Client Briefing – Spring

DTP are pleased to share our latest DTP Briefing which we prepare on a quarterly basis. The aim of our briefings is to provide useful updates on relevant social housing sector content, highlight where DTP can assist in providing support and advice on any issues arising from these and to publicise DTP’s recent activity and events. . The briefing is shared with our clients, those signed up to our mailing list, on our website and via our email footer.

As with our Winter briefing at the beginning of 2026, there continues to be a significant amount of activity across the social housing sector to keep abreast of and, in addition, the global challenges and knock-on pressures facing the UK’s economy,  provide added pressures and risks for providers.

As always, we welcome feedback for future content – please email [email protected] with any thoughts or suggestions.

If you would like us to remove your name and email from our mailing list at any point, please let us know by contacting [email protected].

Sector Updates

Treasury And Business Planning Update

To say that the last few months have been eventful for global economic markets would be a huge understatement. The conflict in the Middle East and the subsequent blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, has resulted in oil rocketing to well above $100 per barrel,  peaking at $113 earlier this month.

The knock-on effect of the increase in oil prices has, naturally, been increased inflation and decreases in growth projections across global markets. In the UK, inflation forecasts have been adjusted from a return to the 2% target to highs of between 3.6% and 4% in the second half of the year according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) now forecasts economic growth in the UK to be 0.7%, down from its pre-war forecast of 1.2%. Figures released this week show that economic growth has continued despite the war in Iran (0.5% for the first three months of the year), however economists still expect growth will slow down in the coming months.

Interest rates have also increased significantly, with UK gilts hitting levels not seen since 1998. The political tensions and economic impact of the conflict has also crushed any hopes of Bank of England rate cuts, with the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voting unanimously to hold rates at 3.75% on 19 March. Some economists are now forecasting no rate cuts for the remainder of 2026. DTP issued revised Business Planning assumptions subsequent to the latest MPC meeting and will continue to monitor the situation, providing further updates as the situations evolves. If you would like the latest copy of the Business Planning assumptions, please contact DTP Senior Consultant, Muhammad Akhtar – [email protected]

Social housing providers have been impacted by these economic shocks in a variety of ways, from increasing interest rates on variable rate and new fixed rate debt, increase in costs due to inflationary pressures, renewed supply chain uncertainties and a more turbulent housing market as mortgage rates rise and banks withdraw a number of mortgage products. The economic shocks seen since February highlight the importance of business plan stress tests (including combined scenarios) that are adequately prudent, and pushing plans to breaking points, as we again see worse case economic scenarios materialise. Testing should also lead to development and updating of contingency plans along with full Board scrutiny and oversight.

DTP offer expert advice on business planning, treasury & funding strategies and interest hedging advice, including benchmarking fixed rates. If you would like support in navigating these turbulent times, please get in touch with a member of the team and we can arrange a call to talk through how we can support you.

Governance – Under The Spotlight

In an increasingly uncertain operating environment the strength and depth of the Board or governing body in delivering effective governance is vital. The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has recently commented on the need for Boards to ensure that every voice around the table contributes and is considered. Whilst this is the view of one regulator, we see this as fundamental in all forms of effective governance. We concur with the view that effective boards operate with strong awareness of their collective responsibility and actively draw upon members’ strengths, experience and diversity of thought. High standards of probity, the understanding of. and ability to act within, the parameters of the organisation’s constitution and values are equally important requirements.  We have previously provided some advice on how to avoid failings in governance – see  At a glance: Tips for avoiding governance failures in social housing – DTP and these still hold true.  Effective Boards and governing bodies should bring a thorough approach to scrutiny of outcomes, strong risk awareness and a strategic interest and curiosity about their organisation and seek assurance rather than receive reassurance. It is fair to say that the responsibility is serious and the remit is broad. DTP has a strong track record in delivering objective, fair and constructive reviews of governance effectiveness across many sectors. We seek to combine, just like non-executive directors, a balance of support and challenge in our reviews, to drive continuous improvement and high standards of governance. We are always happy to talk about governance (in fact we love to do so!). If you think we can help, please do get in touch with DTP Directors Angela Lomax or Sarah Jackson – [email protected] and [email protected] and take a look at some of our case studies on governance which are on our website.

