Housing associations

Editor Victoria Galligan talks to the team at Goplastic to find out how housing associations are benefitting from the firm’s durable, sustainable materials…

201 housing associations have pledged to tackle homelessness by signing the Commitment to Refer, an initiative launched by the National Housing Federation in October 2018.

Following the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act in October 2018, many housing associations expressed a strong desire to support the Act and work together with local authorities to tackle causes of homelessness in their community.

For any residential building project, it would be fair to say that time saved on site is hugely beneficial for developers, contractors and housing associations alike, helping to reduce project costs and enabling residents to occupy properties as quickly as possible. With this in mind, Evinox Energy has introduced remote commissioning and warranty validation for their ModuSat heat interface units (HIUs), which can significantly reduce the cost of commissioning and time spent on site by engineers manually checking and adjusting settings.

Many other heat interface units for communal and district heating developments require an engineer to physically attend site to set-up every individual unit manually, adding time and cost to the project. Evinox’s electronically controlled ModuSat HIU’s feature SmartTalk communication technology and can be connected over the internet to remote servers, enabling Evinox to check the operation of each unit remotely and adjust settings where required.

Housing associations have a central role to play in building the homes we need and challenging the attitudes that hold us back, Theresa May said in central London this week, as she announced new long-term funding for affordable housing.

As part of the Government’s commitment to transform housebuilding, the Prime Minister announced £2 billion in new funding to give housing associations the long-term certainty they need to deliver tens of thousands of new affordable and social homes.

As the first Prime Minister to address the National Housing Federation Summit, she pledged this morning to work in partnership with the associations to get more people on the housing ladder and make sure those who can’t afford their own place also have somewhere they’re proud to call home.

New ‘Solving the Housing Crisis?’ programme examines the contribution social housing makes to our society and what the government can do to support people in need of a home.

Terrie Alafat CBE, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), said "Can we really call ourselves a civilised society if we are not providing affordable homes for people who need them?"

Interviewed exclusively for 'Solving the Housing Crisis?', a news and current affairs-style programme created by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and ITN Productions, Terrie Alafat also championed the work of local authorities and housing associations.

Sarah White, Residential Market Manager at British Gypsum, discusses how Housing Associations can increase efficiencies through use of innovative building products.

Housing Associations are feeling the pinch to their finances. Factors such as the 1% rent reduction and extension of the Right to Buy are causing concerns. At the same time, the Government is putting the pressure on to build more homes. Taken together, for Housing Associations, it is more important than ever to deliver cost efficiencies.

Housing Associations also have to weigh up the demands of their tenants. Frequent maintenance work and poor quality of housing stock can contribute to high tenant turnover rates, as well as vacant houses bringing in no income. Building products which provide long term durability not only minimise maintenance disruption, but can also help contribute to a better aesthetic of housing stocks, helping to retain tenants.