Welcome back!

After a restorative break here at Hough Bellis we’re all back at our desks, pencils sharpened (or iPads charged) – which is good news because there’s already so much to get stuck into. If you were hoping for another month of relative hibernation during these dim and dismal January weeks, then please accept our apologies: we’ve got a bumper update for you today.
In the days before parliament broke up for Christmas, the government slipped out a range of housing and property policies that will have a major impact on your work this year.
Most significant of these was the long-awaited Homes England strategic plan, which finally dropped around about the time you were pouring your first sherry of the season.
Overnight, ITV’s investigations editor Dan Hewitt grilled Housing Secretary Steve Reed on what Labour is doing to solve the housing crisis and whether they will get to their 1.5m home target – you can hear his views on Right to Buy (he’s supportive!) and who social housing should be for – here.
As always, we also bring you a digest of the other important news from over the last two months, from the government’s new homelessness strategy to the latest on the Building Safety Regulator.
Then, of course, there’s the looming question over whether 2026 could bring us a new Prime Minister… and what the local elections might mean for housing.
We hope this newsletter helps get you started for a productive and positive 2026. Thank you once again for working with us as we keep making the case for housing and communities.
The Hough Bellis team
NEW YEAR, NEW KEIR? 
Can Starmer hold on? And if he’s pushed, who will replace him?
For a man who won a 174-seat majority less than two years ago, it’s perhaps staggering that we are even pondering if Keir Starmer will survive 2026 as PM.
But… here we are. Politics is brutal and times are strange.
There is already a sense that the PM is a leader no longer shaping events but reacting to them. Labour governs, but can it persuade? Another round up U-turns to kick of the new year won’t have been what they wanted.
The next few months will therefore be make-or-break for Starmer’s premiership. So, if he can’t survive, who might replace him?
We unpack who could be in line to take over, and their views on the world of housing here.
NEWS ROUND UP: YOUR HANDY GUIDE TO EVERYTHING YOU ALMOST MISSED LAST YEAR
HOMES ENGLAND STRATEGIC PLAN – FINALLY!
When it finally arrived after much speculation, there were no particular surprises in the Homes England 2025-30 strategic plan. There is, as expected, an aggressive and unapologetic focus on the delivery of new homes.
The document sets six strategic objectives for the agency in its 2025-30 period:
·       To significantly increase new housing supply and accelerate housing delivery across all tenures.
·       To deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable homes in a generation.
·       To unlock new institutional investment for housing and mixed-use schemes and deliver financial returns.
·       To collaborate with partners and local leaders to enable development and regeneration that boosts local economic growth.
·       To foster innovation and create market conditions to support a dynamic, diverse, and sustainable built environment and housing sector.
·       To ensure homes are safe, secure and decent, and residents are safeguarded.
Despite coming from a 25-year career in the prison and probation service, rather than housing, newly arrived Homes England chief executive Amy Rees has much experience of delivery-focused leadership and appears to understand the scale of the task that lies ahead. Announcing the strategy, she said secure housing is the foundation of society.
The plan is ambitious: Homes England aims to hit 280,000 new homes over that period and also unlock land that could create an additional 400,000, so it represents a rapid push forward in the government’s housebuilding programme. Rees says this contribution would comfortably meet Homes England’s share of the government’s 1.5 million homes target for this parliament.
The document states: “Through our strategic partnerships with housing associations, social landlords and other affordable housing providers, we will continue to support partners that have the ambition, capacity and track record required to deliver at scale. This includes providing greater certainty of grant funding and greater delivery flexibilities.” And it confirms that this will also include large regeneration schemes and brokering infrastructure investment with local mayors and councillors.
But it also calls on housing associations to “bring bold ideas and ambition to create housing and regeneration opportunities that deliver real and lasting benefits for communities. Work with us to accelerate delivery at scale – focusing on brownfield and regeneration opportunities and unlocking housing sites where progress has stalled. Help us to attract and grow investment by backing innovation, supporting new entrants and demonstrating that there is a strong, diverse market for housing and regeneration.”
It warns that housing providers must “aim higher” on quality, design and sustainability, working beyond minimum legal standards and putting their residents at the heart of housing delivery.
Banking on housing
Central to the plan is the National Housing Bank, launching in April with £16bn and the potential to unlock more than £50bn in private investment. Alongside £27bn of grant funding through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP), the bank will also enable more flexible, long-term and innovative financing models, combining grants, low-interest loans, guarantees and equity to close viability gaps.
Rees is clear that a grant alone will never be enough and is encouraging housing providers to be more innovative with their balance sheets. The bank will give Homes England greater autonomy and speed, reducing reliance on short-term Treasury funding cycles and enabling quicker delivery decisions.
Homes England will prioritise so-called ‘shovel-ready schemes’ and make tough choices about where it invests, while still committing to long-term regeneration. Housing providers will need to show they are ready with viable plans, strong governance in place, and a willingness to work in partnership if they want to benefit.
