Latest insights

“Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable high-rise residents are being left with no evacuation plan in the event of a fire,” Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigade’s Union recently opined when questioned about improvements since Grenfell. Will new regulations being brought in by the government change all that? The laws will require local authorities […]

The target of reaching net zero by 2050 has been set by the government. This infographic focuses on the housing sector. The question is, though, how do we get there? A quick reminder on net zero while we’re here – this is a 100% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 compared to 1990. Any […]

With the release of the Grenfell report, the focus has moved onto how many buildings still have unsafe cladding, and what to do about it. There are plenty of misconceptions around what can or can’t be used on your external walls of your property, and how you go about checking its safety via EWS1. Here […]

When Dame Judith Hackett recommended the introduction of a ‘golden thread’ in 2018, it was to ensure that what happened at Grenfell would never take place again. It was about righting the wrongs of a situation where so much had been overlooked, not monitored or been checked. She identified the need for key information to […]

We’re at a moment of real opportunity, in a place we haven’t been in decades with so much promise and potential. That’s the view of four leading experts – Catherine Ryder, Greg Reed, Nick Atkin and Geeta Singh, who spoke at a recent Housing Today webinar on the future of UK housing. Between them they […]

A fresh start, a new broom. After 14 years we can roll out the cliches, but also expect more than that. Significant changes have been promised by Labour, both in the manifesto and in discussions since the election. Here some key figures from the housing industry outline their main asks from the new administration. Andy […]

With the Building Safety Act requiring a new level of oversight, it’s a good time to sort out the information you hold on your housing portfolio.  You know – all those resident surveys, health and safety documents, energy guidelines and construction checklists. There has to be a better way than siloed spreadsheets with multiple duplicate […]

There’s no doubt that council housing has a bad rap, seen as a series of concrete towers falling down under the weight of mismanagement and disrepair. Occasional guest appearances on TV crime series haven’t helped. But the mood is changing. Local authorities are investing in new structures; blogs such as Municipal Dreams are celebrating our […]

If you’re struggling to get to grips with the new Building Safety Act, and the likely request from the Regulator for information, you’re not alone. Many housing departments and building companies in the same position right now. So we’ve put together this summary of the issues being aired. It’s based on information recently released by […]

Based on the latest government figures from March, here’s the latest on how the industry and government are progressing in their attempts to make our high-rise properties safe. It’s an overall summary of where we’re at, with 22.5% of buildings repaired, 23% with work underway on making the building safe and 55% where projects have […]

It’s a big year in the housing and construction sector. There’s the deadline for submissions to the Housing Safety Regulator looming large. An expanded Housing conference in Manchester will ramp up its already sizeable acreage. And sustainable choices are suddenly more financially viable for larger housing complexes. If your mind is already whirling, don’t worry! […]

The deadline is approaching fast: the last chance for you to get your submission into the Regulator to ensure compliance with the new building safety requirements. As they used to say in the legendary BBC TV series Dad’s Army, ‘don’t panic!’ There’s still time – so long as you know where to look and what […]

Regulations governing building safety were steadily built over the course of the past century… and then dismantled. It’s a story of lost decades, but one that may, however, have a more positive next chapter If the NHS is a political football, social housing is the game whose rules we’ve hurriedly had to rewrite after decades […]

All software companies should be creating or reviewing their Cloud Marketplace Strategy to ensure they are at the top of their game. Each of the large public cloud providers has their own version of a marketplace that allows customers to browse and purchase software products compatible with their cloud platforms. These providers include AWS, Google […]