Inside Housing Management Podcast

Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells discuss the incoming Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) and whether the sector is ready for the change .  We hear from Ben Pumphrey, partner and data governance specialist at law firm Anthony Collins, and Sue Ramsden, policy leader at the National Housing Federation, about how landlords should be preparing for STAIRs – and where things...

Katharine Swindells and James Riding discuss the sector’s changing approach to resident engagement and whether it’s working. We hear from Nic Bliss, director of the Stop Social Housing Stigma campaign, about the campaign’s latest survey and what it tells us about resident engagement in 2026. We also speak to Cynthia Knight, scheme manager at Midlands-based housing association Stonewater, about an...

Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells discuss the sector’s changing approach to hoarding and speak to two housing associations tackling the issue in innovative ways.  One of our guests this week is Jenny Devon, sustainment and cohesion manager at Liverpool-based housing association Prima, about a national pledge Prima has launched to get housing organisations to better support residents with hoar...

In this rerun of a previous episode of the Inside Housing Management Podcast , Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells explore whether housing providers should have ‘flag policies’, and how they can respond better to hate crime. The popular episode also features an interview with Melonie Wheatle, anti-social behaviour (ASB) officer at Hexagon Housing Association, in which she shares lessons from he...

Hosts Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells discuss the results of an Inside Housing survey about how the spread of misinformation on immigration and allocations is impacting the social housing sector. We interview Zanda Rektina, housing and communities officer at South Liverpool Homes (SLH), and Anna Bishop, SLH’s chief executive, about how the organisation has been tackling this issue. We also...

In this episode of the Inside Housing Management Podcast, Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells  call for entries for the Inside Housing Management 30 , and explain what we’re looking for in nominees. We also discuss the state of play in housing repairs, exploring how landlords are responding to Awaab’s Law and where the Housing Ombudsman has highlighted gaps across the sector.  Finally, we hear...

Anna Highfield and Ellie Brown discuss the top lessons for housing managers from a recent housing festival . We share insights on Awaab’s Law, the Competence and Conduct Standard, artificial intelligence in housing and the impact of the Iran war. We also speak to Inside Housing Management Agony Aunt Mandeep Sahota about hoarding issues , digging deeper into her first column, in which she advises a...

Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells reveal the results of a major survey asking landlords how ready they are for the Competence and Conduct Standard . We dig into what landlords told us about how they are preparing for the new legislation, their biggest challenges and concerns, and the perceived mood among staff members. We also discuss what housing managers and leaders have been telling us ano...

Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells talk about the launch of Inside Housing Management’s new housing Agony Aunt column . We explain why we decided to introduce the column, explore some of the early dilemmas that housing staff have submitted, and introduce our five specialist Agony Aunts. We are joined by Agony Aunt Kelly Street, head of communities at Places for People, to discuss how her years...

Hosts Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells discuss the Crime and Policing Bill and how, if implemented, it could bring new powers for housing staff tackling anti-social behaviour . We explain the bill’s key proposals, the impact they could have on housing management staff and what the changes could mean for residents.  We also hear from Sean Richards, community safety manager at West Kent Housin...

Hosts Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells discuss the story behind a major social housing allocations investigation  published in January. They discuss the tip-off that instigated the investigation, the story behind it and what can happen when allocations policies have unintended consequences – both for residents and for housing management staff.  Subscribe to Inside Housing Management by click...

Anna Highfield, editor of Inside Housing Management , interviews B3Living’s chief executive Steve Woodcock about how the housing association achieved a top C1 consumer rating . Anna is also joined by James Riding, living markets editor at Inside Housing , to discuss what’s in store for 2026 – including major incoming legislation and regulatory changes, key trends to be aware of and Inside Housing...

Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells discuss the Inside Housing Management brand’s most memorable moments and most-read articles since it launched in April. We also hear from John Wilson, Traveller liaison and equine officer at Peabody, about his role working closely with Gypsy and Traveller communities who own and graze horses in Thamesmead, south-east London.  Subscribe to Inside Housing Manag...