Top Tips For Publishing Tenant Satisfaction Measures And The Annual Complaints Performance And Service Improvement Report

As we approach the time of year for two key annual submissions to the RSH and the Housing Ombudsman (HO) – the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM) and the Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report respectively – Registered Providers (RPs) will already be working on these documents to meet the June 2026 deadline and will likely be preparing reports into their governance structure to ensure appropriate oversight. A key part of these processes is publishing the information to customers.

Both these documents are about providers using customer feedback in a structured way to improve their delivery of landlord services. The RSH and the HO have been consistent in their messaging that landlords must be able to demonstrate clearly how they do this and the recent consultation on revisions to the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard and the Consumer Code of Practice sets a wider expectation that landlords ensure that their reported TSM information goes beyond compliance and provides a transparent reflection of their performance. With this in mind we have pulled together some top tips and good practice from what we have seen in the sector that may spark some thoughts or discussions within your organisation:

• Be open and transparent in where things are not going as well as expected. If you have lower scoring TSMs or have trends in complaints, highlight and acknowledge these – please do not hope they get lost in the detail! Let your customers know you are not happy with these areas, that you are committed to improving performance and tackling the root cause of the problem and confirm how you intend to do this.
• Shout about the plans you have in place to improve lower TSMs or address complaint trends. It is very rare that we see a provider who has not already drafted an action plan or implemented changes to their service to shift the dial of lower performing TSMs, poor complaint handling times or address fundamental issues that lead to complaints. Honesty with customers about where you are on your journey to improve these service areas is often appreciated – silence is not.
• Check your data is accurate, then check it again and check once more before you publish. Robust data underpins both the TSMs and the Annual Complaints report and it is critical that as a sector we can rely on accurate data sources. These often come from having a strong data management approach in place with good data controls. As TSMs and Complaints information are often published across a number of outlets, ensuring consistent performance data is used is also key. Boards should have assurance in relation to data accuracy and that required methodologies for collection and publication of data have been followed.
• Do not just rely on the website. Publishing TSMs and the Annual Complaints reports on your website is a great way to share this key information; however, have you considered how you can reach customers who cannot, or who would prefer not to, access your website? Making this information timely and accessible through more than one communication channel is a great way to connect with customers, share your performance and progress and build trust. It also demonstrates how you are complying with the requirements of the Consumer Standards.
• Connect your dots. There is significant overlap between the TSMs and Complaints and triangulating these two sources of feedback and information can often give a true reflection of landlord services. In the spirit of transparency, it’s always good to see where providers have used information from multiple sources to present a holistic picture.

It is also worth noting that the RSH updated the TSM Technical Requirements in March 2026 to confirm the approach to categorising responsive repairs following the introduction of Awaab’s Law and that a new TSM on electrical safety is proposed as part of the consultation on a revised Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.

If you would like to speak to one of the team to learn more about TSMs, Complaints, providing assurance to Boards or any other associated areas, please contact DTP Senior Consultant, Diane Carney – [email protected]

Consultations On Changes To The RSH Consumer Standards

We have seen two key consultations so far this year which will mean changes to the RSH Consumer Standard framework:

• The RSH consultation on updates to the Transparency, Influence and Accountability (TIA) Standard and the Consumer Standards Code of Practice occurred between December 2025 and March 2026. This is now closed and the RSH will publish the updated TIA Standard and Code of Practice to take effect from 1 October 2026. The key proposals in the consultation included: minor changes to reflect the requirement for private registered providers to comply with the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements, simplified reference to separate guidance on the Tenant Satisfaction Measures and inclusion of expectations around Competence and Conduct (see below).

• The Government’s consultation on the direction to the RSH to create a new Tenure Standard in light of the Renters’ Rights Act (2025) was published on the 2 April 2026 and closes on the 28 May 2026. Key changes of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 include abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, replacing assured shorthold tenancies with assured periodic (rolling) tenancies and removing fixed-term assured tenancies. The Government intends the Act to apply to the social housing sector from October 2027 and is requiring the RSH to update the Tenancy Standard to ensure alignment with the Act. Following the consultation, a direction will be issued to the RSH by October 2026 following which the RSH will need to consult on changes to the Tenancy Standard (in the same way as is currently happening for the TIA Standard).

