NHF survey finds significant increase in social rent homes started by housing associations

The National Housing Federation (NHF) identified a long-standing problem across the sector of a lack of useable data on the supply of new housing association homes. This motivated the NHF to conduct their own research into the rates of housing deliverance. The latest results, released just last month, were for quarter three of 2018/19, and aimed to provide a more complete picture of the level and breadth of activity in the housing sector, in relation to housing completions and starts. They have engaged with their members to collect data on the new developments that have taken place during this time, and received an 82% response rate, allowing 86% of stock to be represented within the survey results.

Housing Associations started building a total of 11,420 homes during quarter three of 2018 and completed 11,456 homes during the same time period. A standout pattern identified within the results, showed that there were substantial variations regionally across the country. The majority of housing starts and completions took place in London and the South East, whilst the North East and Yorkshire and Humber had significantly fewer. The most notable regional variance, highlighted in Figure 1, showed that there were over 18 times more housing starts made in the South East than the North East during the last 3 months of the year.

The results also revealed that the number of social rent homes started in the last 3 months of 2018 was the highest quantity since the NHF began collecting data in 2016, as visible in Figure 2. This upturn can be associated with the recent increase in the availability of government grants to build social rent homes.

With the evidenced changing composition of housing visible from this data, it is vital that organisations understand how to manage their stock. In our experience landlords who don’t have a joined up, integrated and strategic approach as to how they invest and don’t exercise enough choice in what they invest in, struggle to deliver effective value for money asset management services. As specialists in social housing consultancy, we are aware of the many difficulties providers face in managing their assets, and can therefore provide help and advice to understand the performance of your stock to assist with the effective management of assets moving forward.