Leading housing organisation welcomes energy focus in Queen’s speech

Leading housing organisation welcomes energy focus in Queen’s speech

Commenting, Debbie Griffiths Chief Executive of the organisation, said: “As all housing associations development funding is based on meeting Level Four in the Code for Sustainable Homes, as a minimum, the introduction of this bill will hopefully ensure private developers are also held to these high standards. This means the impact to the consumer, whether a private purchaser or tenant, will be positively felt.

“At Housing Plus we take the energy agenda extremely seriously. We already meet Level Four in the Code for Sustainable homes for new build, and this Bill further reinforces the hard work we are doing to monitor energy usage. At one of our developments in South Staffordshire, for example, we are currently trialling the sustainability of three homes to help inform our development strategy for the future and ultimately save our customers money on fuel bills.

“The introduction of the Public Bodies Bill may have implications on the Tenants Services Association (TSA), our regulator. The question can always be raised into how much regulation the housing sector actually requires. If the TSA is affected by this Bill, it would be a shame to lose the movement towards Associations taking a more customer centric approach that has made so many organisations sit up and listen.

“Perhaps more interesting in the recent government announcements in the past week, is what hasn’t been said regarding future investment in social housing. We therefore eagerly await the Budget announcement on 22nd June.”