Chair

John Cross
CEO
BPHA

Speakers

Nigel Armstrong
Director
Weedon Grant Ltd

Richard Broomfield
Principal
Portfolio Development Consultancy

Greg Campbell
Director
Campbell Tickell

Sharon Claughton
Principal Planner
Donaldsons LLP

Dr Anthony Lee
Director of Affordable Housing
Atisreal

Andy McCosh
Strategic Projects Director
Kier Partnership Homes Ltd

Lynda Peacock
Director of Development & Regeneration
Three Rivers Housing Group

Ian Perry
Chief Executive
Harvest Housing Group

Richard Petty
Partner, Head of Residential
Drivers Jonas

Jane Rennie
Associate
Donaldsons LLP

Julian Thompson
Partner and Head of Housing
Donaldsons LLP

Programme

This briefing is on how to do business with RSLs and Unregistered Housing Associations (UHAs)

How Housing Associations are changing in what they do and how they do it
• Creating hybrids
• Reinvigorating housing design
• Innovation and energy efficiency
• Live/work housing
• Communities, design and funding

What is the Government’s agenda – what are they trying to make happen? What is the role of the Housing Corporation? In an environment where the merger of the Housing Corporation with English Partnerships is on the agenda, what can we say for certain, or at least is possible?
• Housing need – increasing the supply of affordable homes
• Grant funding – ensuring the effective use of financial resources
• Social engineering – promoting mixed tenure communities
• Lean and mean RSLs – the efficiency agenda
• Tough regulation – upholding the reputation of the sector
• Where does the Audit Commission fit in?
• Creation of a super-quango – merger with English Partnerships?
• Will a change of government make any difference?

The implications of ‘planning’ in general and PPS3: Housing in particular on the way to do business with Housing Associations
• Why review PPG3: Housing?
• What was the draft PPS3: Housing trying to achieve?
• Reactions to draft PPS3: Housing
• Where to from here?
• How will PPS3 affect the way developers deal with RSLs?

How the affordable housing product is changing. How developers can work profitably with RSLs
• Registered Social Landlords/Housing Associations are evolving into new areas. What RSLs can and can’t do to ensure developers can work profitably with them
• What does Homebuy mean? What is the future for intermediate tenure?
• Rent or Homebuy? Why tenure is so important. What is the future for keyworker housing?
• Maximising developers’ profit from affordable housing
• End of the Total Cost Indicator (TCI). How do RSLs calculate how much they can afford? How does this affect the developer?
• Can the RSL be the ‘first choice’ customer?
• Modern methods of construction? Can they make a scheme more profitable?

When do developers NEED to do business with a Housing Association?
• Registered Social Landlords are big business. Why do RSLs exist? What do they do?
• How are they structured? What are their aims and objectives?
• When and why do developers need RSLs?
• Where does local authority housing fit into all this? With many local authorities seeking up to 50% affordable housing developers need to do business with RSLs

Strategies and tactics to follow. Who to speak to about what
• Understanding the Government’s housing agenda and how it affects what you do
• Registered Social Landlords – the new developers? What changes are RSLs making to the way they develop?
• How the Housing Needs Survey affects you as developers?
• Who to speak to about: Planning, Housing, RSLs
• The local authority may seek mainly social rent housing and not be supportive of grant. Do planning requirements and Housing Needs Survey mean that the developer is required to provide a particular form of affordable housing?
• What does intermediate tenure mean? What are the different forms of low cost home ownership? Why do local authorities still prefer social rent?
• The National Affordable Housing Programme has changed the way RSLs do business; how does this affect you?

Alternative approaches
• Cutting out RSLs
- Social Housing Grant to developers and its implications
- Setting up your own RSL and the implications of doing so
- Developing affordable housing without Social

Housing Grant
• Parallel opportunities to working with RSLs
- Owner manager (retaining) councils – the size of this market compared to that of RSLs, and these organisations' issues
- Councils with arms length management organisations (ALMOs) – the size of this market compared to that of RSLs, and these organisations' issues

What are RSLs? What they do and how they are run. How they are managed. How they are funded. What their decision making procedures are
• RSLs – a mini-history
• What do all the terms mean?
• Charities or businesses?
• How are they run? How are they regulated?
• Key current trends in the sector
• Partners or competitors?

All developers need to know about the Social Housing Grant
• Unravelling the mysteries of this source of subsidy for affordable housing
• History of Social Housing Grant
• Who can get it
• How to get it
• What it can and can’t be used for
• What the future might hold for Social Housing Grant

What do Housing Associations want?
• Housing Associations want products and services:
- To time
- To cost
- To quality
• With people who understand us and bring:
- Innovation
- Partnership working
- Relationship management
- Risk management
- Managed processes

The implications of the Housing Corporation National Affordable Housing Programme 2006-2008
• Subsidy for affordable housing – what is available under the programme?
• Shifting the burden from the public to the private sector
• Is a ‘no grant’ policy realistic?
• The role of viability appraisals in securing grant
• Is a no grant policy creating a supply of housing that meets needs?

The implications for building standards and methods
• Scheme Development Standards (SDS)
• Commitment to innovation and sustainability
• Implications for product and process improvement
• Modern methods of construction – Housing Corporation requirements
• Modern methods of construction – definitions and interpretation
• Continuous improvement and supply chain integration