As 2024 draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on the most significant developments in the housing sector over the past year. From legislative changes to evolving regulations, 2024 has been a pivotal year, reshaping how landlords and housing providers operate whilst laying the groundwork for a safer future. Let’s dive into the key legislative highlights and what they mean for the sector going into the new year.
2024 has seen the full implementation of key provisions from the Building Safety Act 2022, paving the way for fundamental changes within the sector. The new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) regime has transformed the way organisations manage high-rise building safety.
For detailed insights into creating a compliant building safety case report or navigating Section 156 updates, explore our dedicated resources or speak to our team of experts.
In December 2024, the government published its official response to the Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing Plus (EEIS+) consultation, introducing significant changes to improve fire safety for residents and updating processes for Responsible Persons (RPs). To discover more about what this update will mean for you, access the full guidance document here.
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) implemented four new Consumer Standards in April 2024. To recap, the new standards that the RSH is regulating against are:
Since the start of April, the RSH has been actively inspecting organisations against the standards and issuing gradings (C1-C4) based on compliance, with C1 being the most compliant and C4 requiring the most improvement.
To learn more about the inspection process and how leading housing providers are adapting, catch up on our recent webinar on-demand here: Consumer Regulation: Insights on Achieving a C1 Grading.
In addition to the standards, the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) are a requirement of the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. Organisations were asked to collate the data last year in preparation for submission this year under the standard. You can access the RSH’s analysis of social landlords’ first year of TSM results here.
The Decent Homes Standard, established over 20 years ago to provide a minimum standard of housing conditions for those housed in the public sector, has now been under review for over a year. Similarly, the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) underwent a review nearly two years ago. These updates aim to modernise and simplify standards to better address current housing needs. However, delays - potentially influenced by the change in government and the consultation requirements of Awaab’s Law – have pushed the anticipated release of the new regulations from late 2024 to 2025.
For more expert insight into how the changes will impact your organisation, catch up on our on-demand webinar, Preparing for Change: HHSRS, Damp, Mould, and Condensation, for everything you need to know.
Coming into force in July 2023, the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 reinforced the government’s commitment to improving social housing standards.
With the new government goal for all rented homes to achieve an EPC rating of band C by 2030, 2024 was a year of retrofit preparation and funding applications.
There are several government and third-party funds, grants, and subsidies available to help landlords and housing associations fund retrofit projects, such as:
Once funding is secured, retrofit projects must be conducted successfully and safely to increase energy efficiency to EPC band C. For expert guidance throughout your retrofit journey and best practices for meeting your goals, download our FREE Housing Provider’s Guide to a Successful Retrofit Project here.
The housing sector will remain on a transformative journey going into the new year. With ongoing regulatory updates, funding opportunities, and legislative reviews, organisations must stay informed and proactive.
Find out how to best prepare for the legislative changes coming in 2025 in our blog, ‘2025 Housing Legislation Updates: How to prepare', and keep your organisation up to date and compliant.