29/05/2026
Welcome to this month’s update – as we move into long summer days, the sector seems no less busy, or scrutinised. Between local elections, political debate around housing demand and the ongoing balancing act between development ambitions and financial resilience, RPs remain firmly at the centre of some of the biggest policy conversations in the country.
This month’s update picks up on a number of themes likely to remain on Board agendas over the coming months, enjoy!
King’s Speech: key housing announcements
Housing featured prominently within the Government’s legislative agenda announced in the King’s Speech, with continued emphasis on housing delivery, planning reform, building safety and leasehold reform.
Alongside the legislative proposals themselves, the wider political narrative remains important. Housing delivery continues to sit at the intersection of economic growth, local infrastructure pressures and increasingly politicised debates around migration and public services, something reflected heavily in local election campaigning this year (see below).
Read our summary of the key announcements.
Local Elections: what could this mean for housing policy?
The May local elections produced a politically significant set of results across the UK. In England there with big gains for Reform UK and losses for both Labour and the Conservatives in a number of authorities.
While local elections rarely trigger immediate policy shifts overnight, they often provide a useful indication of the political mood heading into future national debates. This year’s results suggest housing and particularly questions around housing demand, migration, development and local infrastructure, will remain highly politically charged issues.
Reform UK’s growing presence in local government has brought increased attention to themes around migration, pressures on public services, housing allocations and local development. Although many of these issues sit beyond the direct control of RPs, they are increasingly shaping the public conversation around social housing and local authority decision-making.
For RPs operating across multiple local authority areas, you may begin to see greater divergence in local political priorities, particularly around planning, regeneration, temporary accommodation and development appetite.
The results also matter operationally for RPs. Under the Regulator of Social Housing’s Neighbourhood and Community Standard, providers are expected to co-operate with relevant partners, including local authorities and local partnership arrangements, to “promote social, environmental and economic wellbeing within the areas where they provide social housing”. Changes in political leadership, council priorities and local governance structures may therefore have practical implications for partnership working, strategic housing priorities, regeneration activity and wider collaboration with local stakeholders over the coming years.
Repairs, reinvestment and the ‘build more’ challenge
One theme continuing in sector discussions to dominate sector discussion is the growing tension between investment in existing homes and pressure to deliver new supply. Sector reporting suggests repairs, maintenance, remediation and stock investment costs are continuing to remain high, driven by building safety requirements, damp and mould activity, ageing stock and wider inflationary pressures.
At the same time, recent conference discussions and sector commentary have reinforced that, despite mounting repairs and reinvestment pressures, Government and the RSH continue to emphasise the importance of maintaining development ambition and increasing housing supply. Speaking at the NHF Housing Finance Conference earlier this year, Fiona MacGregor’s last speech as the Chief Executive of the RSH highlighted that many RPs still retain development capacity and that the sector should “seize the opportunity” presented by recent funding announcements.
For many providers, this increasingly feels less like a straightforward policy direction and more like a difficult balancing act: delivering new homes whilst also demonstrating visible improvements to existing stock, consumer outcomes and resident trust. Boards are therefore continuing to face difficult strategic choices around investment priorities, risk appetite and long-term financial resilience, particularly where they are balancing remediation, retrofit, repairs backlogs and development ambitions simultaneously.
Against this backdrop, it is perhaps unsurprising that we continue to see merger discussions, partnership models and wider questions around long-term organisational resilience remaining firmly on the table across the sector, as RPs continue to assess how best to remain viable, effective and capable of meeting growing regulatory and operational expectations.
Our team is experienced in exploring long-term resilience and governance options including mergers, strategic partnerships and alternative collaboration structures. Get in touch if you would like to discuss any of the themes raised above.
Renters’ Rights Reforms
The Renters’ Rights reforms came into force in early May and represent one of the most significant changes to the private rented sector in recent years.
Key changes include the abolition of Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, changes to possession processes, increased tenant protections and enhanced expectations around transparency and complaint handling.
Although much of the legislation is directed at the private rented sector, the wider direction of travel is familiar to social housing providers: greater consumer focus, stronger tenant rights, increased scrutiny of landlord behaviours and rising expectations around resident experience.
Our team have been busy providing training and keeping our Renters’ Rights Act hub up to date with the latest announcements and useful resources – you can access the hub here.
Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) – Regulatory judgements
Recent regulatory judgements and publications from the RSH continue to reinforce several themes that are now becoming well-established across the sector:
- Data quality and assurance: particularly around stock condition data, compliance records and tenant information;
- Damp and mould governance: including evidence of escalation frameworks and organisational oversight;
- Health and safety compliance: with increasing focus on Boards understanding operational risks, not simply receiving assurance reports;
- Consumer standards compliance: particularly around complaint handling, transparency and resident engagement;
- Board visibility and challenge: with greater emphasis on whether Boards can evidence meaningful scrutiny and understanding of operational performance;
- Clear assurance frameworks and audit trails: demonstrating how organisations identify, escalate and respond to risk;
- Resident outcomes and organisational culture: increasingly viewed by the RSH as closely linked to governance effectiveness.
Several RPs and local authorities have recently achieved improved gradings following structured improvement activity and strengthened assurance arrangements. At the same time, lower gradings continue to highlight recurring themes around weak data integrity, limited assurance and insufficient resident engagement.
National Housing Federation (NHF) Code of Conduct Review
The NHF has launched a review of its Code of Conduct, with an updated version expected later this year ahead of implementation from October 2026. The review reflects the sector’s increasing focus on governance culture, accountability, resident influence and leadership behaviours, particularly in the context of the strengthened consumer regulation regime.
The NHF has said it wants members, stakeholders and residents to help shape the refreshed code, with a focus on ensuring it remains relevant, practical and reflective of current expectations around transparency and organisational culture.
AOB
Conferences we are attending:
- NHF Governance Conference – 18th June – Rose Klemperer and Sarah Greenhalgh
- Housing 2026 - 23rd- 25th June – Andrew Shaw, Louise Leaver and Rose Klemperer
Webinars/events
Ramping up development: structures for success
Webinar | Tuesday 9 June 2026 | 15:00 - 16:00 | 1 Hour
In this webinar, Sarah Greenhalgh and Louise Leaver will be joined by Gregg Lavill, Phil Waller, and Dan Guy of Cubed Tax to provide key insight into development structures.
Renters’ Rights Act 2025 – Recovering Possession for Supported Housing
Webinar | Tuesday 16 June 2026 | 11:00 - 12:00 | 1 Hour
In this webinar, Kate Hicks and Matthew Watts from our Housing Management team will be presenting on the topic of dealing with the process and practicalities of recovering possession for Supported Housing Providers now that Phase 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is in force.
Housing Management Update
Webinar | Thursday 18 June 2026 | 11:00 - 12:30 | 90 Minutes
In this session our expert speakers, Kate Hicks, Aman Guru, Debbie Frost and Matt Chapman will cover a number of key topics for the housing sector, including:
- Update on the latest housing legislation changes and proposals
- Advice applying for urgent ASB injunctions
- Latest findings in the use of expert evidence in disrepair claims
- The new Respect Order under the Crime and Policing Act 2026
Other articles you might be interested in:
Renters’ Rights Act 2025 – the impact on Integrated Care Boards
Renters’ Rights Act 2025 – Supported Housing Providers focus: preparing for change
