CROSSING BARRIERS Across the whole social housing sector,


innovation appears to be focused on a small


clusters of councils, for instance in London and in Scotland; other areas of the


country have made less progress. John Taylor believes this reflects need as much as culture; Brent, for instance, has been forced to innovate “because they’ve got such a huge housing problem, so they’re trying to make things happen.” But that may mean that opportunities for private sector firms may be limited in some areas, where councils prefer to manage their own provision, or lease temporary accommodation directly from landlords rather than working through agencies. There are regulatory barriers too, though


the level of regulation has been reduced recently; affordable housing needs to be handled by a Registered Provider (RP), so firms such as Orchard & Shipman have set up their own RPs. The regulations have changed several times and it is still not completely clear how they will work. This, with the cost of compliance could deter agents from getting involved. John Taylor says only a minority will want to. “They have to want to do it, and they also have to want to work with that client group” – since social housing has very different tenants from the average private let. On the other hand private lettings


remain unregulated, as does the provision of leased accommodation to councils, so


14 OCTOBER 2011 PROPERTYdrum


Building too few new homes while older homes stand empty.


that has been the easy entry point for lettings agencies. David Ireland


believes such schemes have a viable place in any agent’s


business. “Where it works is where


you have properties that won’t immediately fly out of your window,” he says, “but tick the boxes of housing association or council needs for short term accommodation.” It is still unclear how the sector will settle


down after recent changes, including the introduction of the affordable market rent regime. Solicitors Devonshires, experts in the area, expect to see a wide variety of new structures, including both existing


social housing providers such as housing associations and new ventures with for- profit partners. John Taylor, too, says that at the moment the market is “about exploring what things might look like – it’s a chance to do things differently,” but it’s too soon to see exactly how things will work. Different councils are taking different routes; Westminster has set up an arm’s length management organisation (and contracted out half its housing management), while Barking & Dagenham has set up its own joint venture to build new affordable rental homes, retaining ownership.


RICHARD DONNELL HOMETRACK


The potential to deliver more affordable homes is clear.”


THE EMERGING FUTURE Divorcing management from ownership, and separating both from funding, appears increasingly common. John Taylor says of Orchard & Shipman; “We’re not tied to property, we’re a management company,” and he believes “housing associations have been too wedded to ownership without being clear as to why.” He believes various types of vehicle will emerge – councils putting land into joint ventures, companies retaining a stake in developments rather than selling outright to an RSL, or joint ventures paying a guaranteed rent to councils and then managing the housing themselves. David Ireland believes housing


associations that have won funding for new building won’t all have the capability to manage their larger inventory. They will either have to staff up, or contract out their management. “Some housing associations will want to manage things themselves,


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