The Housing Sector Podcast

Could the UK be heading towards a new wave of rent strikes? In this episode, I sit down with Suze Muna from SHAC (Social Housing Action Campaign) to explore why more tenants and leaseholders are reaching breaking point. We discuss the growing pressure of rising rents and spiralling service charges, the financial position of housing associations, and whether frustration is beginning to turn into or...

Housing Sector Podcast #73 – The Boardroom Blind Spot? In this episode, I am joined by Hannah Howard-Jones to explore one of the most important questions facing the housing sector today: are housing association boards asking the right questions? We discuss the role of boards, governance, accountability, CEO oversight, mergers, organisational culture, data quality, AI, and why transparency matters...

In this episode of the Housing Sector Podcast, I speak with Stephen Day about building safety, institutional candour, resident campaigning, and what happens when people raising serious concerns become the target instead of the issues themselves. We discuss:  post-Grenfell fire safety concerns   compartmentation failures and remediation disputes   PAS 9980 and watered-down remediation standards   a...

In Housing Sector Podcast #71, I speak with Mark Hughes from Southwark and Muhammad Khan from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea about growing concerns around the use of decants within social housing. The discussion explores allegations that temporary decants are increasingly being used in ways that leave residents permanently displaced from their homes. Mark shares his personal experienc...

In Housing Sector Podcast #70, I speak to Richard Duvall, a landlord and tenant caught in a situation that highlights a growing issue within the housing system. After renting out his one-bedroom flat on a short-term agreement, Richard expected to move back in when the contract ended. Instead, nearly 18 months later, his tenant remains in place, paying little to no rent, while he continues to cover...

In Housing Sector Podcast #69, I sit down with author Katie Joyce to discuss her debut novel New Beginnings — a fictional story grounded in real experiences from frontline homelessness services. Katie shares her journey from acting into working in hostels, shelters, and outreach during COVID, and the realities of supporting people facing homelessness, trauma, and mental health challenges. We explo...

In Housing Sector Podcast #68, I’m joined once again by Suz Muna from Social Housing Action Campaign (SHAC) to break down a case that goes right to the heart of what’s going wrong in the housing sector. We start with a shocking example involving Peabody, where residents uncovered that around half a million pounds’ worth of service charge costs had no supporting invoices. What makes this even more...

In Housing Sector Podcast #67, I’m joined once again by Martin Donkin for an important follow-up on the ongoing situation at Coniston House. When Martin last came on the podcast, we discussed the modular homes project being built on top of existing flats by East End Homes, the disruption it had caused, and the serious concerns being raised by residents. In this episode, we revisit that story to lo...

In this Housing Sector Raw update, Ben Jenkins shares the latest developments from across the housing sector. From a new update on a Housing Ombudsman investigation to ongoing scrutiny of service charges and the flow of public money through housing benefit, this episode looks at the issues that rarely get discussed openly. Ben explains how Freedom of Information requests are beginning to reveal th...

In Episode 66 of the Housing Sector Podcast, I’m joined once again by Suz Muna from SHAC to unpack some uncomfortable truths about service charges, housing benefit, and how housing associations respond when residents push back. We begin with an update on communication plans — what they are supposed to be used for, how they can become restrictive tools, and why standing your ground calmly and factu...

I examine GreenSquareAccord’s decision to remove the communication plan and soften their tone. On the surface, it looks like progress. Restrictions lifted. Language adjusted. A new approach. But has anything really changed? In this episode, I break down extracts from the latest letter, look at the continued references to expired undertakings, the narrative around “persistent contact,” and the fram...

In this episode of the Housing Sector Podcast, I’m joined by Chris Carr, a former in-house housing professional with over 20 years’ experience working inside the system. We talk about the growing imbalance between residents and housing providers — and why access to justice is becoming harder just as standards are under greater scrutiny. Chris explains how the legal and operational machinery behind...

In this episode of the Housing Sector Podcast, I’m joined by Siobhan Weightman to discuss one of the sector’s most persistent and least resolved issues: data. We explore why fragmented, unreliable data continues to undermine service delivery, governance, compliance, and trust across the housing sector. Drawing on experience from local government, policing, and housing, Siobhan reflects on how poor...

