What’s in store for 2024?

What’s on THFC’s radar in 2024?

Arun Poobalasingam, Funding and Marketing Director at THFC, gives a rundown of some of the key issues THFC will be looking to in the coming year.

Political upheaval

While the timeline for the forthcoming General Election remains unclear, what we can be sure of is that this will bring a significant amount of political upheaval. Of course, the country has had its fair share over the last few years, not least the housing sector itself, which has seen 16 different housing ministers since 2010.

THFC will be keeping a close watch on promises on housing being made in the run up to the election and, specifically, how ministers and shadow ministers see housing associations fitting into the overall housing picture.

While politicians of all colours set out their housing priorities in the coming months (e.g. home ownership versus affordable rents), we hope they will recognise that all forms of tenure will be needed to meet demand. It is the sector’s job to communicate this message as we approach the election.

Consumer regulation

2024 will be another major year for housing associations when it comes to consumer regulation. Many will be coming to terms with the new Social Housing (Regulation) Act. More stringent rules around things such as inspections and performance improvement plans will take some getting used to; meanwhile, we expect to see continued naming and shaming from the Housing Ombudsman.

April will also see the first full year of collecting the new Tenant Satisfaction Measures. Registered Providers will need to analyse these closely and carefully consider how they respond to them.

Continued interest from institutional investors

THFC is hopeful that the economic picture will improve in the coming year, with various economic outlooks predicting inflation falling. This should ease the pressure on housing associations slightly and give them more confidence to plan ahead, which in turn will spark more activity in the debt capital markets.

That said, the financial strain on Registered Providers will remain acute, given the costs linked to building safety, EPC “C”, and development of new homes. Despite this, we expect to see a strong level of interest in the sector from institutional investors, especially given a recent rush of employers exiting defined benefit pension schemes.

Decarbonisation

The sector will continue to grind its way through work in decarbonising its vast housing stock. However, with money in short supply, efforts to do so will rely heavily on grant being handed down from Government via the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. So far, only £957m of the £3.8bn fund has been released by Government.

Perhaps the changing political landscape will unlock new investment in decarbonisation projects? Time will tell, but for now Registered Providers will need to rely on the funding currently available to them to retrofit existing stock.