A big, preposterous sector that people aspire to live in
It’s HQN’s 25th anniversary! CEO Alistair McIntosh and company subordinate Max Salsbury were forced to speak to each other in the hope of forging an informative and interesting feature… A lot’s happened since HQN’s inception in 1997: the rise of Tony Blair’s New Labour, Princess Diana’s death, 9/11, the War on Terror, Brexit, Trump, […]
Housing’s Next Generation 2022
Five young housing professionals have made it through to the final of Housing’s Next Generation competition 2022, taking place at HQN’s annual conference in July. Mark Lawrence gives the lowdown on what each finalist is all about, and what they’ve done to get to the final. 2022 Housing’s Next Generation judges: Tanisha Rigby, Housing […]
Ombudsman Corner
By Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman Social landlords operate in an increasingly complex environment. In some cases the levers for resolution aren’t always directly in their grasp. We reflect that in our assessments when investigating complaints, and that’s why landlords being clear on their roles and responsibilities, and recording action taken, […]
How our new system is proving a game changer on safety
By Rob Wheeler, Housing officer, Northampton Partnership Homes At NPH we’ve always taken a proactive approach to fire safety, but since the Grenfell tragedy and the ongoing inquiry we’ve sought to improve our processes to reassure our residents, especially those living in blocks, that their safety is our priority. Although our approach […]
IoT: Scaling up adoption in social housing amidst the energy crisis
By Duncan Forrow, Key Account Director, Switchee The use of technology in the social housing sector is often associated with risk, asking pertinent questions like are we choosing the right path? and what if something better comes along? – often resulting in the frugal let’s hold fire for now decision. The impact […]
Resident’s view
Communication is key to good repairs By Steve Bladen, member of Stonewater’s customer scrutiny panel Last year, I shared a tweet about tackling stigma in social housing. Specifically, around how housing associations should support and treat residents. My thoughts were based on the repeated, negative comments I see from residents from various housing […]
Outside view
Cost-of-living crisis By Matt Copeland, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, National Energy Action Across the UK, cold homes are already damaging the lives of the poorest households. A year ago, more than four million households were estimated to be living in fuel poverty, on a low income and unable to keep their […]
Overseas housing
Housing in the Australian election By Hal Pawson, City Futures Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney Housing loomed large in the campaign debate running up to the recent Australian federal election. The overarching context for this is the concern provoked by declining owner-occupancy rates in a country that still thinks of itself […]
A life in 15 questions
Lara Oyedele President Elect, Chartered Institute of Housing 1 Tell us about your career and how you ended up in your current role? I started my housing career, after a period of rough sleeping, as a housing assistant and, later, housing officer in local authorities. I studied housing at the LSE and went […]
The last word
Lessons to be learned from CIPFA’s work with the HRA ring-fence By Nicole Balkman, Business Advisory and Consultancy, CIPFA Recent issues regarding the integrity of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) ring-fence have attracted significant attention, even at the highest levels in Whitehall. CIPFA has been supporting local housing authorities to examine their compliance with […]