Preparing For The Competence And Conduct Standard

The RSH is in its final stages of embedding the new Competence and Conduct Standard into its consumer regulation framework. Following the Government’s direction (published in late 2025), as mentioned above, the RSH consulted on revisions to the TIA Standard and the accompanying Code of Practice, which will set out what landlords must evidence on staff competence, behaviour and oversight.

Whilst the sector is still waiting for the outcome of the consultation to be published, there is quite a lot we can be getting on with including:

• Confirming existing colleagues’ qualifications – dates, levels and issuing body are always good things to know
• Reviewing standard documentation to identify where changes may need to be made to mirror the requirements – policies, tenders and job descriptions to name but a few
• Identifying roles that may fall into compliance with the new requirements

The revised requirements are expected to take effect from October 2026, with a transition period for any qualification requirements which gives a decent window to start preparations.

If you would like to speak to one of the team to learn more about how the Competence and Conduct requirements could impact you and how you can prepare, please do get in touch with DTP Senior Consultant, Diane Carney – [email protected]

Regulator of Social Housing Data Returns

The RSH has published updated guidance for its data collection for 2025/26. There are different requirements depending upon the type of provider and size and further guidance around the various returns, requirements and key dates and can be found here.

The Statistical Data Returns for Private Registered Providers are due by 31 May 2026. As is usual, there are some changes to the questions this year, which are outlined in the NROSH guidance and documents area of its website and can be found here.

Of particular interest for large providers (more than 1000 homes), there are revisions and new questions around stock condition to improve clarity. Two new questions have been introduced into the stock condition section which ask landlords to summarise their approach to calculating year-end Decent Homes Standard (DHS) fails and which organisation(s) carried out their most recent stock condition survey.  These are voluntary for the 2026 SDR collection however there is an expectation that providers provide their best effort in answering them. Providers must now report the number of homes found to fail at the point of inspection through the most recent stock condition survey.

Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Act 2026

In February 2026, the Senedd passed the Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill, which received Royal Assent in April 2026, becoming the Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Act 2026. The Act reforms:

• Duties on public bodies to prevent homelessness earlier (up to 6 months before risk crystallises)
• The allocation of social housing to prioritise those most at risk

A statement issued by Jayne Bryant MS, Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government can be found here.

Welsh Government Rent And Income Policy – Rent and Service Charge Standard 2026–2036

The Welsh Government has confirmed a new 10‑year Rent and Service Charge Standard from April 2026 (2026–2036), providing long‑term certainty for social landlords and tenants.

Key features confirmed by Ministers include:

• Annual rent increases capped at CPI + 1% (with downward adjustments if CPI exceeds certain thresholds)
• Landlords are required to undertake annual affordability assessments (which should be approved by Boards and reported in self-certification monitoring forms)
• Landlords are expected to set service charges which are reasonable and affordable Landlords are required to review service charges annually, ensure they provide value for money for tenants, and are affordable. Landlords are required to list their service charges separately to the rent to allow for transparency to tenants

The Standard applies to social housing only with forms of supported housing including extra care housing and any form of non-contained housing being excluded. A copy of the new Rent and Service Charge Standard can be found here.

Regulation of Social Landlords in Wales – Regulatory Framework and Returns

The Regulatory Framework for Welsh Registered Social Landlords (August 2025) remains in force throughout 2026. In April 2026, the Welsh Government published the Registered Social Landlord regulatory timetable for 2026–27, setting deadlines for:

• Statutory accounts
• Management accounts
• Treasury reports
• 30‑year financial forecasts

Late or repeated missed submissions are explicitly stated to influence regulatory judgements.