You can download the full strategy here
HOMELESSNESS AND TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION 
A new strategy to tackle homelessness – but can Labour make it work? 
More long-awaited government policy finally dropped in December with the publication of its £3.5bn homelessness and rough sleeping strategy. The National Plan to End  Homelessness, promised in Labour’s 2024 manifesto, is a cross-departmental plan that aims to “rewire the system” so that support is focused where it is needed most to break the cycle of homelessness and reduce the high cost of managing homeless households.
The strategy is built around three core pledges:
 The main policy measures introduced are:
Progress will be monitored by the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping to ensure transparency and accountability. Housing secretary Steve Reed described the ambitious strategy as building “a future where homelessness is rare, brief and not repeated”, while newly-appointed homelessness minister Alison McGovern (we mentioned her arrival in our last update) emphasised the “collective responsibility” of government, councils, charities and communities to make this happen.
How has the housing sector responded?
Reactions have been positive, but immediate concerns were raised about gaps in the strategy, whether there is sufficient funding to meet its ambitions and the absence of key measures needed to achieve the government’s goals. There has been broad support for the focus on prevention, early intervention and commitments to stop people being discharged from hospitals and prisons into homelessness. Crisis described the new obligations on hospital and prison discharge as “very welcome”.
Top concerns:
Common complaints about the strategy include:
But nevertheless, this is a big step forward for the homelessness sector. For the first time in over a decade, the ambition is there to make real change happen. There are many reasons for enthusiasm.
CASH TO CUT DEPRIVATION
Another welcome pledge from the government was a £78bn settlement for local authorities to tackle areas of deprivation, part of Labour’s big shake-up in the way councils are funded by central government. The funding will be allocated to those areas with the greatest need and give councils more independence over the local services they choose to spend their money on.
The government claimed that the settlement meant that by the end of the funding period, councils would have an increase of 23 per cent in their core spending power. The overhaul of the council funding system is designed to reflect the real and constantly growing cost of local services, and the poorest 10 per cent of councils have been told to expect a 24 per cent per person funding boost for their areas. Big promises, with huge expectations attached.
But the settlement did not satisfy those who fear that allocation is unfairly and unevenly distributed, and that local councils are still strapped for the cash they need to deliver safe and high-quality public services to residents.
Chair of the Local Government Association Louise Gittins said the multi-year agreement had not convinced her members that emergency measures would not still be required for councils during the forthcoming funding period.
The LGA is still calling for funding that will “fully meet spiralling cost and demand pressures” and a cross-party review of the wider local government finance system.
Within the government settlement, it was confirmed that the£600 million Recovery Grant will continue, focused on areas most affected by long-term underfunding, alongside a new Recovery Grant Guarantee to provide above-inflation increases for some councils. Council tax increases are capped at 3% per year, with an additional 2% allowed for adult social care – but six councils with historically low council tax levels will be granted temporary flexibility to increase bills.
Other changes embedded in the overhaul of funding include allowing councils to keep all extra council tax raised from new homes to encourage growth – a very long overdue commitment that has been celebrated by local leaders.
SAFETY IN NUMBERS 
Lords committee hits out at Building Safety Regulator delays
Elsewhere, change is happening at a more gastropod-ical pace. Delays at the Building Safety Regulator – which are leaving thousands of potential homes unbuilt – were attacked by the Lords Committee on Industry and Regulators.
A lengthy report by the cross-party Lords group found that “unacceptable” delays in the BSR’s approval process were not only at risk of causing the government to miss its target of developing 1.5m new homes by 2029, but were also forcing residents to wait longer for remediation of dangerous cladding in unsafe high-rise buildings. Many of those leasehold victims are also facing spiralling costs, covering services such as night fire watches, while they wait for the work to be done.
The report argued that the BSR should give more guidance to developers and planners on how to comply with new building safety regulations – something large developing housing providers had been calling for – and how compliance would be assessed. It also recommended:
Regulation, regulation, regulation… 
Given all the confusion at the BSR, it’s no wonder the government has also moved quickly to confirm plans to create a Single Construction Regulator to unify oversight of buildings, products and professionals across the whole construction sector (not too complex a remit, then!).
This move is not unexpected; it follows the first recommendation of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 (published back in September 2024), which highlighted fragmentation in the current regulatory system. In its announcement, the government confirmed that the new regulator aims to ensure that the building system is well-functioning and delivers safe, high-quality homes – clearly necessary, given the government’s commitment to meeting its ambitious development targets. It also promises to provide clarity and consistency for industry, investors and residents, and to strengthen the accountability and enforcement of a strong safety culture right across the sector. But it is still in discussion with the sector about how to do this.

