Building trust: St Leger Homes
St Leger Homes manages around 20,000 council homes on behalf of Doncaster Council. The first stage of the ALMO’s work around ‘no access’ has been to develop a better evidence base around the barriers to access. The organisation has set up an access team consisting of a team leader and three officers based in […]
Moving to better practices in access
Gaining access for safety checks, repairs, improvements and tenancy audits is part of the routine work of social housing providers. But there’s increasing concern about cases where access hasn’t been possible. These cases are highly problematic because they involve risk: the tenant could be in danger; their neighbours could also be at risk; the provider […]
Preparing for Awaab’s Law: Stoke-on-Trent City Council
A rise in reports of damp, mould and condensation (DMC) two years ago led Stoke-on-Trent City Council to take action with a public campaign. The ‘zero tolerance’ initiative encouraged tenants to report DMC problems, stressing the danger to their health. People reporting issues were visited, given advice and any necessary works completed. That work […]
Ready for Awaab’s Law? A sector in transition
Awaab’s Law (Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025) came into effect on 27 October 2025, in the first of three phases. Our research report Preparing for Awaab’s Law: Progress by housing providers provides a snapshot of how landlords were preparing for the new law, just ahead of its implementation. We found […]
AI in housing: ‘It is here and all around us’
The use of AI in housing has reached a tipping point during the last 12 months. From a niche tool used primarily by the sector for machine learning and predictive analytics, it’s now become a part of everyday life for thousands of housing professionals. But how can we ensure the technology is rolled out in […]
Talking heads: Housing predictions for 2026
As 2026 gets underway, we have invited some of housing’s leading lights to predict what’s in store for the sector over the next 12 months (and beyond). AI (obviously), cybersecurity, geopolitics, housing delivery and homelessness are just a few of the issues on the radar. Amanda Newton, Chief Executive of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing Housing […]
HQM investigates: The rise of for-profit providers
Since 2017, the number of homes owned by for-profit registered housing providers has shot up more than 50-fold. But can they be considered a force for good in the sector or something to be feared? Either way, as Keith Cooper discovers, they are here to stay – and likely to get bigger. There are […]
Matt Downie interview: “We’re now in a situation where you can be too poor for social housing”
Matt Downie has been at Crisis for over a decade and its CEO since 2022. In that time the homelessness crisis has got worse, despite successive governments throwing millions of pounds at it. With unwanted records being broken with every statistical release, Crisis has had enough of sticking-plaster, short-term solutions and the failure of housing […]