Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code becomes statutory as cases continue to rise

The Housing Ombudsman and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) have today launched their aligned Complaint Handling Codes which they hope will result in best practice in complaint handling and ultimately better services … Read more

Opinion: The social housing rent increase – a tenant’s perspective

By Rob Gershon, council tenant and activist Over the last two years, for every £100 a tenant pays in their supposedly cheaper social rent, they now have to pay an additional £15. That’s on top … Read more

Government’s new ‘competence and conduct’ standard will ‘improve service for all social housing tenants’

The government says social housing tenants will receive a fairer and better service from their housing provider, under new plans it has unveiled today. Under the new standards, providers will need to arm their staff … Read more

Resident Involvement Officer

The Vacancy Salary: £30,868 per annum Location: Wythenshawe (M22) Hours of work: 35 per week We have a brilliant new opportunity for a Resident Involvement Officer to join our growing Resident & Customer Experience team … Read more

Course of the week

Condensation, damp and mould for non-technical officers: 13 February – Live virtual training  Condensation, damp and mould if left untreated can have profound consequences on quality of life and health as well as the fabric … Read more

Three million households ‘will be trapped in fuel poverty by 2030’

Three million households will be trapped in fuel poverty by 2030, according to a new report. Launched this week by National Energy Action (NEA), the UK Fuel Poverty Monitor report also warns the UK government … Read more

Government launches consultation on social housing allocations revamp ‘to make system fairer’

An overhaul of how social housing is allocated, which the government claims will make the system fairer and not available to those who abuse it, has been announced today. Much-trailed ‘three strikes and you’re out’ … Read more

Course of the week

Customer complaint handling workshop: 28 February – Live virtual training  The Housing Ombudsman says that 2 of every 3 complaints they see could have been handled better by the landlord. Getting complaint handling right saves … Read more

Resident Involvement Manager

Location: Enfield – Hybrid (occasional evening/weekend working). Salary: £33,075 – £42,000 Hours: 37.5 Reporting to: Head of Business Services Christian Action Housing Association is proud to be a local landlord providing homes and services across the North and East … Read more

HQN Training – new for 2024

New for 2024 all of our courses are now certificated with professional development hours. View all our upcoming public courses here.  Further details on professionalisation requirements and the competency and conduct standard for the social … Read more

Housing Quality Magazine January 2024

Welcome to the January 2024 edition of HQM. We start the year with a look at the planned 2024/25 rent increase and its implications for both landlords and residents. We also ask some of the … Read more

Opinion: Give boards a bigger range of voices – and stop worshipping the governance gurus

By Alistair McIntosh, HQN CEO If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. Why does no one ever follow that advice? A year or so ago I was on the train and got talking … Read more

HQN appoints Chloe Fletcher as new director

HQN is delighted to announce the appointment of Chloe Fletcher as a new director. A well-known and highly regarded figure in the social housing sector, Chloe joins from the National Federation of ALMOs, where she … Read more

RSH confirms social housing rent levels for 2024/25

The Regulator of Social Housing today confirmed rent levels for 2024/25. Following much conjecture about the repeat of a rent cap, the government has decided to revert to its old rent setting formula for 2024/25 … Read more

Resident-led social issues project could be scaled nationwide, research

A first-of-its-kind community project where local residents create solutions to major social issues could be scaled nationwide, researchers have found. All In, created by Eastlight Community Homes, gave 20 Essex residents the opportunity to dedicate … Read more

HQN’s housing regulation quiz 2023

Who doesn’t look forward to a housing regulation quiz at this time of year? And we have one for you that gradually gets harder to really test hardcore regulation fans! If you don’t get 100%, … Read more

Head of Engagement and Community Investment

We’re a local housing association that’s passionate about tackling the housing shortage in the East of England. We provide warm, safe and affordable homes. But we don’t stop there. We offer a wide range of … Read more

Resident Involvement Manager

We have a brilliant new opportunity for a Resident Involvement Manager to join us. It’s important to us that our tenants influence the way we deliver services and scrutinise our performance.  We’re looking for someone … Read more

Resident Engagement and Insight Officer

We are looking to recruit a Resident Engagement and Insight Officer. The postholder would be responsible for ensuring tenant engagement is embedded into the operations of the Housing Services department so that tenants are integral … Read more

Latest member question: engagement strategies

With the recent communication from Health and Safety Exec (Preparing a resident engagement strategy) we are looking to start planning and producing a strategy for properties under Housing Investment and Asset Management, to include the … Read more

Temporary accommodation crisis: Government urged to intervene immediately

The government has been urged to immediately intervene to prevent the “collapse of support for society’s most vulnerable people”, following an emergency summit attended by 158 local authorities. Hosted yesterday by Eastbourne Borough Council and the … Read more

One in four UK social housing households in fuel poverty last winter

One in four of UK social housing households were hit by fuel poverty last winter, new data has revealed. According to analytics company Switchee’s new Housing Fuel Poverty Index (HFPI), the crisis hit 17.3% in … Read more

Housing Quality Magazine October 2023

The autumn edition of HQM features a big interview with Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman, in which he shares his insights into the service’s progress and his views on everything from leasehold to mergers. Lara … Read more

Government’s levelling up programme could lead to inequalities worsening, report

The government’s levelling up programme could lead to inequalities worsening rather than improving over the next 10-20 years, a new report has warned. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Left Behind Neighbourhoods says the most … Read more

Housing Ombudsman Annual Complaints Review – an update for residents

The Housing Ombudsman has released its Annual Complaints Review, which has shown a significant increase in severe maladministration findings. The report highlights that social housing complaints have seen a huge spike due to poor property … Read more

Living Well Coordinator (Staying Close) – Young People

Living Well Coordinator (Staying Close) – Young People £32,930 p/annum 35 hours p/week (Flexible Working) ¦ Fixed Term until 30/11/25 Wythenshawe (M22) An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our Living Well team as we … Read more

First Things First episode 86

Opinion: Balancing tradition and change – the value of being visible on our estates

By Sarah Crabb, assistant director of housing services at Mount Green In our fast-evolving society, a lot of things are changing. Becoming more streamlined, ‘digitally transformed’ and optimised to reduce costs or resources or staff … Read more

Housing Ombudsman finds social landlord’s responses ‘unacceptable and inappropriate’

The Housing Ombudsman has found severe maladministration in two separate cases against a social landlord, in which it unreasonably delayed taking actions to resolve the issues and didn’t take into account both physical disabilities and … Read more

Employment Support Co-ordinator

Directorate: Customer, Place and Services Job Title: Employment Support Co-ordinator (Temporary, for a fixed term to cover maternity leave – up to 12 months) Hours: 37 hours (Full time) (to be worked flexibly in line … Read more