Sector commentary confirms the framework places stronger expectations on:

• Board self‑evaluation
• Data accuracy
• Assessment of risks to social housing assets posed by subsidiaries or joint ventures
• Expectations on high quality service delivery and high satisfaction levels
• Evidence of how tenant voice influences decisions

Welsh Housing Quality Standards (WHQS) Hazard Response Rule

From 1 April 2026, a new WHQS Hazard Response Addendum formally comes into force for social landlords in Wales. The Addendum introduces explicit duties to:

• Identify and remediate health‑related hazards promptly
• Prioritise damp and mould as a key risk area
• Publish response times and performance data

The rule operates alongside existing duties under:

• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016
• Fitness for Human Habitation (Wales) Act 2022

A copy of the Addendum can be found here.

Social Housing In Scotland

The Scottish Housing Regulator has announced its 2026 programme of Annual Assurance Statement visits, focusing explicitly on how governing bodies obtain evidence-based assurance that regulatory outcomes are met and prepare their Annual Assurance Statement. The social landlords to be visited include Ayrshire Housing, Cairn Housing Association, Cassiltoun Housing Association, Drumchapel Housing Co-operative, Falkirk Council, Kingdom Housing Association, Shire Housing Association, South Lanarkshire Council and Yorkhill Housing Association.

It has also recently recruited 18 independent, volunteer Tenant Advisors to help it ensure tenants remain at the forefront of its work. Further information can be found here.

The Scottish Government has also published the Coming Home Action Plan 2026, backed by £20m of funding, to reduce delayed hospital discharge by enabling people with learning disabilities and complex support needs to return to community-based housing.  Coming Home is jointly led by the Scottish Government and COSLA and arrangements are being put in place to provide oversight and support for the delivery of the plan.

Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 Implementation

The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act became law in August 2023. The Act gives the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government powers to:

• Introduce National Supported Housing Standards for England
• Require English local authorities to create locally led supported accommodation licensing schemes
• Introduce a strategic planning duty for local authorities, which will include collecting data on the supply of homes, a forecast of future need, and a delivery plan
• Creation of an expert Advisory Panel to monitor the sector, which will report to the Secretary of State

The Act is currently in its implementation phase with some key milestones outlined recently:

• Local Authorities have to produce Local Supported Housing Strategies by 31 March 2027
• The Supported Housing Advisory Panel has been established which is Chaired by Sir David Pearson  who co-chaired the Social Care Institute for Excellence’s 2020 commission on the role of housing in the future of care and support. Membership includes Chief Executives from a range of care and support housing associations and charities

Hot off the press, the Government published its response to the 16 April 2026 which DTP are still reviewing and will publish further guidance in due course however early reading indicates some changes to the original proposals which will be pleasing for many to read.

A copy of the full response can be found here. It is confirmed that regulations are now being drafted by both the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Work and Pensions and the MHCLG will consult on their regulations in late 2026. The Government will also consider (in partnership with stakeholders), the best way to provide housing support to those in long term supported housing.

If you’d like to know more about how the Act may impact your organisation, please contact DTP Director, Sarah Jackson – [email protected]

Use of Artificial Intelligence

The National Housing Federation published an informative report in March 2026 ‘How Housing Associations are adapting to AI’. The report provides feedback from a membership survey on AI in 2025 and features 7 case studies from various providers who share their experiences and innovations in using AI. An executive summary of the report can be found here with a further link to download the full report.

DTP – What We Do

At DTP, we have a values-based approach to our work, providing expert advice in a people focussed way, which delivers tailored solutions. We help our clients improve how they are governed, managed and financed. Our reputation is built on delivering solutions that work in practice and we want to stand out from the competition by blending deep sector insight with actionable knowledge, all to achieve outstanding outcomes for your organisation.

Here are a few of examples of feedback from our recent client surveys:

“We repaid three of our loans saving on interest going forward. We would not have had the confidence to do this without input from DTP”

“As with all work DTP undertakes for us, this was professional and thorough”

“DTP is a trusted partner that has always delivered for me”

We sometimes get asked about the range of services we offer – to find out more visit our website and ‘what we do’ page here. In summary the services we offer are:

