Fresh ideas needed for HA's

Recent meetings with housing association clients have brought into focus the need for innovation and creative thinking if they are to maintain current service levels. In addition to the £450 million coalition ministers have already slashed from the Homes and Communities Agency budget, providers face further cuts of between 25 and 40 per cent following the autumn spending review. In January, landlords will suffer a planned 2.5 per cent VAT hike. If associations are to maintain any sort of meaningful development programme, they will have to develop partnerships with developers and contractors that add real value. Early contractor involvement must surely be the starting point, combined with some clever funding products. There's also the issue of how HA's will deliver their sustainability agendas - like housing need, this is something that's not going to go away. One thing appears certain - the housing providers of 2020 will be completely different animals than they are today