MARCH 2026: A summary of the latest UK Government policy changes and news.

1. New Homelessness Grant

The Government has recently published its new Homelessness Strategy, accompanied by a £50 million investment package to support councils and organisations working to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. The funding is intended to target those people and places facing the greatest pressures.

The investment will be delivered through two principal programmes. Of the total, £37 million has been allocated to the Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund. This fund will support projects, staffing and capital improvements aimed at expanding sector capacity, strengthening community networks, and developing long-term, trauma-informed approaches to ending rough sleeping.

Two of the three programme objectives may be of particular relevance to members:

Objective 1: Community-Based Support

This objective focuses on prevention and early intervention. The Government is particularly interested in initiatives that:

• Strengthen community-led networks and referral pathways to prevent people from entering or returning to rough sleeping
• Facilitate and enhance volunteer-led support offers
• Provide early support to prevent individuals reaching crisis point
• Deliver single-unit accommodation that meets a clearly defined local need

Objective 3: Recovery

This objective seeks to improve support for individuals once they have moved into settled accommodation, with an emphasis on embedding support within the local community. The Government is looking for proposals that:

• Provide long-term support to help sustain tenancies, develop skills, and secure and maintain employment
• Deliver mentoring or befriending-style relational support that builds resilience, social networks and a sense of belonging
• Establish peer support programmes and activities for individuals transitioning from rough sleeping into accommodation

Eligibility

To apply, organisations must be part of the voluntary, community or faith sector (VCFS), operate in England, and be established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes.

Eligible organisations include:

• Charitable companies limited by guarantee registered with Companies House and the Charity Commission (or exempt charities)
• Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) registered with the Charity Commission

Members who provide small-scale accommodation, volunteer-led support, or community-based tenancy sustainment work may wish to consider whether this fund aligns with their charitable activities and local partnerships.

If helpful, we can provide further information or discuss potential opportunities.

2. Supported Housing Guidance Update

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published statutory guidance for English councils on preparing and delivering local supported housing strategies under the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 which may be of interest to members. The strategy sets out the overarching vision and direction for the Local Supported Housing Strategy undertaken by the various local authorities across the country.

3. Charity Commission Fundraising Guidance Update

Recently, the Charity Commission published a significantly revised version of its guidance on charity fundraising – ‘Charity fundraising: a guide to trustee duties (CC20)’. The Commission has also amended guidance on ‘Charity fundraising appeals for specific purposes’ and ‘Get funding to start a charity’.  Members can also refer to the Code of Fundraising Practice for more practical guidance on what is expected of your charity when fundraising.

Charities should:

1. Bring the new guidance to the attention of the trustees and schedule some time to discuss it at a trustee meeting;
2. Review their fundraising policies and procedures to consider whether any changes should be made;
3. Consider whether this might be a good time to do some training for trustees and fundraising staff, in light of this new guidance from the Charity Commission and the new Code of Fundraising Practice published last year.

4. Reminder: National Planning Policy Framework consultation deadline of 10 March 2026.

Our work to secure recognition of almshouses as affordable housing therefore continues. Please see our short video and our campaign here – The Association is asking Members to respond to the NPPF consultation and/or write to their MPs to support our campaign to have almshouses recognised as affordable in the National Planning Policy Framework. Thank you to everyone who has already contacted their MP – please do get in touch if you would like support or require follow up material to give to your MP.

The Heat Networks (Market Framework) Regulations 2025

We would like to draw members’ attention to a new guidance page on The Almshouse Association website regarding the Heat Networks (Market Framework) Regulations 2025.

These regulations introduce a new regulatory framework for heat networks, with implications for organisations that own or operate communal or district heating systems. The page outlines the key points of the legislation, what it may mean for almshouse charities, and links to further resources.

We encourage members to review the information and consider how the changes may affect their schemes.

You can read the full update that is listed in our FAQs page by clicking in the link below:

• www.almshouses.org/news/the-heat-networks-market-framework-regulations-2025/

If you have any questions or would like to share feedback, please do get in touch.

See also: Heat Networks – Are you prepared? – Free webinar – 26 Feb 2026|

posted 23 February 2026

FAO: Registered Providers and those that have registered with the Housing Ombudsman voluntarily to assist with the completion of annual submissions.

Please see below update from the Housing Ombudsman

New streamlined investigation process for low-risk cases From March 2026, we are trialling a new approach for simple, lower-risk complaint cases. We will review cases in advance to check if we have enough evidence to investigate, or if we need a small amount of additional information from you. Benefits of this approach: – faster resolution for residents and landlords clearer – more targeted evidence requests – full decision reports continue as normal – less paperwork for you If we need specific evidence, we will make this clear in our request. You will have the opportunity to submit any additional critical evidence relevant to your complaint. We will review the trial in May or June 2025. If you have questions about this change, please raise them at our March landlord forums. Read more about our investigation process

posted by 16 February 2026

Registered providers of social housing should be aware of new qualification requirements introduced under the Government’s Competence and Conduct Standard.

Almshouse charities that are Registered Providers must now be able to demonstrate that relevant employees are suitably qualified, with evidence provided to the Housing Ombudsman on request.

To support member in understanding who needs the qualification, we have launched a new bespoke guidance page with a practical toolkit of downloadable resources. The toolkit includes:

• A qualification assessment flowchart
• Assessment criteria based on the Qualifications Policy Document
• Example job descriptions for clerks and wardens
• Staff code of conduct and contractor assessment templates
• A development and training impact assessment template

👉 Read the guidance and access the toolkit here: Qualifications for Registered Providers of Social Housing – Guidance
or via our bespoke Registered Providers page here: Registered Providers only

posted 11 February 2026

FEBRUARY 2026: A summary of the latest UK Government policy changes and news.

