31/03/2025
Introduction
Welcome to March’s snapshot. This month, we look at the key things RPs need to know in relation to the publication of the Commonhold White Paper, the Government’s response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 final report, updates from the Regulator of Social Housing, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Housing Ombudsman and more. Enjoy!
Commonhold White Paper
On 3 March, the Government issued the “Commonhold White Paper: The proposed new commonhold model for homeownership in England and Wales.”
The White Paper aims to phase out leasehold in favour of commonhold, a more practical form of homeownership. The reforms propose a shift that could benefit developers, lenders, and residents, however there is potential for it to impact affordable housing providers and their funders. Moving away from leasehold tenure that has been in existence since the Middle Ages will be a challenge. Key areas of concern for RPs include financing, managing mixed-tenure developments, and converting existing leaseholds to commonhold. In addition there are many stakeholders that will need to support the conversion and ensure the knowledge, skills and resourcing are in place to ensure that its reintroduction is a success. The reforms, if done well, have the potential to increase market confidence, assist with housing association asset management and support the government’s goal of delivering 1.5 million homes.
For further information on the Government’s proposals, please contact Katie Dyer or Rebecca Gibson.
Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report
On 26 February, the Government issued its response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 final report, which was published in September. The Government accepted all of the Inquiry’s findings and 49 out of the 58 of the recommendations in full. It accepted the remaining nine recommendations in principle. We highlight some key changes proposed in the Government’s response below:
- A ‘Construction products Reform Green Paper’ has been published, which sets out a range of proposals for construction products reform and proposes tighter rules for those certifying, manufacturing and using construction products.
- Alongside the Green Paper, the Government confirmed its intention to draw together all the functions relating to the construction industry (save for testing and certification of construction products and the issue of compliance certificates) under a single regulator.
- The Building Safety Regulator will review the definition of “higher-risk building” and the higher-risk building regime – plans for this will be published in summer 2025.
- All fire safety related functions will move from the Home Office to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
- There will be a review of the governance and oversight of tenant management organisations and arm’s length management organisations.
- The Government will launch an investigation into the firms criticised in the Inquiry report.
The response also details the Government’s long-term vision for continuing to rebuild people’s trust in building and fire safety systems and delivering better outcomes for residents across the country. Given the scale of further change needed, the Government intends to deliver the reforms using a three-phased approach from now until 2028 onwards.
Housing Ombudsman: consultation on new business plan and five-year strategy
The Housing Ombudsman is seeking views and feedback on its Business Plan 2025-26 and Corporate Strategy for the next five years. The consultation closes today, 31 March.
The Ombudsman’s Corporate Strategy proposes four strategic objectives and one strategic enabler. The proposed objectives are to:
- provide an excellent, person-centred service
- drive positive local complaints handling cultures
- support better services through insights, data, and intelligence
- extend powers and engage with partners to support closing gaps in redress.
The Ombudsman has said that making an impact in these areas is crucial as demand is increasing again this year, following a record year of complaints in 2023-24.
The Business Plan 2025-26 gives more detail on planned activities between April 2025 and March 2026 to start to deliver these strategic objectives and enabler in year one.
You can read the consultation document and respond here.
Regulator of Social Housing updates
There have been a number of updates from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) recently:
Quarterly survey for Q3 2024-25
On 27 February, the RSH published the results of its latest quarterly survey on the financial health of private RPs. The report covers the period from 1 October 2024 to 31 December 2024. Key findings include:
- RPs invested £3.9 billion on building and acquiring new homes in the previous quarter. This figure was above the expenditure of £3.2 billion in the previous quarter.
- RPs continue to invest record amounts in new and existing stock, though there are indications that development spend has peaked - planned spending on development for the next 12 months is projected to decrease by 5%.
- Repairs and maintenance spend reached £2.3 billion in the quarter, with a further £9.8 billion forecast for the next 12 months.
- Lending to the sector remains robust, with £2.6 billion of new finance arranged in the quarter. However, the amount of undrawn facilities available reduced and cash balances are still at “historically low levels”.
The RSH said it is continuing “to monitor and engage with landlords, particularly those that have a reliance on sales to support their cash flows”.
Latest Value for Money report
On 13 March, the RSH published its latest Value for Money report. The RSH publishes Value for Money metrics annually so boards and other stakeholders can assess how each private RP (excluding for-profits) is performing against its peers. Key findings include:
- Reinvestment in existing stock and acquisition or development of new homes increased to £14.6bn from £12.5bn in the previous year – the highest level recorded since the Value for Money metrics were introduced in 2018.
- RPs continue to focus on development, building safety, energy efficiency and stock decency.
- The median headline cost per property rose by 12% to £5,136 – the highest level recorded. This increase was largely driven by increased expenditure on the existing housing stock.
- Following several years of high inflation and rising borrowing costs, the financial performance of the sector has weakened.
- Many organisations are managing competing demands on their resources, particularly between investment in the existing stock and new supply. However, investment in new stock has continued, with 49,287 new social homes delivered over the year to 31 March 2024 - the highest level since 2021.
Latest fire safety remediation report
On 20 March, the RSH published the findings from its latest quarterly survey on the fire safety of 11 metre plus buildings in the social housing sector. Of the 17,299 buildings reported on, 99.9% had fire risk assessments undertaken. 11.1% were reported as currently having a life critical fire safety (LCFS) defect relating to the external wall system.
The report also stated that a fifth of properties with LCFS defects either had an “unclear” completion date or that it was “beyond 10 years”. The RSH reminded RPs that boards and councillors have a duty to seek assurance that landlords are meeting legal obligations for building safety, and that risks are being well managed and promptly remedied.
Updates to RSH information required from RPs
On 21 March, the RSH wrote to all CEOs of RPs regarding the RSH’s data collection requirements for 2025/26.
In line with previous years, the data will need to be submitted through NROSH+, the RSH’s data collection system. The deadlines are staggered and what needs to be submitted depends on your organisation size and type (i.e. whether you are a large provider, a small provider or a local authority).
You can find copies of the letters, including the data requirements for each type of RP on the RSH’s website.
Mutuals Registration Function Update
On 13 March, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (in its role as the registering authority for mutual societies) sent out an update.
It reminded readers that the Law Commission are reviewing the Friendly Societies Acts 1974 and 1992. They have published a consultation paper asking a range of questions which is open until 11 June 2025.
The FCA has also updated its information to help societies page. This includes a guide for new societies.
Procurement Act 2023 goes live
The Procurement Act 2023 went live on 24 February 2025, marking the most significant overhaul of procurement law in recent memory. At Bevan Brittan, we’ve been actively involved from the consultation stage through to providing ongoing guidance on transitional arrangements.
For more information or to discuss how we can support your organisation, please explore our ProAct 23 landing page.
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