In this episode of the Inside Housing Management Podcast, Anna Highfield, editor of Inside Housing Management, and Ellie Brown, news reporter at Inside Housing, discuss Anna’s experience shadowing a Peabody housing management team in north-east London. We hear from Elaine Daley, neighbourhood manager at Peabody, and Ben Siegert, head of neighbourhoods at Peabody, about how major changes to decentr...

Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells discuss how housing management teams are using AI, from predicting rent arrears to identifying patterns in complaints, and how the technology is already changing the shape of housing management. We also hear from Dr Guy Marshall, an independent AI and digital advisor for the housing sector, about how landlords can get their foot in the door with AI, including...

Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells discuss the key findings from Inside Housing’s  Chief Executive Salary Survey 2025 , the introduction of Awaab’s Law, and details of the incoming Competence and Conduct Standard for social housing.  We also hear from Sarah Lamont, a specialist employment lawyer at law firm Bevan Brittan, about landlords’ main concerns regarding the Competence and Conduct Stan...

Anna Highfield, editor of Inside Housing Management , and Katharine Swindells, deputy features editor at Inside Housing , discuss lessons from the Housing Diversity Network’s annual conference – including insightful training on better ways to respond to and tackle hate crime. We also interview Melonie Wheatle, anti-social behaviour (ASB) officer at Hexagon Housing Association, about what her 13 ye...

This week, we find out how housing providers are changing their approach to repairs to prepare for the implementation of Awaab’s Law at the end of October. Also in the podcast, hosts Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells are joined by Angela Manson, place team leader at Bromford Flagship, who talks about how the housing association has taken a fresh approach to boost its on-time repairs by 110% i...

This week, we discuss how housing providers are taking a zero-tolerance approach to rising abuse and assaults against their staff.  Our guest is Ellie Gooch, neighbourhood and community operations manager at Bromford Flagship, who talks about how the housing association has introduced a new zero-tolerance policy to abuse and aggression against its staff . Hosts Anna Highfield and Ellie Brown are a...

Co-hosts Anna Highfield and Katharine Swindells discuss the results of a major investigation by Inside Housing Management into assaults against housing staff – which gathered data from 188 councils and 40 housing associations across the UK.  We look at the rising levels of assaults revealed by the research, the possible reasons behind the trend, and what housing providers are doing about it, as we...

Anna Highfield, editor of Inside Housing Management , and Katharine Swindells, deputy features editor at Inside Housing , discuss the scale of the issue that is rent arrears, and how to take a different approach that might result in better outcomes for organisations, staff and residents. The co-hosts also discuss new reports into the demand on homelessness services, and the state of government fin...

Editor Anna Highfield and Inside Housing deputy features editor Katharine Swindells discuss the challenges that housing management staff face when dealing with ASB, and different approaches to managing it. The co-hosts also discuss an  enforcement notice served to a Birmingham supported housing provider  by the Regulator of Social Housing. This week our guest is Cheryl Gledhill-Kucuk, an award-win...

Editor Anna Highfield talks to Inside Housing reporter Ellie Brown about  shadowing Places for People  (PfP) – and what she learned from her day with community housing manager Danny Flannery on his patch in Derby. The co-hosts also discuss the  latest Learning from severe maladministration report  from the Housing Ombudsman, in which 12 landlords were named for failings over anti-social behaviour...

How can the social housing sector better support its resident-facing staff? Weighing in on the exclusive discussion is Kirsty Ellis, head of operations at Progress Housing Group, Anne-Marie Bancroft, director at specialist housing consultancy Altair, and Alison Inman, former president of the Chartered Institute of Housing and current chair of tenant engagement specialist Tpas. The discussion cover...

The results of a major survey are revealed, where we asked housing staff what they enjoy about their jobs, what drives them and how they got into the sector. The episode also features an interview with Stacey Thwaites from housing association Gentoo, where she discusses how she got into the housing sector and why she feels like she can make a difference every day. Subscribe to Inside Housing Manag...