From the Chief Executive… Why empathy must be at the core of the new housing qualifications
What do you want to see in the new housing qualifications? Here’s my stab at what the syllabus should cover. Years ago, I did a postgraduate course to qualify as a community worker. Yes, I know that’s not me in a million years. But it was either that or signing on for a GIRO at […]
The Decent Homes Review – why are things taking so long?
Three years on from its announcement in the Social Housing White Paper, the review of the Decent Homes Standard continues to drag on despite it being a priority for secretary of state Michael Gove. So, what’s going on? Neil Merrick investigates. To start with, it was mostly about kitchens and bathrooms. From the mid-2000s […]
‘Sadly, you can’t assume a social landlord is a good landlord’
Andy Burnham is a man on a mission to make housing a top priority for Greater Manchester and the next Labour government. He believes the tragic death of Awaab Ishak should be a ‘Cathy Come Home’ moment for the region and the country and that the standard of housing in both the social and private […]
Talking heads: Mandatory qualifications for social housing managers
In our new regular series, we seek the views of sector experts on a key housing issue. First up, we asked HQN trainers and associates: What are your thoughts on Michael Gove’s plan to make it compulsory for all housing managers to have a formal housing qualification? Will it ensure that tragic incidents such as […]
Understanding attitudes to residential space standards in the UK
Much of public policy aims to diminish or eradicate social evils or harms, but one of the problems with such policy aims is that it’s very difficult to know how to measure and benchmark progress, write Dr Alice Earley, Dr Gareth James, Professor Mark Stephens and Dr Maheshika Sakalasuriya. In social policy many benchmarks are […]
The right to the city and housing policies in Ecuador
Ecuador was the first country in the world to recognise the right to housing in its constitution. Researchers Vanessa Pinto Valencia, Marco Córdova Montúfar and Diana Bell Sancho explore the meaning of this important step forward. Although several countries have been formulating housing policies in terms of rights, Ecuador was the first to formally recognise […]
Global knowledge exchange for local community-led housing
Community-led housing approaches have grown in global importance and prominence, writes Dr Tom Moore. Around the world, citizens are collaborating to tackle problems of housing affordability, inequities in land ownership, and community disempowerment in decisions over land use and development. Examples include the community land trust (CLT) model, the genesis of which lies in the […]
Housing in Practice: Blackpool Coastal Housing: Helping care leavers live independently
In the first of our new series highlighting positive practice in the social housing sector, Neil Merrick reports on how an arm’s length management organisation transformed the experiences of young people leaving care in Blackpool. Chloe’s story Just over two years ago, as she was on the verge of leaving care, Chloe Kidd was […]
Our journey to a co-created resident engagement strategy
By Sarah Crabb Assistant Director of Housing Services, Mount Green Housing Association Resident engagement lies at the heart of recent legislative and regulatory changes affecting our sector. This has, quite rightly, prompted us all to re-evaluate how we listen to the resident voice and ensure it makes a difference. At Mount Green, […]
Making the moral choice
By Keith Cooper, award-winning housing journalist The death of Awaab Ishak was a national scandal, raising questions yet again about housing’s relationship with racial inequality. Rochdale Boroughwide Housing took its time to apologise for linking the mould that killed him to his family’s lifestyle. Its handling of the matter left his dad […]