Hello and welcome to HQN’s weekly update.

The big news this week is that the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent imminently after clearing both Houses.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook told the Lords it included the "most significant reforms" in more than a decade and would “drive the change that we know is so desperately needed".

Royal Assent will bring some certainty to the timeline the Regulator of Social Housing has put in place for the roll out of the new regulatory regime, although it has been urging housing providers to step up their preparations for some time.

As luck would have it, HQN has now published its new social housing regulation toolkits as complete documents in two different formats and they're available to download from our website.

Meanwhile, the regulator has published its full report into the extent of damp and mould problems in social housing properties. The report provides some important lessons on what landlords are doing well and what could be improved, as well as setting out its future regulatory role on the issue.

In our latest Housing in Practice video, we spend a day with the damp and mould team at Grand Union Housing Group to explore their proactive, data-driven approach to tackling the problem.

As always, we'd love to hear your feedback.

A briefing on the Housing Ombudsman’s report: ‘Spotlight on Noise Complaints – Time to be heard’

Click below to read this briefing from HQN Complaints Hub lead John Goodwin as he looks at the most recent Housing Ombudsman Spotlight report, this time focusing on noise complaints.

Housing's Next Generation 2023 - Semi-final day

We got the lowdown on this year’s Next Generation competition from HQN chief executive Alistair McIntosh and judges Tom Leon-Grimes and Shauna Hutchinson during the semi-final day at the MRI offices in London.

Event of the week: Damp and mould – the comprehensive approach

As the RSH report this week highlights, there's more to tackling damp and mould than just the repair. Housing organisations also need to pay attention to the data, diagnosis and customer care. This event on Thursday 27 July will provide practical advice on both maintenance and the customer experience. It costs just £75 for members to attend.

Training of the week: Void repairs masterclass – avoid empty mistakes

Turning around void properties isn’t as simple as it sounds. We know that many housing organisations often struggle with the basics. This course is designed to help you with the process, so you can re-let your voids properties as soon as possible.  

Social housing regulation in England: A toolkit

We're delighted to say that our new social housing regulation toolkit is now available as a complete document in two different formats – Word and Excel. The feedback has so far been very positive. One member described it as “amazing and so, so helpful”. We'd love to hear what you think.

Housing quality and affordability for lower-income households

This report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies examines patterns of housing tenure, quality and affordability for people on lower incomes. It also highlights the disparity in poverty rates between renters and homeowners.

Major change to the Affordable Homes Programme announced

Homes England has announced that any funding provided through the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 can now be used to fund replacement homes. For more information, just click below.

Damp and mould in social housing - Learning the lessons

The Regulator of Social Housing has this week published an in-depth report on its investigation into the extent of damp and mould problems in social housing properties. The report provides some important lessons on what landlords are doing well and what could be improved, as well as setting out its future regulatory role on the issue.

Housing in practice: Grand Union Housing Group – Damp and mould

Damp and mould remains one of the key challenges facing the social housing sector. In our latest video, the team at Grand Union Housing Group discuss how they developed a comprehensive strategy to get ahead of the issue.

Damp and mould in social housing – learning the lessons: Summary of the RSH report

The RSH published its report detailing how social housing providers are tackling damp and mould in their homes. This summary for Asset Management Network members provides an overview of the report, including the key findings and lessons for asset teams.

Event: Heat pumps – capturing the lessons learned

At this event on Tuesday 25 July, we look at the practicalities surrounding heat pumps including their design, installation, maintenance and day-to-day running, as well as how to effectively engage with residents.

Health and Safety Network best practice group

Join us on Wednesday 9 August and Thursday 10 August for the next Health and Safety Network best practice groups. Taking place at the L&Q offices in Stratford, the session on 9 August will focus on fire safety and damp and mould. The following day, our virtual best practice group will look at ‘getting back to normal’ and will also include an ‘ask the experts’ Q&A. You can book your places here.

DAC Beachcroft – Lawcast podcast

In the latest episode of their Lawcast podcast, our Health and Safety Network legal advisers, DAC Beachcroft, discuss the three key things to keep an eye out for in the world of health and safety during the second half of 2023.

Event: Managing compliance – Focusing on asbestos, lifts and water safety

This event, on Wednesday 16 August, is part of our compliance series of workshops. We'll be looking at the changing health and safety picture in the key areas of asbestos, lifts and water safety.

Review requests: Guidance on challenging Housing Ombudsman decisions

Click below to download this new guidance from our Complaints Hub experts, John Goodwin and Dave Simmons, focusing on how and when to challenge decisions made by the Housing Ombudsman following a formal investigation.

Complaints Hub drop-in

Join us on Monday 18 September for our Complaints Hub drop-in. Our team of complaints handling experts will be available for 90 minutes to answer any questions you may have, or to provide advice and support. Click here to sign up now.

Event: Housing Ombudsman workshop – Getting knowledge and information management right

The Housing Ombudsman Service is joining us on Thursday 20 July for the first in a new series of workshops looking at the detail behind its recent Spotlight report into knowledge and information management.

Benchmarking ASB

A member would be interested to know what measures of antisocial behaviour successes you monitor, alongside other standard KPIs (repeat cases within x days, ASB satisfaction).

If you can help, please respond to this post directly.

Tenancy failure benchmarking

A member would be interested to understand how other housing associations are faring with tenancy failures.

They would be keen to see an overview of your tenancy failure data for 2022/23, particularly showing a breakdown of whether this was due to financial or behavioural reasons.

If you can help, please respond to this post directly. Alternatively if you have a document you’d like to share, please sent to members@hqnetwork.co.uk and we will ensure it's forwarded on.

If you’d like to ask the members a question, see our video guide on how to do this here.

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