The Editor’s Rundown: low-interest loans at 0.1%, rent convergence and decent homes

However, some lamented the delayed start to the policy. Scott Martin, chief financial officer at Karbon Homes, welcomed the ‘phased approach’ of the policy (in increasing from £1 in the first year to £2 in the second) as part of ensuring “affordability for… customers” while supporting the group’s finances.

“However,” he added, “we’re disappointed that this has been deferred for a year. For Karbon, that means a loss of £1.5m from now until April 2029, an amount which would have supported the building of over 110 new homes.”

The announcement on rent convergence was accompanied by a slew of other long-awaited policy details. Providers now face a deadline of 2035 to meet the updated Decent Homes Standard (DHS), for which criteria were confirmed on Thursday (29 January). These include requirements around damp and mould for the first time, along with minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) now forming part of the DHS.

To comply with MEES, social homes must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C rating by meeting any one metric, at the landlord’s discretion, under the reformed EPC system by 1 April 2030. Using the reformed metrics, providers must then achieve an EPC C rating against a second EPC metric by 1 April 2039 – or register a valid exemption. In line with the rest of the DHS, compliance will be monitored by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).

If that all sounds rather expensive, there was support elsewhere intended to support new homes delivery.

Flexibility and low-interest loans

The government announced new flexibility on Housing Revenue Account rules for councils, alongside “time-limited” measures to unlock uncontracted Section 106 homes.

And details were published on the previously promised £2.5bn of low-interest loans for registered providers, to be administered by the National Housing Bank and the Greater London Authority. The government confirmed that the products would have an interest rate of just 0.1 per cent and a term of 25 years, and would be unsecured and subordinated. Priority will be given to loans that would lead to a “substantial increase” in the number of homes that can be delivered.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook also revealed that 60 per cent (£1.5bn) of the package would be allocated to London in light of what he called the “acute challenges facing providers in the capital” operating there.

Finance leaders have heralded the detail of the loans, with some noting that the products will help to ‘crowd in’ further finance.

Tom Paul, chief financial officer at Southern Housing, has advocated a product of this kind for nearly a decade. For Mr Paul, the news marked a “culmination of discussions with officials and others over a number of years”, and he was “really delighted” the government had listened. 

He said: “This new route to subsidise investment into social housing will help solve the principal problem of housing association development capacity – historically low interest cover metrics – while delivering better value for money for the taxpayer than grant subsidy models.”

This ‘principal problem’ was again highlighted during the month, as the RSH’s Global Accounts data confirmed EBITDA MRA interest fell below 100 per cent for a second year in a row.

Finance deals

Nevertheless, housing providers continued to sign finance deals. Orbit Group secured new finance of £75m as part of a Lloyds refinancing exercise. Meanwhile, ForHousing completed a £215m refinance with NatWest and Barclays, with plans to invest in existing homes and fund the delivery of 1,100 new homes for social rent over the next four years. And First Choice Homes Oldham completed a £110m refinancing exercise with Santander.

In the first ‘funder view’ interview of our series, Andrew Whelan, managing director for real estate at Santander, told Social Housing why the bank has set its sights on growth this year, after doubling lending to £3bn in 2025.

Special report

Our special report this month explores why growth in shared ownership sales has slowed to a five-year low of one per cent, and how a distinct regional picture is emerging. Read the analysis and download the data in full in Keith Cooper and Chloe Stothart’s report.

Mergers and moves

Elsewhere, Wales’ largest housing, care and support provider has rebranded a year and a half after being formed through merger. Pobl Group and Linc Cymru, which joined the group as a subsidiary in April 2024, have now rebranded to Codi Group.

In England, Bromford Flagship completed its merger with LiveWest on 29 January, to create a nearly 123,000-home provider. During the month, the groups (now group) also announced a new chief financial officer following an external appointment. Jo Makinson, currently chief investment officer at Abri, will take up the role in the spring.

In other HR news, a handful of big exits were announced during the month. At Home Group, which manages 57,000 homes across England and Scotland, Mark Henderson will retire as chief executive after 18 years.

At the Housing Ombudsman, Richard Blakeway will step down from the eponymous post at the end of July after almost seven years in charge of the body, in line with the two-term maximum.

Finally, at another regulator to the sector, a renewed push is being made to accelerate progress on fixing unsafe high-rise buildings. The Building Safety Regulator, which also became a standalone agency during the month, will unveil a new remediation plan to tackle a backlog of cases affecting almost 25,000 homes.

Find links below to all the latest regulatory stories, development deals, appointments, market digest and our ‘editor’s picks’.

Sarah Williams, editor, Social Housing