that it would bring the earnings limit into line with Universal Credit, removing the current “cliff edge”, so that working extra hours will always leave residents better off.

Andy Burnham has a “golden opportunity” to change the perception of housing in this country “from bricks and mortar to crucial health infrastructure that has an unrivalled impact on the nation’s well-being”.  These were the views of Clare Miller, Chief Executive of Clarion Housing Group, expressed in a comment piece (£) for Inside Housing.  She pointed out that, when the NHS was established in 1948, the government “recognised that housing and health were two issues each inseparable from the other and tackled them accordingly under one ministry”.

According to an analysis by the Local Government Association, this gap is more than current local authority expenditure on roads, transport, homelessness and housing services combined.  By 2028/29, councils will face extra cost pressures equivalent to 22% of their current spending just to stand still.  This is driven by rising demand for homelessness support, children’s services, adult social care, home to school transport and new national requirements, such as Simpler Recycling and the Emissions Trading Scheme.

This forms part of a strategy to  find “creative ways to generate income” for investment in existing homes.  In its annual report for 2025/26, the organisation said that it was “progressing the sale” of the majority of its student accommodation portfolio, which provides homes to 13,000 customers.  The document also revealed that the agreed purchaser of the portfolio had sought to revisit pricing assumptions, citing changes in macro-economic and market conditions arising after the year end.

Flint Housing has acquired an additional 260 social rented homes in London.  In June, the for-profit provider announced that it had struck forward-funding agreements for 172 homes at Fairview’s Chase Farm development in Enfield and for 88 homes at Bellway’s Fielders Quarter scheme in Barking.

June saw the handover of the first homes on the second phase of a development at Lower Herne in Kent under a joint venture between Places for People and Vistry.  This phase will deliver a total of 104 affordable homes, made up of 64 for shared ownership and 40 for Affordable Rent.  The partners plan to deliver 800 homes in total on the site, with over 50% affordable.

The next phase of the Beam Park regeneration project in east London has received planning approval.  In June, L&Q announced that its partnership with Vistry had received approval for 405 new homes on the site from Barking & Dagenham Council.  Around 4,000 homes are planned for the scheme in total, of which 50% will be affordable.

In May, Platform Housing Group completed a major land acquisition in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.  It plans to deliver 280 new homes, forming a “sustainable new neighbourhood” on the site. 

The Building from England’s Woodlands project demonstrated that England’s broadleaf forests could play a role in delivering low-carbon buildings, supporting biodiversity and strengthening domestic supply chains.  It found that English hardwoods can play a significant role in structural applications when selected and specified appropriately.

In June, housing association Vico Homes agreed a partnership with Miller Homes to build 151 affordable homes in Knottingley, West Yorkshire.  This will consist of 106 homes for Affordable Rent, 30 for shared ownership and 15 for Rent to Buy.

These schemes have now been unlocked following a deal between Anglian Water and the government’s Water Delivery Taskforce.  After the water company objected to several large-scale developments due to concerns over wastewater treatment capacity, the Taskforce brought together local planning authorities, regulators and Anglian Water to agree a path forward.  The company is now working with developers and planning authorities at an earlier stage in the process to enable large scale developments of over 500 homes, allowing infrastructure upgrades to be funded and delivered in a phased way over multiple investment cycles.

This aims to stop unsafe and unlawful placements, while ensuring that sufficient suitable accommodation is available for children in care and care leavers.   According to research by the agency, the shortage of suitable accommodation is by factors including workforce capacity, the affordability of housing, and a lack of foster carers, as well as the volume of provision. 

This includes rolling out Awaab’s Law in the private rented sector this year to ensure that statutory timescales for landlords to resolve hazards are fully in place by the end of 2028/29.  In a report published on 3^rd July, the HCLG Committee also urged the government to introduce incentives for private landlords to speed up compliance with the new Decent Homes Standard ahead of the 2035 deadline.

This could unlock an additional 10,000 new homes per year.  Research has shown that developers are designing schemes to remain within the current 18 metre limit due to the impact on viability of adding a second staircase.  A report published by the Fabian Society on 2^nd July, also called for golf courses to be added to the definition of the grey belt.

Ateb Group’s financial metrics were under pressure due to a significant five‑year decarbonisation investment programme.  The regulator concluded that financial risks linked to its £10million plan to meet 2030 decarbonisation standards must be closely managed and required Ateb to produce a detailed Compliance Improvement Plan with a timetable and senior accountability.  The organisation retained a green grading for Governance and Service Delivery.

Sovereign Network Group (SNG) has reduced its planned rate of development by 10%, while focusing on delivering “the best customer experience in social housing”.  According to its corporate plan, published on 2^nd July, it will make us of AI to improve repairs and resident services over the next five years.  This will enable potential repairs to be identified and fixed before the customer is aware of them, while offering “an easy, simple experience for customers and effective digital tools for our people to deliver the best experience”.  Using AI to handle straightforward interactions will enable SNG to offer more individual support through the phone to the growing number of customers that need it”.

