Chartered Institute of Housing report calls for greater flexibility
The Chartered Institute of Housing and surveyors Savills have called for the social housing regulatory system to be changed to give providers more flexibility.
In their report, Appreciating Assets, the CIH and Savills argue that this would mean providers would be “free to find their own locally-based balance between:
- meeting local needs
- selling outmoded or inefficient stock
- selling properties to release equity
- investing in new homes
- investing in sustainable communities.”
The report’s authors said there was “a real possibility for significant change in the way that associations manage their assets that could lead to a more dynamic system of developing and managing homes”.
The CIH and Savills argued that it was key for housing associations to be able to manage their assets in the most effective way to meet their aims, rather than have to meet centrally driven targets.
Greater freedom could drive efficiency, produce more homes and allow better analysis of local markets, they said, as well as “transform associations into entrepreneurial socially-focused rented property companies meeting a wide range of housing needs and aspirations that this country currently lacks”.
CIH Head of Policy Abigail Davies said: “This research demonstrates what can really be achieved if housing associations are given greater freedom in managing their assets. It also shows the need to look beyond development viability to consider impacts on need, community investment, allocations and affordability.”
The project was commissioned by four associations: L&Q, Bromford, Waterloo and Circle Anglia. It was intended to “paint an authentic picture of the choices that associations might make if they were not constrained by the framework being developed by government”.
Mervyn Jones, Director of Portfolio Management at Savills, said: “The numbers show that financial capacity can be created by actively managing assets. However, turning this capacity into finance for housing will require careful risk management and sophisticated business planning. Pushing rents too hard may not deliver the expected additional capacity.”
The report can be downloaded here.
