If you recall the government’s 2019 election manifestos, all the main parties committed to boost housing supply in England.
The Conservative manifesto, in fact, pledged that the number of homes being built will continue to increase, targeting at least 300,000 affordable homes by the middle of 2020.
As of late December, 2022, the government’s programme to build affordable homes across England has missed its mark by 32,000 homes.
One major reason for the affordable homes programme to risk falling further behind is the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ lack of grasp on the risks that lie ahead, including the ever-increasing construction inflation. Plus, a new below-inflation cap on the increase of social rent may also limit new building.
The government’s affordable housing programme in 2016 managed to successfully deliver 241,000 of the intended 250,000 homes. Furthermore, in 2021’s programme, 157,000 homes were delivered against a target of 180,000. Around 1.2m households have been put on hold for social housing lists in England – the highest since 2016 – amid the rising safety concerns after a two-year old died due to mould manifestation in a Rochdale social housing property.
On a side note, late last year, the housing ombudsman slammed a social landlord with a fine of £5,000m ordering him to pay the tenant after coming across reports of mould handling, which resulted in multiple failures to conduct repairs over a two-year period.
David Renard, London’s housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, has stated that the current social housing supply is simply not enough to comply with the current housing demand – he added that long-term plans are direly needed to empower councils to build at least 100,000 climate-friendly social homes each year.
The spokesperson for Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities stated that the secretary of state is in agreement with the committee to build more affordable homes for social rent, adding that increasing the total number of affordable homes is the key to his levelling up mission, and that the Department is investing £11.5b to build the quality and affordable homes desperately needed across the UK.
That is a difficult question to answer because we can’t attach a precise number to it at the moment. With the growing population, the demand for new and affordable housing is not going to slow down. Plus, many people are living in unsuitable accommodation, where the cost or affordability factor is preventing people from living in the kind of homes that can be regarded as safe, sustainable, and hygienic.
One estimate by the NHF (National Housing Federation) puts this number at approximately 340,000 new homes per year in England, out of which 145,000 should be affordable.
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Today’s facility managers find themselves in the midst of many challenges, including regulatory and compliance hurdles, resource scarcity, and burnout. Resource constraints, for example, which affect time management, materials delivery, and budget planning, pose major obstacles, all the while demanding highly prudent allocation without operational efficiency taking a hit.
Technology is rapidly expanding into all spheres of life, and this is especially true of industries. In the property management sector, for instance, one is surrounded by disruptive technology which is improving ‘quality of life’ for not only property and facility managers but also tenants.
The property and real estate sector has traditionally been associated with stacks of paperwork, manual documentation, and physical blueprints. However, all that is changing quickly as the idea of paperless building operations is steadily gaining momentum.
If we go back a few years, the property management sector was a bit slow to adopt new changes, especially those revolving around technology and automation. But in the present day, it has taken a dramatic step forward.
In a 2021 survey where 2,000 UK adults were surveyed who had rented a home over the last 5 years – 66% of them had experienced some kind of disrepair issue, while 26% of Housing Association Properties tenants were not happy with the quality of repair and maintenance during their stay.
Everyone wants nothing more than to have secure, safe, and decent housing. Unfortunately, the housing supply in the UK has been unable to keep up with the surge in demand over the last couple of years. This has made accessing housing of any kind rather difficult for individuals and families alike, especially those from low-income households.
Tenant experience is an important metric to understand when it comes to property and facilities management – it describes how your tenants interact with the properties they live in. The quality of these interactions along with the amenities you offer can have a major impact on your ROI.
The property management industry has been traditionally shy and somewhat hesitant to embrace new technological trends. The word “automation” would make everyone from real estate agents to property managers cringe with disapproval – as if impending doom and job insecurity was right around the corner.
Data standardisation refers to using consistent methods for collecting data, although this is a very basic and somewhat generic description of what it truly is. If we delve in deeper, data standardisation is the process used for transforming data to fit a constrained and predefined set of values – ultimately, relying on uniformity to improve efficiencies.
Data standardisation refers to using consistent methods for collecting data, although this is a very basic and somewhat generic description of what it truly is. If we delve in deeper, data standardisation is the process used for transforming data to fit a constrained and predefined set of values – ultimately, relying on uniformity to improve efficiencies.