A Learning from severe maladministration report, published on 2^nd July, identified a number of learning points from such cases:

• The impact of roof leaks on the daily life of residents should be assessed, taking into account any vulnerabilities in the household
• More frequent communication should take place where the impact on daily life is greater
• For leasehold properties, clarity is needed on responsibilities for repairing leaking roofs
• Sharp knowledge and information management and proactive communication is needed with leaseholders
• Consideration should be given to passing leaseholders onto insurers to fund temporary moves and for the cost of damaged belongings
• If leaks are planned to be fixed through major works, resident safety should be prioritised, with the expected time to complete the works and the impact on the household taken into account - temporary repairs should be considered in these cases

Instead of waiting for a tenant to report a repair, the model will scan data from thousands of properties and flag the ones most likely to deteriorate, and the residents most likely to be harmed if they do.  PRISM (Predictive Risk Intelligence for Social housing Maintenance) is being developed through a collaboration between the University of Cambridge, Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council.  The system will combine satellite thermal imaging data, conventional property information, and “soft data” such as fuel poverty indicators, rent arrears, and tenant contact logs to prioritise action.

If approved, this could help to deliver up to 17,000 homes in the area.  A consultation, launched by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) and Liverpool City Council on 2^nd July, asks for views on the Corporation’s name, geography, powers and priorities.  The consultation closes on 14^th August.

Sovereign Network Group (SNG) has reduced its planned rate of development by 10%, while focusing on delivering “the best customer experience in social housing”.  According to its corporate plan, published on 2^nd July, it will make us of AI to improve repairs and resident services over the next five years.  This will enable potential repairs to be identified and fixed before the customer is aware of them, while offering “an easy, simple experience for customers and effective digital tools for our people to deliver the best experience”.  Using AI to handle straightforward interactions will enable SNG to offer more individual support through the phone to the growing number of customers that need it”.

For residents with lower-level needs, contracts will transition to supported exempt accommodation and a social enterprise model.  This will enable more of the cost to be covered by Housing Benefit, which is funded by central government, freeing up the Council’s resources for investment in other services.

Other than during the pandemic, this was the first reduction since 2017.  12,938 people were recorded sleeping rough in London during the year, down by 2% on the 13,231 recorded in 2024/25, which was the highest figure since records began.  The only group to show an increase was women, where the number of rough sleepers increased from 2,149 in 2024/25 to 2,251 in 2025/26.

On 1^st July, Abri announced that it had been selected as the preferred partner of Curo Group, with both boards in talks about a potential merger.  This would create an organisation with 73,000 homes.  At the time of the announcement, a full business case was being formulated, with approval of both boards required for the proposal to proceed.  Further due diligence and engagement with stakeholders was also planned, with a final decision expected “later in the year”. 

On 22^nd June, the High Court granted a Building Liability Order (BLO) to contractor Mulalley requiring Sto Germany to pay around £1.8million over defective cladding used at Parkside Court in Chelmsford.  This building is owned by Delta Housing, Chelmer Housing Partnership (CHP) at the time of the works.  The judge found that the culpability of Sto, the subcontractor that supplied and installed the cladding, went beyond design, citing an inherently unsafe proprietary system and misleading claims about fire performance.   While Sto UK had gone into voluntary administration, the BLO enabled Mulalley, which had earlier settled a claim from CHP, to reclaim its costs from Sto Germany, which was its parent company and sole shareholder.

There is a risk that the planned new towns could have unsuitable housing, poor transport connections, and low-quality green spaces.  In a report published on 1^st July, the London Assembly Planning & Regeneration Committee called for new towns in the capital to have the following attributes:

•  Funding from a specific pot that does not draw on grants that have already been allocated to different government departments
• Social housing to be prioritised in terms of tenure
• Sufficient family-sized and accessible homes to be provided
• Public transport to be in place as soon as the first residents move in
• High-quality green infrastructure to be provided to support climate resilience and biodiversity
• Current and future residents to be involved in a meaningful way in the design process.

The headline rating for the organisation, which specialises in temporary and key worker accommodation, remains at AA-.  In an update on 26^th June, S&P highlighted that financial performance was expected to weaken due to Local Space bringing responsive repairs in-house and increasing planned investment in existing homes.  In particular, higher costs or delays could be encountered when updating the repairs model.  More favourably, the organisation’s financial ratios remain stronger than most peers, while management has the flexibility to scale back expansion if this was needed to preserve liquidity or debt metrics.

The draft Approved Document B requires a 750mm clearance between solar panels and roof edges, risk reducing capacity and making systems on smaller and terraced homes impractical.  In its response to the consultation, The Housing Forum argued that this was at odds with the Future Homes Standard, which expects rooftop solar to cover around 40% of roof area new dwellings.  This would force RPs to deploy costlier alternatives, while slowing progress on reducing tenants’ bills, achieving EPC C and delivering grid decarbonisation.

This was confirmed by Alison Crofton of Homes England at a session with the House of Lords Built Environment Committee on 30^th June.  Ms Crofton accepted that the initial bidding round for the SAHP had been oversubscribed, although this had been expected.  She also highlighted that the National Housing Bank had introduced products to better support small and medium enterprises, including an accelerator to enable smaller developers to build multiple sites at once.

In June, the Renters’ Reform Coalition called on the incoming Prime Minister to adopt this policy, warning that efforts focused only on incomes are like “trying to fill a leaking bucket”.  Highlighting that rents have risen faster than wages in eleven of the past fifteen years, the group argued for national rent regulation to cut poverty and homelessness, ease pressure on council and welfare budgets and improve disposable income.