Published merely one year ago, we thought we would take the opportunity to circle back to The Better Social Housing Review (BSHR) report. Over the last 12 months, many housing providers have commenced their journey to acknowledge and implement changes to meet the recommendations outlined in the report, however, there is still progress to be made. As this report will remain relevant throughout 2024 and beyond we aim to bring the key recommendations back to life and demonstrate the role technology will play for improving the industry in the coming years.
What is BSHR and what role does it play in the sector?
The Better Social Housing Review is an independent panel with the aim to examine and highlight key issues within the housing sector and provide recommendations to housing associations that drive improvements in the quality of social housing. Driven by a collaboration between the National Housing Federation (NHF) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) they have welcomed the recommendations in full and encourage all stakeholders to create an action plan to meet the recommendations outlined in the BSHR report.
What are the key recommendations and what role does technology play?
The BSHR panel met with residents, customer-facing staff, community partners and housing leaders across the country. Whilst many inspiring stories and work were uncovered, there were also cases of “shockingly poor quality homes”. Inequalities and racial discrimination were identified, influencing tenant experience when raising issues with repairs and maintenance. In an effort to help housing providers digest the key findings and begin developing an action plan, we will delve into the top recommendations that can be supported by the use of technology.
Recommendation 2: Housing associations should work together to conduct and publish a thorough audit of all social housing in England.
There is currently no comprehensive, consistently measured picture of the state of social housing across the country. Different housing associations have varying approaches to auditing their stock and expressing data. The panel recommends housing associations work together to undertake a comprehensive national audit of social housing by adopting and applying HACT’s UK Housing Data Standard.
There are many data points outlined by HACT and the biggest challenge of all is centralising all property and repairs data across complex and varied portfolios. Utilising technology will significantly increase data visibility by enabling teams to:
Review job and contractor performance in a single platform.
Keep a close eye on projects such as voids, inspections and damp and mould.
Report on reactive and planned repairs, core customer data, resident feedback and more.
Good data and data flows are critical for the sector to develop effective service delivery strategies that improve quality for residents and properties.
Recommendation 3: Housing associations should partner with tenants, contractors and frontline staff to develop and apply new standards defining what an excellent maintenance and repairs process looks like.
There are widespread and growing concerns about how too many housing associations manage the maintenance and repair of their housing stock and respond to concerns and complaints about this raised by tenants. A key finding within the report suggests that one of the main contributing factors is issues with supply chains due to labour shortages and backlog. In addition, the insightful data means that housing providers can not effectively improve their services.
When collaborating with tenants, contractors and frontline staff, housing providers should consider the utilisation of technology that will provide:
A centralised hub for all repairs and maintenance creating a single source of truth and data-driven improvements.
An agile supply chain for faster more efficient service delivery via DLO, appointed contractors, and Plentific’s marketplace of 20,000+ verified contractors.
A user-friendly resident tool for simple issue diagnosis, faster problem resolution and increased resident engagement.
Recommendation 7: Housing associations should support tenants and frontline staff to understand an annual review of the progress each organisation is making in implementing the review’s recommendations.
Every housing association is different, but it is the frontline staff and tenants who have the most direct experience and insights to help ensure that the ambitions in these recommendations become a reality on the ground.
It is evident that data is a key theme throughout the report and will play a significant role when reviewing the progress of each housing provider. By utilising an end-to-end property operations platform, real-time data can be pulled into easy-to-digest reports, supporting the review process. Not only will this help housing providers with key metrics and benchmarks but also provide visibility to tenants and frontline staff.
What are the next steps?
To meet the three recommendations outlined above, a centralised and digitalised property operations platform will be highly beneficial to housing providers. Plentific offers a home for all your property management needs, unlocking operational efficiencies, improving financial performance and increasing resident satisfaction.
Why not take the next step and learn more about how Plentific can help you create a road map to meeting the BSHR recommendations and increasing quality for residents and properties? Get in touch.