We have previously reported on the launch by HouseMark of a set of COVID-19
measures with the aim of capturing the impact of COVID-19 on
some core services, tenants and employees.
HouseMark has released the latest results from month two of
their sector-wide COVID-19 impact analysis. The
membership-exclusive report is the first to reveal the effect of
COVID-19 on the sector during the April 'peak' of the pandemic,
providing critical insights to understand the ongoing impact and
prioritise action to support recovery.
Evidencing the impact of the first full month of lockdown
measures on landlords across the UK, the findings show that the
COVID-19 crisis is starting to bite with an estimated £100 million
of additional rent arrears since lockdown began and lettings
activity down 77%.
The data in this report is based on figures supplied by 131
social housing providers for the month of April 2020. Participating
landlords included housing associations, local authorities an ALMOs
operating across the whole of the UK.
Headline findings of this latest report include:
- Rent Arrears up a further 10% in April.Median arrears increased
further in April to 3.29% compared to 2.99% in March, representing
over £100m of additional arrears since lockdown began.
- Lettings down 77% since March.Creating an estimated backlog of
around 45,000 additional vacant homes, and a projected end of year
void loss position of 2.17%.
- Gas safety compliance down to 91.2%.Representing an estimated
380,000 properties UK-wide without a valid gas safety
certificate.
- Backlog of 800,000 non-emergency repairs built up in
April.
- 30% increase in reports of anti-social behaviour and domestic
abuse.
- Around one-fifth of sector workforce furloughed or not-working
in April.This represents around 27,000 employees UK-wide and a
government contribution to the sector of around £70m for furloughed
employees.
Talking about the latest report, HouseMark Chief Executive
Laurice Ponting said: "HouseMark's analysis is the first to
quantify the effect of the pandemic across the UK housing sector
and we are now seeing the significant impact of the crisis
emerging.
"COVID-19 is not happening in isolation but is one of many
complex factors influencing the choices of boards and executives;
external, unbiased evidence is crucial to effective
decision-making. This is why we are providing this impact analysis,
along with our bespoke forecasting tools, to help landlords
understand the impact on operations and income now, forecast what
the future repercussions might be, and act on the evidence to
prioritise recovery activity and secure the well-being of their
residents, employees and their businesses."
The full report, including detailed analysis and best practice
from landlords across the UK, is exclusively available to
participating organisations, however, the executive summary is
available to view at HouseMark's website.
Organisations interested in participating in the May impact
assessment should contact jonathan.cox@housemark.co.uk to
find out more.