A consultation on the proposals is now open

,

and responses can be made until 20 March 2026. A full response and final reform plans are expected to follow next summer, when a transition from the existing BSR will take place.

You can read the full prospectus and respond to the consultation here.
Not a PEEP…
In December, the government also published guidance on post-Grenfell high-rise evacuation laws, known as residential personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs). Here’s a quick digest of the new expectations:
·       Identify vulnerable residents: Responsible housing managers must regularly seek out residents who cannot self-evacuate, including subletters, and clarify who bears related costs.
·       Work with representatives when needed: Residents cannot be forced to engage, but nominated responsible persons should encourage participation; representatives can act for minors or those lacking capacity.
·       Mitigation costs may fall to residents: Residents are likely to face costs for mitigation measures if responsible persons do not pay for them. Only “reasonable and proportionate” measures are required; some costs may be charged to individuals unless wider building benefits apply.
·       Annual reviews: Evacuation statements and assessments must be reviewed every 12 months or sooner if circumstances change.
·       Data shared with fire services – by consent: Responsible persons must share crucial information about residents covered by residential PEEPs with their local fire and rescue authority services, so long as they have explicit agreement to do so. This includes: the flat number, floor number, information about how much help a resident would need to escape the building and whether the person has an emergency evacuation statement. They must also explain the benefits and risks before sharing key evacuation information.
·       Building evacuation plans: Plans must align with fire risk assessments and record vulnerable residents.
·       Enforcement for non-compliance: Fire services can issue notices, and failings may trigger action under the Building Safety Act.
LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026
Is it too early to start thinking about May’s local elections? Some senior Liberal Democrats in local government don’t think so: Cheltenham Borough Council has already called for a delay to May’s planned ballot because of the cost of delivering the election, which comes at a time when the council is under extreme financial pressure. Party leader Ed Davey criticised the suggestion that democracy should be suspended, but that doesn’t answer the question of how it will be afforded.
Assuming most local elections go ahead as expected, it will be a tumultuous year. Given their strength in the national polls, both the Greens and Liberal Democrats look set to improve on their 2022 bases, and both are expected to do very well in London – but it is Reform that everyone is watching elsewhere.
Outside the capital, key council contests include the troubled Labour-led Birmingham City Council, Newcastle-under-Lyme, which is in no overall control, Conservative-held Solihull and Walsall, and Lib Dem South Cambridgeshire. The only prediction that we can make confidently today, given there are still five months of political wrangling to go, is that turnout will be low – perhaps a record low.
LEASEHOLDERS FACE NEW FINANCIAL FEAR
As the UK introduces new rules requiring heat networks in large communal systems to be upgraded to meet future decency and sustainability standards, are we at the cusp of a new leasehold crisis?
Many leaseholders in flats reliant on communal heat systems are suddenly facing unexpectedly high bills for upgrades now required by their freeholders, with individual costs often running into tens of thousands of pounds for major works. Estimates suggest that this could be the beginning of a new multibillion-pound liability scandal for leaseholders across the country, following previous cases around cladding remediation costs following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Just like cladding work, these upgrades cannot be avoided. Some existing communal and district heating networks are old, inefficient and unreliable, and fail to meet the standards required by new building legislation. But the financial burden could be unfairly borne by residents who have little or no control over the systems or their maintenance.
Reporting of this issue in The Times over the winter (by the inimitable Pete Apps, who estimates that up to a million leaseholders may face outrageous charges) ought to focus minds.
BEST OF THE REST
Thanks for sticking with us right to the end!
That’s all for now!
We’ll be back in February with all the latest housing news. Until then, you know where we are if you need us.

Bobbie Hough
managing director, Hough Bellis Communications

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