The Sector Scorecard is an initiative to benchmark housing associations' performance and check they are providing value for money. This report provides the results for 2021/22 and has been produced by Housemark and the National Housing Federation.
The year 2021/22 can be seen as a year of transition as the effects of the pandemic gave way to economic uncertainty and a cost-of-living crisis. For the UK’s housing association sector, the period presented some significant challenges in delivering services for residents.
While aggregated Sector Scorecard results are generally not as positive as previous years, housing associations remain financially secure, well-managed and efficient organisations. Key results are as follows:
Business health
- Increased workloads and catching up from 2020/21 has resulted in higher expenditure and lower in operating margins in 2021/22 – with a median result of 20.20%.
- Operating margins for supported housing and housing for older people stock averaged 8-10 percentage points lower than social housing lettings overall, which includes general needs stock.
Development – capacity and supply
- Development programmes increased social housing supply in 2021/22, with a median result of 1.2%. This is slightly lower than the 2019/20 Sector Scorecard result of 1.3%.
- Landlords of all shapes and sizes are delivering new supply – almost 70% of Sector Scorecard landlords reported developing new stock in 2021/22.
Outcomes delivered
- Perception-based satisfaction has suffered in the aftermath of the pandemic. Landlords’ services have not met residents’ expectations and satisfaction rates have reduced as a result – to a median of 84.7% for general needs tenants.
- Perception scores for supported and housing for older people tenants remain higher – with median results above 90%.
- Landlords continue to make significant contributions to local communities – investing the equivalent of £58 per property in 2021/22.
Effective asset management
- Following a dip in 2020/21, occupancy levels for general needs tenants were closer to results from before 2020 – with a median result of 99.52%.
- Both planned and routine maintenance costs increased during 2021/22 - by similar proportions. The 0.70 median ratio of responsive repairs to planned works is almost unchanged from the 2020/21 report and six point higher than the result recorded in 2019/20.
Operating efficiencies
- The post-pandemic increase in maintenance expenditure coupled with construction industry price inflation led the median social housing cost per unit to rise over £300 in a year to £4,230 in 2021/22.
- Despite the impending cost-of-living crisis, more than half of Sector Scorecard housing associations collected 100% of rent due from general needs and housing for older people tenants in 2021/22.