Repair and maintenance spend exceeded planned budget

Places for People has delivered 31% more homes than last year, according to its annual report.

A total of 1,750 homes were delivered in the year to March 2024, compared with 1,326 the year prior.

greg reed places for people 2

Greg Reed, chief executive of Places for People

Of the homes delivered, 265 were for social rent, 745 were for affordable rent, 137 were for intermediate rent and 369 were low-cost ownership homes. 

The remaining 13% of homes built by Places for People were for market sale.

The organisation also said its 2021-26 strategic partnership with Homes England will see it deliver 4,403 affordable homes with £281m of grant by March 2029. 

It said that programme had “progressed at pace” during the year, with 1,285 homes starting on site and 194 completed.

Places for People, which owns or manages 245,000 homes, recently called on the government to make the construction of 90,000 social rented homes a year a “top priority”.

Turnover at the 245,000-home organisation, which also operates 98 leisure centres across the UK, was down to £831.6m in the year from £849.6m.

Just over 59% of this came from affordable housing, with the rest coming largely. from leisure management, property management, development and non-social lettings.

Pre-tax surplus ticked up marginally, from £83.8m to £84m.

A total of £98m in the year was spent on capital improvements and a further £120.5m was spent on maintenance, driven by a high demand for repairs and rising costs.

The combined £218.5m spend was a significant increase on the £155m spent on repair and maintenance in the previous year.

“The board took the decision to significantly increase spend on repairs and maintenance and to exceed the planned budget to proactively meet the circa 20% increase in demand for repairs from the previous year,” the report said. 

“We delivered 54,000 more repairs than was budgeted in 2023/24”.

In April of this year, the 7,800-home regional Origin became a subsidiary of PfP after a regulatory downgrade. The smaller organisation, which owns homes across London and Hertfordshire, will be folded fully into the group over the next year. 

Housing association financial statements 2023/24

Flagship boosts surplus by 16% despite fall in open market sales and higher salaries East of England provider built 744 homes in the 2023/24

Aster’s surplus hit by higher interest costs and writedowns The housing association’s pre-tax profit falls 14%  due to a combination of an increase in costs caused by inflation and an ‘all-time high’ investment in its homes

Abri invests ‘record’ £100m in existing homes but sees 19% dip in annual completions The 50,000-home housing association reports  ‘exceptional’ surplus of £518m due to merger with Silva Homes.

Hyde Group misses build target by nearly half as it’s hit by £39m in write-downs 44,000-home association reports 78% drop in surplus as it is hit by contractor insolvencies on two schemes

Home Group increases development 17% Home Group handed over 1,284 homes last year, according to its financial statement for the year to 31 March 2024.

Moat reports squeezed margins and lower surplus Moat Homes has reported a drop in surplus and turnover, as its social housing lettings margin fell sharply.

Midland Heart increases development as it eyes 4,000-home target 35,000-home association increases investment in new build and improving existing stock

LiveWest undershoots affordable homes target due to delayed starts on site South west-based association built fewer affordable homes in 2023/24 than its target due to “site specific” issues.

Paradigm exceeds development target Buckinghamshire-based housing association says new build “central part” of mission as it increases surplus and turnover

Karbon increases development but sees margins squeezed due to hike in repairs costs Newcastle-based landlord builds 644 homes in 2023/24

BPHA boosts turnover but reports deficit due to one-off refinancing costs Bedfordshire landlord increases completions by 20%

Vivid increases development to more than 1,500 homes a year Housing association boosts development by 10% in face of surplus squeeze

Southern stops committing to new developments as surplus falls 80,000-home housing association ramps up spend on existing homes

Surplus down but turnover rises in SNG’s first post-merger financial accounts The merged organisation, which is aiming to develop 25,000 new homes over the next decade, says its balance sheet is ‘robust, diversified and resilient’

Platform Housing’s surplus falls due to pension scheme exits costing £18m The Midlands-based housing association also cited cost pressures from investment in homes, customer services, and high inflation

Bromford Housing reports increase in turnover, but higher operating costs Housing association cites  higher repair volumes

Clarion reports drop in turnover and surplus as it takes ‘cautious’ approach to development Housing association giant increases spend on existing stock from £393m to £418m

Sanctuary increases turnover despite 35% drop in sales income  Giant housing association misses development target