The social housing sector has had some good news over recent months. Government’s big increase in funding for social housing is more than welcome. The £39bn set aside for the next decade should achieve 300,000 new affordable homes with 60% at social rents.  

At the same time, the uplift in rents each year for the next ten years (CPI + 1%) and forthcoming increases in rent for historically low rents (“convergence”), will provide some certainty for sustaining the ongoing management and maintenance of the existing stock of social housing. 

But there are missing pieces of the housing jigsaw: a backlog of homes in need of substantial upgrading, or even replacement, cries out for investment in regeneration. In the North of England there are disproportionate numbers of homes built before the First World War and a legacy from the 1960s and 70s of high-rise and prefabricated buildings that are beyond improvement.  

I was delighted to accept the Northern Housing Consortium’s (NHC) invitation to chair this inquiry on such an important issue. The NHC is uniquely positioned as the voice of social housing for the three northern regions. Its members care for almost all the socially rented homes in these regions. And because of its business model in supporting members’ procurement of goods and services, it has the resources, in partnership with councils and housing associations, to speak up for the housing needs and aspirations of northern communities. 

There can be no doubt of the need for action, and I hope Renew will highlight this to key decision makers. New requirements for improved safety and greater energy efficiency are pushing more social homes beyond their sell-by date. As we know from the dreadful case of little Awaab Ishak, damp and mould is a problem in the social housing sector (even though this sector has a much better record than the Private Rented Sector). And fuel poverty continues to cause misery and ill-health for thousands.  

Regeneration of outdated stock and upgrading of neglected areas may be priorities but this is not to say that new homes are not needed in the northern regions. Tens of thousands of households are waiting for social housing properties to become vacant. Numbers of families in Temporary Accommodation have risen dramatically, at enormous cost to local authorities. Shortages of affordable homes are acute in many northern hotspots.  

However, new opportunities now exist to work with the new Mayors and combined authorities to meet the different imperatives of the three regions’ places. New resources are becoming available for such initiatives as the Warm Homes Plan and the Fuel Poverty Strategy, the Pride in Place programme and the forthcoming High Streets Strategy.  

The NHC’s Renew Inquiry, backed by Homes for the North and Muse, will bring together the ideas and experience of those in the social housing sector to explore how new resources and new devolved administrations can make a real difference – not least in stimulating local economies.  

We aim to ensure government Ministers, MPs and Peers recognise the wider value of support for housing-led regeneration. While applauding the Government’s ambition for 1.5m new homes in this Parliament, we want to make sure there is full recognition of the equally valid case for improving the lives of those living in highly unsatisfactory homes and environments. The social housing providers in the North are ready to do more to upgrade non-decent accommodation and replace the end-of-life properties that blight whole neighbourhoods. 

We have gathered the thoughts of a range of contributors here to help us put forward a positive case for regeneration that takes on board the input of local communities. And I hope Renew will lead to real progress in using the talents, the devolved structures, the available funds to renew the homes and the lives of hundreds of thousands of households in the North of England. 

The perspectives collection showcases a range of opinions about regeneration. The views expressed in the articles are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the position of the NHC or the Renew inquiry.