CHIC Team Reflections

By Jess Brittle, Senior Procurement Manager When planning a programme of works, it’s easy to focus on budgets and finding the right contractor. But if your project involves leaseholders, there’s another consideration that can have a significant impact on your procurement: Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Leave it too late and […]

Written by Emma Baskeyfield, Senior Technical Manager The success of a procurement project is often decided long before contractors are invited to tender. Housing providers face increasingly complex investment decisions, alongside tighter budgets and evolving legislation. Early technical decisions, whether for energy efficiency upgrades or major replacement programmes, often determine how successful a project will

By Liam Gratty, Director of Strategic Services Buying materials from the right place can save you money. Here is how and why it should be your next move.   After more than a decade working with (and within) merchants and housing providers, I have seen procurement change dramatically. The social housing providers making the biggest strides

Written by Luke Hurd, Chief Executive, CHIC The social housing sector is investing more heavily in its homes (of which there are more than 4.4m nationally) and housing providers are being compelled to think differently about how they manage their assets. Strategic Asset Management has emerged as the discipline that helps landlords to make forward

By Joanne Heyes, Head of Member Services (North) “Strategic asset management” (SAM) is not just about spreadsheets, stock data, or investment programmes. Rather, it is about how to make smart, sustainable decisions to protect homes, strengthen landlords’ operations and, most importantly, improve residents’ lives. In social housing, SAM is about managing homes as long term

We sat down with CHIC Chief Executive John Fisher to discuss why separating materials procurement from labour should be the next major shift in housing investment, helping landlords deliver more and better outcomes for residents. The Original Vision When we established CHIC in 2010, the intention was always to procure materials separately from labour, both

By Martin Radbourne, Head of Business Intelligence, CHIC “Data rich but intelligence poor” is a phrase that comes up repeatedly across the social housing sector and for good reason. Most organisations are not short of data. In fact, many landlords are surrounded by it. They have data on repairs, voids, building performance (and safety), stock

By John Fisher, Chief Executive Housing Horizons Conference CHIC hosted the Housing Horizons Conference jointly with the Housing Forum in March. I presented my thoughts on strategic asset management alongside Jenny Danson, CEO of the Healthy Homes Hub, who promoted the importance of good housing conditions to residents’ health. Online Debate Jenny has recently shared

By Sarah Davey, Head of Development, CHIC The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026 are the latest attempt to tackle a system we all know has been under pressure for a long time. For registered providers of social housing, this is not just another policy update to note and move on from.

By Sarah Davey, Head of Development, CHIC The National Housing Bank (NHB) is a new government public finance institution with the ambition to accelerate the delivery of new homes and communities, whilst also enabling the regeneration of towns and cities across England. Backed by the UK government, the National Housing Bank will work with house