National Housing Federation

Building Safety Bill: initial NHF response

The long-awaited Building Safety Bill, published on Monday 5 July, sets out the legislation for the new building safety regulatory regime to ensure the safety of people and their homes. The Bill introduces significant changes to building safety regulation, as recommended by Dame Judith Hackitt in her Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, and introduces the new Building Safety Regulator to oversee the

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Programme to Improve Housing Associations and Tenants Relationships

Housing associations and tenants are due to build stronger relationships between each other with the help of a new programme. The National Housing Federation (NHF) is to introduce the project called Together with Tenants, which will set out a plan of action to ensure boards are always properly connected and

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Latest Issue
Issue 323 : Dec 2024

National Housing Federation

Building Safety Bill: initial NHF response

The long-awaited Building Safety Bill, published on Monday 5 July, sets out the legislation for the new building safety regulatory regime to ensure the safety of people and their homes. The Bill introduces significant changes to building safety regulation, as recommended by Dame Judith Hackitt in her Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, and introduces the new Building Safety Regulator to oversee the new safety regime.  Responding to the publication of the Bill, Victoria Moffett, Head of Building and Fire Safety Programmes at the National Housing Federation said:   “We welcome the publication of the Bill as an important milestone. It is the next step in overhauling the building safety regulatory system to make sure a tragedy like the fire at Grenfell Tower never happens again.    “It’s positive to see the government acknowledge today that private developers are ultimately responsible for the poor workmanship which has led to so many safety issues. And, that these developers should therefore cover the costs of the work, rather than homeowners or those in social housing.    “But many questions remain about what will happen in practice.   “Giving leaseholders longer to pursue private developers for compensation could help some people, but unfortunately not everyone who is struggling to pay enormous building safety bills. There was also no announcement about other financial support for leaseholders today.   “The government has rightfully made it a legal requirement for building owners to pursue all other options before passing any building safety costs on to leaseholders. Not-for-profit housing associations have already been doing this but we are concerned to hear of cases where they have not been successful and housing associations will have no other choice but to still pass on costs to homeowners or shared owners in their buildings.    “There was also no funding for housing associations remediating social housing announced today. Charitable housing associations have so far been unable to access existing government funds. They are already diverting billions of pounds away from the upkeep of their social homes and away from building new social housing in order to make safe homes they bought in good faith.   “If the government want to avoid bills being passed on to homeowners and fewer affordable homes getting built over the next decade, they will need to cover all building safety costs upfront and claim the costs back later from the companies they acknowledge are responsible – such as private developers.”   We will continue to set out the case for funding for social housing providers to the government, MPs and key stakeholders. Our Policy team is examining the Bill, in particular what it means for housing associations, and we will be publishing a full briefing for our members in the coming weeks. If you would like to join the building safety mailing list for email updates, please login or create an NHF account, go to My Account and set your communication preferences. Alternatively, please email communications@housing.org.uk. Please note this mailing list is for housing association members only.  

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Programme to Improve Housing Associations and Tenants Relationships

Housing associations and tenants are due to build stronger relationships between each other with the help of a new programme. The National Housing Federation (NHF) is to introduce the project called Together with Tenants, which will set out a plan of action to ensure boards are always properly connected and accountable to the people they house, whilst also giving tenants and residents a strong role in scrutiny. At the heart of the proposal are the housing association residents are firmly at the heart of the proposal, with the NHF asking tenants and residents from across the country to share their thoughts on it. Tenants and residents are being asked to join a new independent Tenant Advisory Panel and complete a questionnaire on the plan. The programme proposes four actions: • A new requirement in the National Housing Federation Code of Governance for boards to be accountable to their tenants and residents. • A new ‘Together with Tenants’ Charter setting out what tenants and residents can expect from their housing association landlord. • Tenant and resident oversight and scrutiny of the Charter with a report on how their landlord is doing against the Charter commitments. •A closer link with regulation. In total, 43 housing associations have already signed up to be early adopters of the proposals. “I am proud to launch Together with Tenants today. It is a demonstration of the fact that as a sector we are addressing one of the most pressing challenges facing the country. How we rebuild trust between people and institutions. This is a challenge that is of course particularly pertinent for our sector, after the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower exposed feelings of powerlessness, distrust and disconnection,” said Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the NHF. “This plan builds on good practice in the sector, and must also be the first steps towards meaningful change. I am delighted that as of today 43 housing associations have already signed up to test the commitments and I hope that many more will follow suit. We know that for this plan to work we need to design it with tenants and residents. This is why we’ve been working closely with them throughout the process, and are now urging tenants to share their thoughts on these proposals,” she concluded.

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