Strategic priorities – Housing Asset Management Strategy consultation
Consultation closed: Tuesday 25 April 2023
Consultation opened: Wednesday 1 February 2023
The Housing Asset Management Strategy looks at three key priorities over the next 5 years. These are:
Priority 1: Ensure the health, safety and security of our residents and the communities they live in
All homes will meet the health and safety standards. Including the recently enacted Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022.
We will ensure that residents feel safe in their homes and have their voices heard.
We will look after our homes to a good standard. Keep areas around the homes in good repair and keep them well cared for.
Why is this important?
All our homes will meet our landlord obligations for health and safety, we will ensure residents are kept safe, feel safe in their homes and have their voices heard. Homes will be maintained and managed to a good standard and the environment and infrastructure will be kept in good repair, remain attractive and meet residents’ expectations.
What is currently in place that will continue?
We will:
- continue to check all our homes every five years to help us plan investment
- continue to check our garage sites every two years and consider their future based on the income they provide
- look at housing that is not affordable to own and look at options to redevelop or dispose
- continue to improve communal spaces within our housing blocks; we have planned around £4 million in the next few years to continue the improvements
- continue to protect against any potential increases in building prices and investment costs to remain within budget
- continue to look at the lack of skilled technical roles by developing our own staff members to train in areas that we need like surveying
- set clear goals with our contractors and monitor key performance indicators to ensure our agreed standards are met
- continue to carry out water hygiene risk assessments to reduce legionella risks in any vacant property or building
- continue to carry out fire risk assessments and reviews on a yearly basis
- continue to provide aids and adaptations to meet tenants’ specific needs
What else will be put in place?
We will:
- improve how electrical testing can better inform our planned investment programme
- improve our Damp and Mould Policy to respond quicker to issues and deal with the most urgent first; homes that are at high risk of damp and mould will be identified and fixed
- publish new tenant satisfaction data to allow tenants to hold us to account
- develop an online self-service portal for people to report issues and book appointments; the online portal will track progress and provide safety information (people can still phone if they have no access to the internet or digital devices)
- manage the national supply chain issues by having specific contracts for services like gas, electrics, re-lets, repairs etc; this will avoid gaps in service while still delivering quality services
- let a home out as soon as possible when it becomes available; we will then agree with the new tenant a plan for any works or repairs needed
- look to see if garage sites are still useful; where garages are no longer needed other uses will be considered
- use the most cost-effective way of managing our commercial portfolio; these are our spaces that are used mainly as shops
- work with leaseholders to improve the outside condition of our commercial stock; we may consider the Estate and Green Space Improvements capital budget to either fully or part pay for any improvements
- repair and fix our play areas based on which play areas are most urgent
- look at housing land that is shared, like our green spaces and roads, to check if tenants should be paying for the upkeep
- look to spend around £348 million on our current housing over the next 30 years, which is around £57,000 per home; most of the money will be spent on kitchens, new roofs and central heating (we review our finances every year so the planned investment amount may change depending on other priorities)
- look to spend £800,000 to build accessible homes over the next few years
- attract more competitive tenders from companies by being specific, current and clear about what we want when looking for companies to do work for us; we will also ask companies to be flexible and use digital technology so we can respond quickly to changes in service needs
Priority 2: Align with our Sustainability Plan moving towards net zero carbon by 2030 and reducing fuel poverty
We will work towards the target of “being carbon neutral by 2030”.
We will meet the target for properties to have a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C between 2024 and 2030. The EPC rating system tackles fuel poverty, not carbon emissions. Reducing carbon emissions will be balanced with our aim to make homes cheaper to heat.
Why is this important?
Residential housing is responsible for 22% of all UK carbon emissions (if emissions from consumed electricity are included) and social housing contributes 10% of this. At the same time, the cost-of-living crisis and huge increase in energy costs place many residents at risk of fuel poverty, as they are unable to affordably heat their homes.
What is currently in place that will continue?
We will:
- continue to look at the use of air source heat pumps (ASHP), which take air from outside to heat water for radiators and underfloor heating; the technology is still being developed so any use of ASHP will be limited to pilot schemes
- continue to make our homes more energy efficient; this includes putting in double-glazing, cavity wall insulation, new boilers and modern heating controls
What else will be put in place?
We will:
- work towards a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C in stages; we will start with improving insulation in homes and then putting in low-carbon devices like solar panels or heat pumps from 2025
- partner with local businesses to help them gain the right qualifications to deliver energy-saving work as there is a short supply of businesses that can carry out these works; we will also work with other social landlords in the area (Grand Union Housing Group, Catalyst Housing and Paradigm Housing) to deliver the energy efficiencies needed
- apply for the government’s Social Housing Decarbonation Fund (SHDF) which can help pay for 50% of our costs for making homes energy efficient
- help leaseholders with an affordable payment plan towards their cost of making energy efficiencies in their buildings
- make decarbonisation ‘business as usual’
- bid for more money from the government so that we can create more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient homes
- put in more electric vehicle charging points
- create woodland and wildlife areas for land still awaiting development or that are unused; this may be done on behalf of developers who would rather pay us to do it
- reduce waste from any building works and where possible recycle waste
Priority 3: Create a housing portfolio that responds effectively to local housing needs so that we can manage housing demand pressures
We will replace homes that are no longer fit for purpose and are old. We will develop options for these homes that future tenants will want to live in.
We will make homes suitable for all types of needs. By adapting and making them accessible for those with disabilities, homes for older people and those with care needs.
We aim to build over 500 homes between 2023 to 2027. This will be through new builds, buying land, changing the use of buildings and land sites.
Why is this important?
The need for affordable housing is high in Central Bedfordshire and will continue to increase with the effects of the cost-of-living crisis. Many more people will be unable to enter the homeownership housing market (due to increasing interest rates) and will be unable to afford private sector rents. Additionally, quality affordable housing delivery is crucial to enable local people to remain in the area.
What is currently in place that will continue?
We will continue to:
- engage with residents to look at how unused garage sites can be used for affordable homes, parking areas, or parks
- look at housing land sites where new homes may be possible; some sites were identified in 2021 and 2022 and we will continue to review these (any sites that we have proposals to develop in the future will be consulted on)
What else will be put in place?
We will:
- respond to the changing demand for different types of housing; this will include building more smaller homes to lifetime standards, building modern sheltered housing with emergency alarms, and extra care housing with onsite care staff
- invite residents to be more involved in helping to shape the future of their neighbourhoods when redeveloping housing sites in their area
- start looking at how we can build over 500 new homes between 2023 to 2027; this will include us buying new land or property, building new developments and converting existing buildings
- see if additional homes can be built through rooftop development
- bring re-let times back to 25 days, so homes are re-let quickly
- investigate if additional storeys can be added to existing blocks of flats
- look at housing that needs major improvement work and either invest or change its use; as a last resort demolition and complete redevelopment will be considered