Providing the right homes in the right places – in the right condition
At its core, Home Group provides homes for people who need them.
We have been doing this for 90 years, bringing experience, stability
and strength to the social housing sector.
Home Group owns and manages around 59,000 homes across England and Scotland, with around 125,000 customers living in rented homes. That’s around 70% of our properties, with supported housing accounting for around 10% and shared ownership homes making up around 15% of our portfolio.
Over the past five years, we have invested £670m in our homes, including £277m in responsive repairs. This equates to £2000 per home per year.
While we have always set high standards for the homes we develop, over the decades, the standards and the specifications of homes have evolved and improved. Customer expectations of what makes a good quality home have (rightly) risen too. With increased scrutiny on the social housing sector in recent years, we must continually evolve and improve to stay at the top of our game. Not only is it the right thing to do for our customers, but it adds value commercially. Like all housing associations, we face challenges in the future. Our homes are ageing and they’re located across several (very different) areas, as well as sustainability requirements and climate impacts.
This strategy sets out how Home Group will manage, invest in, and make decisions about our homes over the next five years, ensuring they continue to be safe, sustainable, affordable, and fit for the future.
Why managing our homes strategically matters
We will strengthen the data we hold on our homes, and use this to understand how they perform, their investment needs and to inform decisions about their long-term future, identifying opportunities for regeneration.
Better data
We will take a strategic approach to managing our portfolio - our growth aspirations, national and regional footprint, preferred property and tenure types. We will take a
data-led approach to identify opportunities for rationalisation and growth. We will
work with our regional teams to align with their local plans.
Improved
portfolio management
Teams and colleagues will be supported to build the right skills, knowledge and expertise to strategically manage our assets, using improved systems and technology.
Building the capacity of
our people
All of our homes must meet regulatory requirements and be free from hazards. We will work in partnership with customers to clearly define standards for our homes and to understand where we should prioritise investment and maintenance.
Providing safe, well-maintained homes
Key areas of focus in the next five years
We will set out a roadmap for all our homes to be more energy efficient – specifically EPC rating C by 2030 - helping customers to heat and power their homes more affordably. We will shape our investment decisions around the needs of different customer groups to improve tenancy sustainment and customer satisfaction with their home.
Sustainable
and affordable homes for our customers
By 2031 the strategy aims to:
What we'll deliver by 2031
Our customers and communities must be at the heart of decision-making about their homes and communities and we will work with them throughout the delivery of this strategy. Home Group will always consult customers directly where any plans affect their home.
Customers will be involved in:
Working with our customers
We will:
Our customer commitments
Regularly survey and assess the condition of homes (at least every five years).
Invest in upgrades and repairs to meet new standards.
Engage with you on decisions about your home and community.
Ensure homes are free from hazards like damp and mould.
Explore new technologies to improve comfort and sustainability.
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Summary
How we'll deliver our asset strategy
Our customer commitments
Working with our customers
What we'll deliver by 2031
Key areas of focus
Why managing our homes strategically matters
About our homes
About our homes
Home Group asset strategy
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Social and financial value
To continue investing in new and existing homes, Home Group must ensure the homes it owns provide both social value
(for customers) and financial value
(to support future development).
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Home Group operates in 188 different local authority areas
Some of which only have a small numbers of homes, making it harder to deliver efficient services. In 82 local authority areas, Home Group owns fewer than 50 homes, and in 32, ten or fewer. These will be reviewed to determine the best long term approach.
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Nearly half of all homes are more than 35 years old
This will rise significantly by 2035. Older homes may become harder
or more expensive to maintain.
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Government proposals for a revised
Decent Homes Standard
This may require new types of investment (e.g. floor coverings in all rooms when relet). Increasing customer expectations mean that we must work with our customers to define
a ‘Home Group standard’ too.
59,000
homes across the UK
supported housing
10%
rented homes
70%
shared ownership
15%
35 years +
Energy performance
Around 14,000 homes still need improvements to achieve EPC B and C by 2030. This is a major investment priority.
A planned, data driven approach helps identify where our homes are performing well, where investment (such as refurbishment, redevelopment or regeneration) is needed, and where disposal may be the right choice when homes aren’t viable.
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188 local authorities
Build a resilient housing portfolio
for decades to come
Make fair,
informed decisions that balance customer needs with financial responsibility
Respond
to ageing stock, regulation, and
climate pressures
Invest
wisely based
on strong data
Provide
safe, sustainable,
good quality homes
Our asset strategy ensures Home Group can:
Summary
Progress will be tracked through action plans, delivery through regional plans with regional accountability and ownership. We will regularly report to executive teams and the board.
Build long term frameworks and make robust decisions about future investment and regeneration.
Phase 2
Good to great
Focus on strong foundations: reliable data, systems, and core processes.
Phase 1
Brilliant basics (12-24 months)
How we'll deliver our asset strategy
Build a strong foundation for managing the portfolio long term.
Ensure decisions about homes are backed by accurate data on our homes, updated regularly and with a condition survey that is no more than five years old on at least 90% of homes.
Define our optimum portfolio size and tenure blend - both regionally, working with local teams, and nationally, to inform our growth and consolidation planning.
Maintain rolling five-year investment plans supported by a 30-year investment forecast.
Work in partnership with our customers to agree a “standard for our homes”, setting out expectations for quality and materials and shaping our investment plans.
Use customer insight to understand how shaping our programmes around different customer needs could improve tenancy sustainability and long-term financial viability.
Review local authority areas where we hold less than 100 homes and consider alternatives such as sale or transfer where we aren’t delivering the best possible service to our customers.
Improve all homes to at least EPC Band C by 2030, helping customers reduce energy costs and environmental impact.
Mapping the potential impact of climate change and extreme weather events on our homes and developing mitigation strategies.
Establish a roadmap to achieve net zero carbon homes by 2050, including modelling the performance of our homes against the expected standards of the future, supporting good investment decisions and plans for longer-term regeneration.
Our homes will be safe, free from damp and mould and other hazards with customers receiving responsive maintenance service with upper quartile performance.
A robust governance framework will keep us accountable for delivering these objectives. Ownership sits at board level, with strategic oversight at executive level. Close alignment between our asset teams and regional plans drive ownership and accountability at a more local level.
We will develop a clear roadmap for our homes to be net zero carbon by 2050 and identify opportunities to reduce the impact of environmental/climate change such as flooding or overheating on our homes.
Responding to and planning for environmental demands
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Understanding how their homes are managed
Providing insight for options appraisals
Testing new technologies
Setting standards and priorities
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