The big questions from the National Smaller Housing Associations Conference 2023

How should smaller housing associations be dealing with growing financial pressures, and how should they be preparing for incoming regulation? These were just some of the big questions tackled at the annual NHF conference.

The annual National Smaller Housing Associations Conference is all about the little guys, those who might not be able to shout as loud as their larger counterparts but whose work is just as important. 

Hosted by the National Housing Federation (NHF) and chaired by Jesse Fajemisin, director of business operations at Mount Green Housing Association, this year’s virtual conference was not afraid to tackle the big questions, probing everything from regulation and tenant engagement to recruitment and the wider economic landscape.

Leading figures and sector experts were on hand to share their insights, including Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway, NHF CEO Kate Henderson, and former CIH president Alison Inman.

Here’s what they had to say on some of the big questions facing the sector right now.

How well are smaller providers weathering the storm?

For many, it feels as though they’re in the eye of a storm that’s been brewing for months, if not years. Not only do providers have to navigate the continually challenging macroeconomic landscape, but also a growing list of demands and regulatory changes.

Karen Cooper, chief executive of Penge Churches Housing Association, which operates within the London Borough of Bromley, said: “I’ve been in the sector for over 30 years, and there’s no doubt about it, this is a challenging environment that we’re in.”

The conference was chaired by Mount Green Housing Association's Jesse Fajemisin

She added: “All of us in this room are facing unprecedented levels of challenges...the demands that are made on us quite frankly are overwhelming.”

Tom Copley, deputy mayor of London for housing and residential development, said: “When people ask me what the challenges are facing the sector, the first thing I say is, how long have we got?”

The topic of mergers was broached as a potential remedy for providers that might be struggling to keep up – particularly those on the smaller side.

Indeed, as pointed out by Samuel Bruce, head of housing and communities at the Centre for Social Justice, the number of registered providers in England has shrunk by nearly 200 to a total of 1,385 since 2017, largely as the result of mergers.

“Those mergers make sense because in many ways you can develop efficiencies…and provide assurance to those willing to lend money,” he said

Cooper said the question wasn’t so much about whether to merge, but the extent to which the sector should be working in partnership.

She said: “Whether or not a merger is an option for anybody in this room is irrelevant, but I do think partnership and collaboration are absolutely vital to us weathering the storm.”

“It’s not about waiting for the storm to pass but learning to dance in the rain...I think that’s probably where we all are at the current time,” she added.

How should smaller providers navigate new regulation?

As pointed out by Kate Dodsworth, director of consumer regulation at the Regulator of Social Housing, the board and executive teams of housing providers, regardless of size, are operating at a “really complex time”, highlighting specifically the changes to consumer regulation and wider economic pressures.

As part of the new consumer standards, from April, the Regulator will embark on a programme of proactive inspections “that take on board consumer issues, things that matter to tenants, alongside our usual governance and economic regulation” for providers with more than 1,000 homes.

While those with fewer than 1,000 homes won’t be subject to the same proactive inspections, they will still need to meet the new standards when they come into effect.

Dodsworth said providers shouldn’t expect “major, radical change” from the new consumer standards, adding: “I hope that’s helpful to you in meeting those standards.”

Speaking during the same session, Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said he is “always struck by” the fact that around 16% of the Housing Ombudsman Service’s members manage fewer than 10 homes.

However, he noted that, while the Regulator has a statutory obligation to act proportionately (as does the Ombudsman), the Ombudsman’s powers can be triggered by a single resident raising a complaint.

“So, in a sense, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve got 10 homes, 1,000 homes, or 100,000 homes: that one resident may come to us,” Blakeway said.

Richard Blakeway is “always struck by” the fact that 16% of Ombudsman members manage fewer than 10 homes

He also noted that, while larger landlords will be “frequent fliers” in the Ombudsman’s casework, “that doesn’t mean that we don’t see stuff from smaller landlords, and it doesn’t mean that the stuff we then see is not troubling.”

Blakeway said the Ombudsman’s new Complaint Handling Code – which will go live in April – is “the biggest change”.

“Because it’s been a reactive code, we’ve only been able to investigate an issue when it’s been received,” he explained. “Becoming a statutory code from next April changes that.

