Housing Brighton 2024: Looking to the horizon

The sun was out in full force at Housing Brighton 2024, but what is the forecast for housing? Sector experts and delegates from across the UK descended on the Hilton Brighton Metropole to find out.

In a year so far marred by meteorological misery, many welcomed the arrival of the sun at Housing Brighton 2024. During a week stricken by yet more train strikes, it almost served to reward the many hundreds of people who had managed to overcome the disruption and made their way to the south coast. 

But what of the forecast for housing? Does it reflect the weather of the past few months, with a glorious burst of light finally crashing through the gloom, or does it remain overcast, with bright spots few and far between. 

This was the question posed to a panel of sector experts during the opening session of the two-day Brighton conference, which CIH chief executive Gavin Smart tackled from a political angle. He explained that, although “it’s hard to know where we’re going”, the signs for affordable and social housing “are good”. 

Smart's comments came in the wake of recent local elections, which saw housing place high on the agenda. Part of the reason why housing is getting so much attention, however, as many speakers alluded to, is because of worsening issues such as homelessness and a lack of affordable housing. 

“That rebalancing is long overdue,” Smart said, “but it’s also challenging in the environment that we’re in.” 

Labour’s housing plans 

Brighton and Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle offered further political insight later in the conference. After hotfooting it from Parliament, Russell-Moyle – who sits as a member of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee (LUHC), which just a day prior said the government should invest more in social homes – spoke passionately on a range of issues, from private-rented sector (PRS) reform to the need to better deliver on both quantity and quality of housing. 

He echoed Smart’s assertion that housing had indeed risen up the political agenda, predicting that it will be a “big issue” at the next election. He explained that this was because it’s no longer just the poorest who are feeling the effects of an increasingly strained system, partly due to the social housing sector’s shift from those it was originally designed to serve – i.e., “the upper lower-class blue-collar worker.” 

Homing in on social housing, he said there was “a bit of an issue with quality”, though conceded such issues were more pronounced in the PRS. In terms of acting on tenants’ concerns, he said social housing was “generally less responsive” than council housing. 

He added that “serious discussions” needed to be had around “how we enfranchise and empower” tenants, even suggesting at one point that tenants should have the option to move to another landlord, while remaining in the same home, should they experience poor service without redress.

CIH's Rachael Williamson chaired a conversation with Labour and Brighton MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle (right) and On Place director Rose Grayston (left)

“If you’re not doing a good job, you should be out,” he said, sternly addressing the room. 

Shifting focus to the “Wild West” of the PRS, Russell-Moyle argued that it was “too big” and that it “needs to shrink”. He stressed, however, that Labour was not looking to abolish the market, rather that it was “trying to improve” it. 

With the general election looming, and Labour widely expected to come away with a win, it would have been remiss of Russell-Moyle to not touch on some of the party’s widely trailed housing policies. He spoke of Labour’s “important” plans around new towns, as well as its desire to build on ‘greyfields’, on which a “hard 50 per cent” of all new-build homes would be social. 

However, in an attempt to manage expectations around the sector’s wants and asks, he said the first few years of a Labour government would be like “squeezing blood out of a rock” in terms of funding. 

While Gavin Smart in a previous session said a call for investment in the current economic climate is “challenging”, he pointed out that “there is money” that the sector could get from government, be it Labour or Conservative. 

“Our strong argument…is that, for the good of the country, it’s vital that housing receives its fair share,” he said. 

Progressing professionalism 

At the moment, the biggest talking point in the social housing sector is professionalism; naturally, it was never far from discussions at Housing Brighton. Broaching the topic, Smart said that, while it’s not without challenges, “we have to build a profession fit for the future and a sector fit for the future.” 

He added that it’s important to not lose sight of the fact that all the recent activity in this area has been about “supporting the growth of professionalism across the UK”.  

Indeed, with the Social Housing (Regulation) Act in full swing and key legislation such as Awaab’s Law and the Competence and Conduct Standard concluding their consultations, there are many changes and developments sector professionals will need to keep abreast of. It was amid this backdrop that Charlotte Hilliard, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities’ (DLUHC) policy lead on professionalisation, delivered an overview of the Competence and Conduct Standard, whose consultation concluded in April. 

Many organisations, including CIH, have voiced concern around the brevity of the standard’s proposed timescales, namely the two-year transition period. On this point, Hilliard said “we have heard that that is going to be quite challenging”. She was unable to elaborate on whether the department would look to extend the proposed timescales, but said it would release “some” of the decisions on the proposals “in due course”. 

For those awaiting an update on the consultation, Hilliard said the department will formally issue a direction to the Regulator, alongside a revised policy statement, “later in 2024,” with the standard itself still set to come into force in April 2025. 

