Industry News


News Editor Patrick Mooney patricknetmag@gmail.com


Publisher Anthony Parker


Account Director Midge Myatt


Content & Research Coordinator Shelley Collyer


Events Coordinator Amy Madigan


Studio Manager Mikey Pooley


Production Assistants Georgia Musson Kim Musson


Account Manager Nathan Hunt


PR Executive Suzanne Easter


Publishing Assistant Kim Neville


Managing Director Simon Reed


Aſt er nine years of reporting and commenting on any and all issues relating to the rental housing sector in the UK, this is my fi nal issue as editor of Housing Management and Maintenance magazine. It has been a pleasure bringing news and views to your laptop or desk and I wish you all the best going forward. It is surprising how many of the issues being written about in late 2015 are still in the news today. Action is still being taken to drive up property standards as a result of tragedies, including the Grenfell Tower fi re, an event


Patrick Mooney, News Editor


which happened in June 2017 and which is having a profound aff ect on housing policies. T e new Labour Government has said it is determined to end the cladding scandal, but it is hard to believe that there could still be blocks of fl ats that have not been made safe by 2029. It serves to remind us that we need to have stronger regulation to protect residents and when incidents do happen, as they surely always will, we need quicker responses. T ere was so much that went wrong with the refurbishment project from the pursuit of cost savings that saw corners being cut and tenants’ safety concerns ignored, to the substandard fi re safety regime and the woefully inadequate oversight of the work. It refl ected a rotten culture that had developed in our society where it was okay to mistreat social tenants while chasing profi ts. It seems remarkable then that the Social Housing Ombudsman is being kept very busy investigating a growing


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number of complaints about the poor treatment being meted out by landlords, who appear to be incapable of learning from their mistakes and expect their customers to accept a second–class service from them. Our governance of the sector has recently been beefed up with the re–introduction of inspections and it is already uncovering examples of poor quality housing and a shocking catalogue of service failures, where the health and safety of residents is oſt en ignored, legal responsibilities are fl outed and boards remain in the dark, or are otherwise incapable of changing the culture of their organisations. Hindsight can be a wonderful thing but the abolition of the Audit Commission and the ending of housing inspections in 2010 does now appear to have been the most epic act of vandalism by politicians. T ese were of course the same individuals who created the lax environment which cut health and safety standards designed to protect the public and lead directly to the Grenfell disaster. T e fact that no prosecutions have yet taken place of them or the dodgy contractors is a damning indictment of our system. T e tarnished legacy of the previous Government’s housing policy is also refl ected in the homelessness and rough sleeping


statistics which continue to rise, showing record numbers are living in temporary accommodation. Another law which is meant to restrict stays in bed and breakfast accommodation to no more than six weeks, while housing applications are processed is routinely broken by councils without the means to provide safe and secure housing for desperate families. Countless reports have been produced recommending solutions to Housing Ministers, but we seem to lack the courage and commitment to deliver good quality housing at truly aff ordable rents to give people the necessary help to live a decent and fulfi lling life. Despite all of this doom and gloom I remain hopeful that some of the building blocks are being put in place to deliver


much needed improvements. Legislation to improve conditions and security of tenure in the private rented sector is progressing at long last, this should be followed next year by a resolution of many problems associated with the leasehold system, while the Government is also attempting to build new housing in the really big numbers required to provide aff ordable housing. T ere is much work still to do to sort out supply issues but reforming the planning system and making changes to the Right to Buy are encouraging signs of an intent and a joined up approach. T e ending of Section 21 revenge evictions is long overdue and this measure alone should see fewer people being made homeless at short notice. However, we now need to see local authorities and housing associations incentivised to modernise their existing


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Patrick Mooney


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HMM_1201_2025 Cover.indd 1


HOUSING MANAGEMENT


& MAINTENANCE DEC/JAN 2025


Industry News Right to Buy reforms to protect social housing


New appointment at Two Rivers Housing


Landlord Latest Stonewater


Show Preview Futurebuild


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On the cover... Stonewater is one of the largest social housing providers in the UK, owning and managing over 40,000 homes. image © Stonewater See page 17


02/01/2025 09:54 4 | HMM December/January 2025 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


housing, as well as the resources to build new housing in the numbers required to meet the needs of local areas without having to rely on developers whose principal motivation is creating profi ts for their shareholders. We also need to ensure the necessary infrastructure is provided in terms of roads, schools, health facilities and work places. Increasingly this also means providing energy saving measures around the home and green energy to provide heating and hot water. Helping to save the planet should also be accommodated! And fi nally, can I wish you all a happy and successful new year from all of us at netMAGmedia.


Editor’s comment The Final Word


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