• Governance and Regulation– including governance reviews and general support, board member appraisal support, regulatory compliance ‘health checks’ and assessments, preparation for inspection, Rent Standard audits and rent setting advice 
• Strategy – including strategy formulation, review and development, reviewing group structures, facilitating board and executive workshops, provision of strategic leadership
• Compliance and Improvement – including critical friend support following regulatory engagement, advice and support to improve regulatory gradings, advice and support in developing action plans, evaluation of governance structures and effectiveness, provision of strategic leadership and Housing Ombudsman determination and post-coroner incident case review
• Finance, Business Planning and Treasury – including strategic and operational advice and support, developing financial resilience, stress testing, Brixx financial modelling, treasury management, arranging short and long-term funding, undertaking financial health checks, financial benchmarking for new developments
• Risk Management and Assurance – including developing risk management frameworks, developing and reviewing strategic risk registers/maps, developing approaches to ‘risk appetite,’ reviewing effectiveness of risk and audit committees, developing risk based ‘stress tests,’ retained risk management service and supporting embedding of risk management best practice at both strategic and operational level.
• Merger, Partnership and Due Diligence – including advice and support in developing organisational appetite for mergers/partnerships, brokering and project managing mergers and partnerships, advising on and undertaking due diligence
• Organisational Development and Design – including advising on and reviewing organisational structures, organisational culture and culture change, stakeholder engagement, employee engagement
• Training and Development – including Rent Standard compliance, merger process and developing a merger position statement, risk and risk appetite, stress testing, recovery and resilience, effective risk management, financial business planning and budgeting, governance purpose, frameworks and best practice, how to be an effective board member, effective report writing, value for money in social housing, consumer regulation
• Interim Leadership and Board/Committee Member Recruitment – including senior interim leadership placements, board and committee recruitment, reviewing board and committee remuneration policy and levels

Here is a reminder of some of our most recent webinars, podcasts and DTP Views (with links provided) all aimed at providing valuable insight and sharing good practice. We share these via our social media and on our website.

If you missed our recent webinars you can review the recordings via the links below:

DTP Webinar – Compliance with the Rent Standard and Rent Convergence – Tuesday 3 March 2026

DTP Podcasts, Webinars and DTP Views

Here is a reminder of some of our most recent webinars, podcasts and DTP Views (with links provided) all aimed at providing valuable insight and sharing good practice. We share these via our social media and on our website.
If you missed our recent webinars you can review the recordings via the links below:

DTP Webinar – Delivering High Quality, Customer Focused Services – Wednesday 28 January 2026

DTP Webinar – Assurance Frameworks for Governing Bodies – Monday 17 November 2025

You can also catch up on past events and publications

DTP Views: Preparing for the Social Tenants Access to Information Requirements (STAIRS)

DTP Briefing: Top Tips for Rent Setting

DTP Briefing (Webinar and Blog): Rent Convergence: What it means, why it matters, what providers need to prepare for

DTP Podcast – Navigating the Failure to Prevent Fraud Regulation

DTP Briefing (Webinar): The Rent Standard and Regulatory Compliance

DTP Briefing (Webinar): Learning from Early Regulatory Inspections

DTP Podcast – Meet the Client – Salix Homes: Learning from the Regulator of Social Housing Inspection

DTP Podcast – Understanding Assets and Liabilities Registers

All of our podcasts are available on our YouTube channel here DTP – YouTube

DTP Views – Rethinking Risk: Five Essentials for Boards to Consider on Away Days

DTP Views – Understanding Assets and Liabilities Registers (Marcus Evans)

DTP Views – Housing Association Boards: Why External Financial Assurance Matters (Andy Roskell)

DTP Views – Financial Benchmarking for Development in Social Housing: A Pathway to Success (Andy Chapman)

To keep up to date with all of our publications and general activity, you can follow us on LinkedIn by using this link DTP LinkedIn

DTP Case Studies

All of our past case studies are on our website and shared via our social media channels as they are released. In case you missed our most recent case studies, we have provided links to these below:

Greatwell Homes – New Funding

South Lakes Housing – Loan Due Diligence

South Lakes Housing – New Funding

CHS Group – Governance Review

Trident Group – Post Housing Ombudsman Determination Independent Review

ACH – Regulatory Compliance Review

Maryhill Housing – Strategic Review

Dimensions – Governance Review

We hope that you’ve enjoyed our most recent briefing, don’t forget, feedback as always is greatly appreciated.