The session was chaired by CIH’s director of policy and external affairs, James Prestwich, who reflected Smart’s earlier remarks on professionalisation, saying it is something CIH is “incredibly invested in and involved in”. 

He pointed out the “strange period” the sector is currently in, as it waits for feedback on the consultation from the department following the conclusion of the consultation in April. “We’re desperate for some answers,” he said. 

Prestwich also stressed that, even though there has been a big push for professionalism of late, it would be incorrect to think the sector hasn’t always strived to be professional. “It’s important not to assume that we haven’t been remotely professional,” he said, adding that professionalism is “fundamental” to the sector. 

Delegates also got to hear first hand from the Regulator via its director of strategy, Will Perry, who shared insight into the four new consumer standards, which came into force in April. Perry was both direct and firm in his address, telling delegates that the Regulator doesn’t expect the sector to be perfect “because we know very well that you’re not”. 

Highlighting the “patchy” performance against existing regulatory standards, he said they would likely be issuing some “uncomfortable” judgments, and that “some difficult conversations” would need to be had. 

“We won’t hesitate to call things out when we see them; we won’t hesitate to intervene where we need to,” he said.

Will Perry said the Regulator would likely be issuing some "uncomfortable" judgments relating to the new consumer standards

On the Tenant Satisfaction Measures, which were introduced in April 2023, Perry said they are “just a tool among many that we will use”. 

He reiterated that the Regulator is expecting to have received all surveys by 30 June, adding: “If you haven’t bothered to do the surveys in the past year, you are now too late, and we will reflect that.” 

Shifting focus 

As the bright Brighton sun shifted across the sky outside, so too did the spotlight inside, shining a light on other timely housing topics and issues. Crisis’ executive director of policy and social change, Francesca Albanese, for example, elucidated the growing problem of homelessness, blaming the rising numbers of people finding themselves without a home on “government choices and policy”. 

“Sadly, we’re in a position at the moment where the government have brought in legislation that criminalises homelessness,” she said, adding: “Criminalising people isn’t the answer; the answer is more housing, better support.” 

Albanese also spoke of the need to shift from “benefits to bricks”, arguing that, while support such as universal credit and housing benefit is important, to truly address issues of affordability and homelessness, we simply need more homes – a sentiment echoed by many throughout the conference and at many other CIH events. 

CIH’s head of policy and external affairs, Rachael Williamson, was also keen to highlight the worsening homelessness crisis, pointing out the record numbers of households – more than 100,000 – currently living in temporary accommodation. 

Another hot topic delegates were keen to hear about was shared ownership. This was not all that surprising, given the recent criticism that has befallen the tenure – most notably from the LUHC committee, which said shared ownership schemes are “failing to deliver” an affordable route to home-ownership. 

Devonshires’ Mark Foxcroft and Jatinder Bhamber approached the debate through the lens of the Renters (Reform) Bill and Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, both of which are making their way through Parliament and look set to introduce legislative changes. 

Foxcroft agreed that shared ownership is “creaking at the seams”, with issues such as affordability and rising arrears all testing the viability of schemes. Despite these problems, however, he said shared ownership remains “an important part” of the home-ownership landscape, adding that “it is not going anywhere”. 

Homing in on the Renters (Reform) Bill, Chamber advised delegates to take a “deep dive” into their policies and procedures when the bill achieves Royal Assent, to ensure they don’t get caught out by any legislative changes.

Devonshires Mark Foxcroft shared insight into how legislation around shared ownership might soon change

Elsewhere, Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s strategic communications manager, Natalie Tate, explored the ways in which housing communications professionals can utilise framing to strengthen their messaging. When used effectively, framing – which she defined as “the choices we make about what ideas we share and how we share them” – can help to shift mindsets by influencing not only what people think, but how they think. 

She encouraged delegates to make the link between housing and health wherever possible, and to use the language of ‘homes’ rather than detached terms such as ‘stock’ and ‘units’. 

The topic of framing was covered in detail during a CIH virtual event, which members can read about here. 

Forecasting 

As the mid-May sun sets on a clear Brighton horizon, it serves to remind us that much of our lives is dictated by the whims of the weather. Similarly, much of what the housing sector can and can’t do – what it is and isn’t able to achieve – is dictated by the vagaries of politics. 

That cold fact rings ever louder as we grow closer to the general election. And while the details and outcome remain unclear, Housing Brighton 2024 has affirmed that housing will almost certainly feature prominently in the political debate. 

The sector’s job now is to continue influencing that debate, and to capitalise on the mind share that it now owns.