Company Secretary Snapshot – June 2025

Written by Rose Klemperer and Renee Tombs

As summer gets underway, we’re bringing you a roundup of the key developments that matter across the housing sector. It’s been a busy few weeks, with major announcements and important updates landing for the sector. In this update we cover the headline news from the Spending Review, including the biggest investment in social housing for over 50 years. We also take a look at the latest Regulator of Social Housing Quarterly Survey, the new Shared Ownership Code, updates from the FCA and share a few key takeaways from the NHF Governance Conference.

Spending Review 

The UK housing sector was waiting with bated breath for the UK Government’s spending review on 11 June. The announcements deliver the most significant public investment in social housing in over 50 years and, while some critical details, such as grant rates under the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP), are still to follow, the announcements have been broadly welcomed by the sector.  

Key highlights for the sector include:

• Biggest cash injection in social housing for over five decades, with a long-term funding commitment aimed at boosting affordable and social rent supply;
• £39billion new AHP over 10 years;
• 10 year social rent settlement at CPI + 1%;
• Consultation on the implementation of social rent convergence to equalise below-formula rents;
• £2.5billion in low-interest loans to support social landlords in development finance;
• £1billion additional funding for cladding remediation;
• £13.2billion Warm Homes Plan to fully support energy-efficiency and net-zero goals;
• £950million for temporary accommodation and £100m for homelessness prevention.

There were a couple of notable omissions from the announcements, as follows:

• No accompanying welfare reform announced to support tenants with rent rises and address the risk of affordability pressures; 
• No specific commitment was made for supported housing. The National Housing Federation has highlighted that many specialist schemes closed last year due to funding shortfalls and providers are urgently calling for dedicated funding. 

What’s next?

The Spending Review delivered nearly all of what the sector asked for so, subject to final details, the focus for housing providers will be on piecing together the funding, planning and partnerships needed to deliver the Government’s ambitious targets.  

Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) quarterly survey

On 3 June, the RSH published the results of its latest quarterly survey on the financial health of private RPs. The report covers the period 1 January to 31 March 2025. Key findings include: 

• RPs invested £13.6 billion in a continuous effort to build and acquire much-needed new homes. This figure was below the expenditure of £14.4 billion in the previous year; 
• RPs continue to invest record amounts in new and existing stock; 
• repairs and maintenance spend reached £9 billion, with a further £9.9 billion forecast for the next 12 months; 
• lending to the section remains strong, with £4.3 billion of new finance arranged, the second highest level in almost 5 years. Available liquidity increased to the highest level in 2 years, as both undrawn facilities and cash balances increased, sufficient enough to cover the sector’s forecast expenditure of £20.7 billion, even if no new debt facilities or sale income were received. 

The RSH said it is “continuing to build new homes and maintain investment to improve fire safety, damp and mould in order to keep tenants safe”.  

New Shared Ownership Code

The new Shared Ownership Code (the Code), developed by the Shared Ownership Council, was officially launched in June following an extensive 18-month consultation involving customers, lenders and other stakeholders, and a four-month pilot with eight housing providers. The Code sets out a common standard across the sector and aims to improve the customer experience, promote consistency in delivery, and build investor confidence in the tenure. 

The Code introduces a range of practical measures designed to make the shared ownership offer clearer, fairer and more transparent. Key commitments include:

• a 14-day cooling-off period, allowing customers to cancel their agreement and receive a full refund;
• full publication of all fees and charges, kept accurate and up to date;
• a minimum 12-month defects period from completion, with an ambition to extend to 24 months;
• greater service charge transparency, including a new ‘Key Information’ document and clear communication of likely future increases; and 
• development of training plans to ensure staff are equipped to support shared owners effectively.

The Shared Ownership Council described the Code as a potential “quality mark” for the tenure, aiming to raise standards and improve outcomes for buyers while strengthening confidence in shared ownership across the market. It’s voluntary for housing providers to adopt Code. 

Mutuals registration update 

The Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA) (in its role as the registering authority for mutual societies) has recently published an update on its work. Some key points to note include:

• the past year has seen a focus on championing digital platforms, promoting compliance and engaging regularly with societies and their representative bodies;
• a reminder that the Law Commission are reviewing the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and the Friendly Societies Act 1974 and 1992. Please see our updates on the consultation here; 
• 76% of societies now use the FCA’s digital platform to register returns; and
• the FCA have been asked by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury for a report assessing the mutual landscape, which is in progress. The findings will be published later this year to determine how best to support the sustainable growth of the sector. 

Key takeaways from the NHF Governance Conference 2025

Held just over a week after the 2025 Spending Review, this year’s NHF Governance Conference had a notably positive and forward-looking tone. While challenges remain, especially for residents, the mood was one of opportunity. Our key takeaways are below: 

1. Consumer regulation - over 12 months since their introduction, delegates acknowledged that the updated Consumer standards had been widely welcomed. Attendees noted that they represent core expectations of a good landlord and not regulatory burden. Those who had invested early in improving data and board assurance are performing well. 
2. Boards need the right information - sessions highlighted the importance of boards receiving meaningful, balanced information. Boards should be equipped to understand how well strategic objectives are being delivered and not just operational updates. A key message was to stay mission-focused, particularly with political pressures increasing.
3. Resident voice - in our session on ‘Navigating mergers in the current climate’, alongside Vimal Gaglani, Director of Treasury and Financial Planning at Abei, we explored how failing to engage residents meaningfully can have real, tangible consequences: from Ombudsman complaints and legal risk to reputational damage and regulatory downgrade. But beyond that, it can erode trust. Resident engagement must be early, honest and influential, especially during restructures.
4. RSH consumer judgements - Savills analysis of recent consumer regulatory judgements confirmed that where an organisation is graded C2, C3 or C4 this is often related to core service areas — especially health and safety, repairs and stock condition. The Regulator expects issues to be not only identified but resolved quickly and transparently, with clear board oversight.
5. Governance themes - across the conference, there was strong emphasis on governance structures that support both resilience and accountability. Our merger-focused session echoed this: boards must ensure that change supports the organisation’s core purpose, delivering decent, safe homes and fair services — not just growth or structural consolidation.

AOB 

Join us at forthcoming events

• The Housing Community Summit – 8 to 9 September 

We are hosting a webinar in association with Law Debenture on the 11th July on the topic of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and the upcoming changes. We will be sending an invite soon. 

Other articles you might be interested in

• Awaab's Law – a new need for speed in addressing social housing that is hazardous to health
• Housing Ombudsman Spotlight Report: A relationship of three parts: Landlords, residents and contractors

We’ll be having a summer break during July and August – see you on the other side!