In this episode of the Housing Sector Podcast, I’m joined by Hannah, a consultant at Data Clan with experience across both the private housing sector and large national housing providers. We start by talking about service charges and the lack of insight and scrutiny around them, including how councils assess and pay housing-related costs. From there, the conversation broadens into a more honest di...

In this episode of the Housing Sector Podcast, I speak with Jane Hill, a long-term leaseholder, and Morley Young, a former third-party technical consultant, about a window replacement programme involving Guildford Borough Council. What began as a routine planned upgrade became, according to those involved, a deeply distressing experience for the resident concerned. The discussion covers what Jane...

In this episode, I’m joined by Ebrahim Goolamally to examine what happens when housing governance, performance data, and lived experience are placed side by side — and don’t align. Drawing on Housing Ombudsman statistics, Tenant Satisfaction Measures, and Regulator of Social Housing gradings, we explore a dataset that reveals a persistent and troubling gap: landlords can retain strong governance a...

In this episode, I’m joined by Mel Little for a direct and wide-ranging conversation about the state of the housing sector — and the growing gap between what residents experience and what institutions are prepared to admit. Using Birmingham as a case study, we explore how serious safety issues, deteriorating homes, and long-term neglect are increasingly treated as isolated problems, when in realit...

In this episode, I speak with Sue Phillips, founder of Shared Ownership Resources, about the government’s ongoing inquiry into whether “affordable home ownership” is truly affordable. Sue explains why shared owners’ experiences matter now more than ever — and how you can make your voice heard by completing the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee’s online survey before the deadline...

In Housing Sector Podcast #58 – Compassionate Leadership in Housing , I speak with Tanya Scott , Head of Specialist Housing at Accent Housing . Tanya has built a career defined by care, visibility, and purpose. With more than two decades’ experience in safeguarding and supporting vulnerable communities, she’s known for leading with empathy and driving positive change across the housing sector. Sin...

Across the UK, more and more residents are being forced to leave their homes at short notice as buildings are declared unsafe — from fire risks and structural defects to RAAC and wider safety failures. In this episode, I speak with Matt Hodges-Long , co-founder of the Building Safety Register and TrackMyRisks, about what really happens when homes are evacuated. We talk about how these decisions ar...

In this episode, I sit down with Dominic Ahern , a writer and commentator whose work on Substack explores housing policy, governance, and safety. We’re revisiting building safety — a subject that keeps resurfacing because, despite all the talk of progress, little has truly changed. The focus has shifted to “new build standards,” yet even those have been watered down , while thousands of existing h...

In this episode, I sit down with Lee, a homeowner and fleecehold campaigner, to expose how residents are being charged thousands each year for minimal or non-existent maintenance — and why this unregulated system is fast becoming a national scandal. We discuss the 39% management fee that shocked residents, fake online reviews allegedly written by the management company itself, and open spaces left...

In this episode, I’m joined by Suz Muna, Secretary of the Social Housing Action Campaign (SHAC) , to discuss the urgent need for a national tenants and residents union . We explore what such a union could offer members: practical casework support , guidance on tenancy rights , and even standing alongside residents in court. With legal aid cut to the bone , tenants are left facing landlords with li...

Earlier this year, I put a call out on LinkedIn for help connecting with professionals working in housing and domestic abuse. Thank you to everyone who responded, shared, tagged, or introduced. Your support helped make this episode happen—and more will follow. In this episode of the Housing Sector Podcast, I speak with Sherrelle Collman, a frontline practitioner supporting survivors of domestic ab...

What happens when a “luxury” new‑build home becomes a nightmare? In this episode, I talk to Alexandra Druzhinin —a homeowner who paid nearly £900,000 for what was marketed as her dream flat in Camden. But instead of sanctuary, she found a dangerous reality: a timber‑framed building that’s structurally compromised, unmortgageable, uninsurable—and, in her words, “crumbling beneath us”  Alexandra has...