The Housing Network ’s Post

The Kent Regional Residents' Panel has exposed Southern Housing Group’s serious failings, from disrepair to safeguarding breaches, spotlighting an urgent need for reform. Coupled with the Housing Ombudsman’s special investigation, Southern Housing appears close to breaking point. This ongoing lack of accountability impacts vulnerable residents—tenants deserve better. Read the full SHAC (Social Housing Action Campaign) article to see why this matters for the future of social housing. https://lnkd.in/e2SaXdVR #HousingCrisis #TenantRights #Accountability #SocialHousing

In order to prevent repeated failings in certain areas, the Housing Ombudsman this week has released their first report on failings from Severe Maladministration. Having been involved in a number of forums recently, I know this is a hotly contested topic with a number of RPs in the process of working with the ombudsman to clarify their own pipeline of cases. By highlighting key learns from these 8 cases, it addresses key issues like discrimination, staff conduct, and neglect of vulnerable residents. The report puts emphasis on the rising caseload and the need to learn from failures to improve outcomes. Additionally, it plans to highlight instances where landlords handle issues appropriately. These insights aim to bolster the provision of safe and secure housing in the social housing sector. See the full report linked below.

Please do complete the survey and help to shape tools to tackle stigma

Last week the Regulator for Social Housing released details of their updated approach to regulating the sector. See here for more information (https://lnkd.in/eZKGVGeC). For housing associations, inspections & grading will be more of what they are already used to. Broadly speaking, for local authorities this is a more meaningful change. Traditionally, housing management has been a 'poor relation' to homelessness services as homelessness is deemed a statutory service. In my discussions with local authorities, the Ombudsman & the Regulator, it is clear that there is some additional foundational work needed to bring local authorities in line with the changes. In service of that, I have created a short guide giving an overview of the arrangements for inspections. This is the third in a series of short guides I have produced on the changes, the other two are; Guidance on the Awaab's Law Consultation (here - https://lnkd.in/gbG6HAu8) Guidance to the Competency & Conduct Consultation standards for social housing in England (here https://lnkd.in/ei9CpXjC) The guides are designed for those working in social housing, whether it is for a provider or a member of a supporting industry. Please read & share widely. ****************************** Hi I’m Dewbien (pronounced Jah-Bean) I’m an experienced consultant, passionate about improving standards in social housing for staff and residents and share useful information on legal reform. I work with like-minded leaders and organisations that are proud of our sector and the work we do, believe in the power of inclusion and aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo. If that sounds like you get in touch! #socialhousing #training #regulation #compliance #inspections #england

Sharing: Mid Devon Housing's Approach to Damp, Mould & Condensation. See below for link to pre-recorded video. Some of you may recall that I presented something similar to the Housing Ombudsman Service's Landlord's Forum and also the Westminster Insight Solutions to Damp and Mould in Social Housing Conference. After those two events, I have retired the presentation and will probably look at introducing some new material for anything in future, but did agree to share it once I'd pulled my finger out and turned it into a recorded presentation. I also wanted to make sure that this was done in consultation with MDH tenants and members, given that it's quite a candid presentation, so that took a little while. The presentation covers: -Upskilling of teams and tenants -Meaningful data collection -Environmental monitoring case studies. As usual, I will highlight that this approach is not about having exceptionally low levels of DMC issues in our homes. We're reporting anywhere from 10-17% of homes affected by any amount of DMC (in any room, including outhouses, at any one time). Based on our data, our 'success rate' (homes which have had DMC issues in the past and no longer do), has increased from 31% in May 2023, to 50% today. This may still seem low, but we do not consider any DMC issue 'resolved' until reviewed after the following Winter. Many of the unresolved issues relate to complex issues such as fuel poverty, over-occupation and poor mental health. https://lnkd.in/e6qc3Q8i #socialhousing #dmc #damp #mould #environmentalmonitoring #indoorairquality

Stigma in Social Housing It's there, and we're one of the organisations partnered with tenant volunteer group Stop Social Housing Stigma to research and tackle it. We need the help of all housing providers, contractors and housing professionals to pledge to address social housing stigma locally and take part in this survey: https://lnkd.in/eZApHUaN Your help means we can have tools in place to foster effective policies, procedures and plans that address stigma. Partnered with: Sheffield Hallam University Durham University YD Consultants - Yvonne Davies Chartered Institute of Housing Stop Social Housing Stigma #socialhousing #research #survey #stopsocialhousingstigma

https://lnkd.in/erCSrfby You are regarded as Homeless if: Section 2 of the Housing Act, 1988 states inter alia Homeless persons for the purposes of this Act. 2.—A person shall be regarded by a housing authority as being homeless for the purposes of this Act if— (a) there is no accommodation available which, in the opinion of the authority, he, together with any other person who normally resides with him or who might reasonably be expected to reside with him, can reasonably occupy or remain in occupation of, or (b) he is living in a hospital, county home, night shelter or other such institution, and is so living because he has no accommodation of the kind referred to in paragraph (a), and he is, in the opinion of the authority, unable to provide accommodation from his own resources.

This installment of our state-wide series covers updates on regulations and requirements for sober living homes across Massachusetts, Indiana, and Missouri. Did you hear? 👂 Massachusetts sober living homes facing pointed NIMBY pushback in places like New Bedford, despite MASH certification 👂 There’s still two paths to certification for sober living homes in Indiana: DMHA and IARR 👂 NARR-affiliated certification remains optional for Missouri sober living homes, but municipal-level zoning challenges continue to pose unique challenges Stay informed about the important developments impacting #soberliving and #recoveryresidence as they evolve with organizations like MASH, IARR, and MCRSP. https://lnkd.in/gvamyjmY #Massachusetts #Indiana #Missouri #NARR #MASH #IARR #MCRSP

The Veterans’ Acute Housing Program is an initiative of the Australian Government aimed at addressing the acute housing needs of veterans and their families who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The VAHP will provide grant funding under 2 streams: Capital Works Grant: Capital works funding for projects to expand the availability of crisis and transitional housing, and Specialist Services Grant: For organisations to deliver specialist support services that address the risk factors for homelessness #veterans #housing #homelessness #transitionalhousing