1. Warm Homes Plan

The Government has recently published their new Warm Homes Plan. It includes significant grants and support aimed at reducing fuel poverty and improving energy efficiency, which can be applied for by members.  

The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund will provide over £1 billion in grants to help social housing landlords upgrade homes with insulation, heat pumps and other measures, lowering energy costs for residents.

In addition, the Government’s broader support includes the existing Warm Home Discount scheme – a bill rebate (around £150) for residents on low incomes or certain benefits each winter – as part of the package of measures to help vulnerable families with energy costs. The Warm Home Discount is automatically applied to a resident’s bill, so individuals are not required to apply for it.

2. ECO (Energy Company Obligation) Ends

As part of the new Warm Homes Plan, the Government has also published its response to a consultation into the ECO4 scheme. As a result:

• ECO4 will be extended by nine months, ending on 31 December 2026, to allow suppliers additional time to meet existing targets and remediate non-compliant installations.
• The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) will end as planned on 31 March 2026.
• No carry-over mechanism will be introduced because there will be no successor obligation after ECO4 to carry-over into. 
• Solid wall and EFG minimum requirements will remain at current levels and must be achieved by the new ECO4 end date.

This means that the schemes will no longer be available to almshouse charities, however those that are currently engaged in the process of refurbishment using ECO4 funding will be able to complete their projects.

3. Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime

The Government has published a partial response to the consultation on reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPB) regime.

Whilst the consultation for EPCs in social rented homes has yet to be published, it is likely that almshouse charities will need to ensure their properties achieve an EPC rating of C or above.

For domestic EPCs, the Government will replace the existing single cost metric with four new headline metrics:

•  energy cost
• fabric performance
• heating system
• smart readiness

The response also suggests that there will be flexibility for heritage buildings. The Almshouse Association will continue to monitor the situation.

NOTE: There is a new, related consultation out now: Home Energy Model: Energy Performance Certificates, which closes on 18 March 2026.

4. New Decent Home Standard

The Government has confirmed the details of the new Decent homes Standard (DHS), which will come into force from 2035.

This will apply to all social and private landlords – including almshouse charities that are registered providers. The Almshouse Association recommends that all almshouse charities comply with the guidance.

5. MHCLG Social Housing Policy Progress Update

At the end of January 2026, the Government published a progress update to its social housing policy.

The policy will have implications for both registered and non-registered social housing providers, such as almshouse charities. As part of this, the Government has also published a new Direction on the Rent Standard (2026) for registered providers. It permits annual rent increases of up to CPI+1% on social rent and affordable rent homes from 1 April 2026

It also reflects introduces a rent convergence mechanism from April 2027, where registered providers will be able to increase weekly rents for social rent homes that are below formula rent by up to an additional £1 on weekly rents each year over and above CPI+1% from 1 April 2027, and by up to an additional £2 on weekly rents each year over and above CPI+1% from 1 April 2028, until formula rent is reached.

6. National Planning Policy Framework

Reminder: National Planning Policy Framework consultation deadline of 10 March 2026.

Our work to secure recognition of almshouses as affordable housing therefore continues. The Association is asking Members to respond to the NPPF consultation and/or write to their MPs to support our campaign to have almshouses recognised as affordable in the National Planning Policy Framework.

Please see

• Nick Phillips talking about the NPPF in a short video
• our NPPF campaign post which includes our consultation response and a template letter to MPs here.

posted 9 February 2026

The Association is asking Members to respond to the NPPF consultation and/or write to their MPs to support our campaign to have almshouses recognised as affordable in the National Planning Policy Framework.

Dear Members,

We are pleased to share with you a copy of The Almshouse Association’s draft consultation response to the Government’s proposals for the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Our response aims to ensure that the unique role of almshouses and other charitable housing providers is recognised in national planning policy.

Charitable housing organisations provide essential, long-term, affordable homes to older people, vulnerable households and local communities, often in ways that differ from commercial or mainstream housing delivery.

We have chosen to focus on Chapter 6: Delivering a Sufficient Supply of Homes (of the consultation) only, as this section contains the policies with the most direct impact on almshouses, charitable housing providers and the delivery of specialist and affordable housing for older and vulnerable people.

In particular, the response highlights:

• The need for planning definitions of affordable housing to explicitly include almshouses and charitable providers.
• Concerns about delivery targets, housing land supply policies, and housing mix requirements, and how these affect small-scale, community-led, and charitable housing schemes.
• Support for policies that enhance the provision of specialist housing for older people, adaptable homes, and social and affordable housing, with safeguards to ensure proportionate and sustainable delivery by charities.
• Recommendations for ensuring that commuted sums, off-site delivery, and large-scale development frameworks do not disadvantage smaller charitable providers.

Our NPPF consultation response has been drafted to inform Government consultation and to advocate for policy changes that enable charitable housing providers to continue delivering high-quality, affordable homes. Members are encouraged to review the document to understand the Association’s position and the rationale behind our responses. We have also drafted a letter that you may wish to tailor and send to your local MP.

We hope these will also serve as a useful reference for members engaging in the consultation or discussing the impact of planning policy on charitable housing provision. The deadline for the consultation is the 10 March 2026.

Thank you for your continued support in championing the role of almshouses and charitable housing in the wider housing sector.

posted 28 January 2026