3 ways social housing providers can improve outcomes using asset data

With some social housing developments in the UK failing to meet minimum regulatory standards, the government’s focus on building safety and housing quality has never been higher. Providers are under pressure to improve building quality, while residents are rightly demanding robust plans and demonstrable outcomes for the homes they live in.

However, some providers lack clarity on the state of their buildings. Old or incomplete data, sometimes held in different or incompatible systems, or even sitting on shelves, challenges their ability to understand the present and future needs of properties, and prevents asset and repair teams from working together effectively.

The type of data being collected can, in turn, hamper accurate insights that could help in directing focus towards the critical issues.

High quality data enables providers to identify critical issues and provide more accurate data to advisors, valuers and asset managers, which increases confidence in the conclusions drawn.

Better data practices are needed – but social housing providers face several challenges. In the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the awful, recent death of a child from mould exposure, an uptick in inspections, remedial safety works and the administrative requirements of the new Building Safety Bill are eating into many providers’ budgets, affecting their development and capital replacement programmes.

Here are three ways housing providers can improve their asset data to tackle these challenges, unlock the value in their buildings and, importantly, improve quality of life for tenants.

Validating the accuracy of existing data is critical to understanding the current condition of a building and establishing a strategy for improvements. The leveraging of existing data surveys, perhaps augmented with additional data fields, rather than commissioning all-new surveys, also helps with limiting costs.

If data can be validated by a third party, this can give additional confidence to the board, business plan, investment community and valuers. This may, in turn, have a positive effect on the financial strength of the organisation.

Understanding the type and level of data to collect is key. Surveys may contain too few questions or lack relevance by querying issues people faced 5 or 10 years ago.

For example, how well served are ESG objectives by the current data? The Net Zero Carbon requirement is now real and pressing, with EPC rating improvements on the near horizon. Providers need to challenge the priorities of the information they’re collecting.

Other important data that’s not often included in stock condition surveys are structural and technical considerations that can impact building safety and capital investment decisions.

The presence and condition of ventilation fans, for example, is an attribute few surveyors track, yet it has a significant impact on condensation and mould in kitchens and bathrooms.

Better stock condition surveys can help to unlock value; high quality data at good volume gives providers a clearer picture of building condition as well as future repair and replacement costs. This means they can identify and prioritise issues to focus their resources strategically on how best to improve not only financial outcomes, but also social value and the wellbeing of tenants in their homes.

Connecting stock condition data with day-to-day asset management data enables more accurate, deeper insights into the lifespan of building attributes and whether residents’ needs are being met.

For example, good reactive maintenance by a housing association might highlight that their kitchens have a lifecycle beyond the regulatory minimum; or a particular provider that replaces its boilers more frequently might update its repair forecast. 

This data-driven approach can be used to facilitate analysis that identifies trends or propensity for technical issues such as damp and mould. It supports spending projections and ensures housing associations pay the right costs, enabling better planning for a safe and healthy tenant environment.

The importance of having accurate, validated and relevant data has never been greater. Being able to share that data with confidence can unlock better outcomes for organisations, residents, funders and regulators.

For more information on how JLL can help you unlock better outcomes, please contact Simon Latson.