“It allows us to monitor that our members are compliant with the code – and we don’t have to wait for a complaint.

“[That’s the] difference between a non-statutory code and a statutory code.”

Better Social Housing Review – one year on

The Better Social Housing Review (BSHR) was launched in December last year by the CIH in partnership with the NHF. While the seven recommendations outlined within it – which range from enhancing the tenant voice to assessing and improving repairs processes – are not mandatory, they do reflect the new regulations that are coming into force via the Social Housing (Regulation) Act.

This was a point raised by Kate Henderson, the CEO of the NHF, who said: “What’s really important is that the review’s recommendation and the action plan [published in May this year] aligns with the regulation that’s coming forward.”

Henderson added that a “huge amount of work” is now happening right across the sector, but that “there is still a huge amount of work to do” on the BSHR action plan to turn it into reality.

• A year on from the Better Social Housing Review – what’s changing?

How to solve the problem of recruitment and retention?

Another problem facing the sector is recruitment and ensuring providers have the skills and workforce they need to deliver on their obligations.

Clare Norton, CEO of London-based Peter Bedford Housing Association (PBHA), highlighted how recruitment can be particularly challenging for supported housing providers such as hers. 

“We were really struggling to have a sustainable workforce,” adding that PBHA’s staff turnover was as high as 50% in some years.

Providing low support services has since ameliorated this challenge, as it has allowed PBHA to have more independence in the way it recruits. Initiatives such as the government’s Kickstart Scheme, as well as internal apprenticeships schemes, have also helped, according to Norton.

Anne Taylor is the CEO of Thorngate Churcher Trust, a small sheltered housing provider based in Gosport. Due to the isolated location of Thorngate’s area of operation, the issue of recruitment is even more acute.

This geographical limitation led Anne and her team to develop a recruitment strategy that involves widening the net as far as possible and proactively searching for potential applicants.

“[We use] a funnel system to capture as many candidates as possible and then hone them down to get the right people with the right skills,” she explained.

“What we do is try and establish a relationship really quickly with people who might be interested in working for our organisation.

“When people click on a Facebook advert of ours [for example], they go immediately to a quick apply form that they can fill in in the evening.”

Taylor explained that “we capture everything we want to know” about a possible candidate in three questions: 

• ‘Please tell us what you’re doing now?’ 
• ‘What are you looking for in your new role? For example, a certain amount of hours or career development.’ 
• ‘Do you have any relevant qualifications? Tell us about them.' 

On the wider issue of retention, she said: “I do feel very strongly that people leave bad leaders than bad jobs.”

How do we better deliver on tenant engagement? 

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act and the Regulator’s new consumer standards – which are due to come into effect in April – have brought tenant engagement right to the fore. It’s an area that many within the sector feel smaller housing associations, due to their size, are best placed to lead on. 

Elizabeth Webster, a tenant board member at Manchester-based provider Arawak Walton Housing Association, said: "Being smaller, we do have the advantage of knowing more about our residents and our tenants, and we’ve got a bit more or an insight into the household make-up of all our properties. 

“So, in that respect, there’s scope for us to have a bit more of an idea about the skillset that some of our tenants have.” 

Because of that, she said, tenant engagement “shouldn’t be as hard as it sometimes can be”. 

There was, however, acknowledgement of the potential strain that new regulatory requirements and wider expectations around tenant engagement could put on smaller housing providers. 

Stephen Johnson, a member of the NHF’s Tenant Advisory Panel, said: “There are so many things that are coming our way that might be quite a lot for smaller, not-as-well-resourced housing associations to deal with. The regulator needs to be aware of this.” 

Webster added: “I do worry about my housing association and other smaller housing associations about the pressure it will put on staff.” 

Former CIH president Alison Inman – who currently sits on the boards of multiple sector organisations including Saffron Housing Trust and Tpas – spoke of the things providers should think about when trying to improve their engagement with tenants. 

“How do we make sure we’re making it easy for people to talk to us, and how respectful are we of people’s communication needs?" she asked, pointing out the need to consider those who speak a language other than English, for example, and those who are visually impaired.

She added that “there’s no one-size-fits-all", and that, while digital forms of communication might work for some residents, a more personal approach will be needed for others.