Issue: 63 | December 2022

Welcome to this bumper issue of CT Brief, which is packed with holiday reading! The wide range of topics covered in this issue include organisational resilience, leadership, employment and staffing challenges, community, charities, health and homelessness, and governance across sectors.

Without doubt, this winter will be particularly challenging as people face increasingly tough choices around the costs of living. The 7% social rent cap in England has been matched by housing associations for shared owners, but this will still feel a significant increase for people.

Meanwhile, the standards for decent, safe and secure homes are (rightly) under more scrutiny. The coroner’s report into the tragic death of toddler Awaab Ishak raises questions for housing leaders across the country: how can you be sure that damp and mould is not dismissed as a ‘lifestyle’ issue and that there is a culture of listening to and respecting tenants in your organisation?

Improving the tenant-landlord relationship is a priority for Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway, as he reveals in our interview on page 3. We share thoughts on preparing for the Tenant Satisfaction Measures and feature guest articles examining how well choice-based lettings work, and how the housing sector can dig deeper than professional qualifications to achieve a culture of respect.

In these challenging times, we hope this issue of CT Brief provides some positive and thought-provoking insight, and wish you all warmest greetings for the festive season.