The Almshouse Association is delighted to announce that Christmas Fund gift vouchers will once again be available this year for almshouse residents* who are 90 years of age or older on 25th December 2025.

*almshouse residents of almshouse charities that are members of The Almshouse Association

The Christmas Fund was established over 70 years ago thanks to the generosity of Major Allnatt, a successful businessman and philanthropist. Working closely with Leonard Hackett, the Association’s founding General Secretary, Major Allnatt wished to provide a small gift to almshouse residents each Christmas Eve. Remarkably, he chose to remain anonymous until his death in 1969.

Today, the Almshouse Association continues to honour his legacy. The funds he left have been carefully invested so that every year, almshouse charities can receive gift vouchers to distribute to their residents at Christmas.

An order form to request the Christmas vouchers can be found in the Autumn/Winter edition of the Almshouses Gazette, which is being sent to all member charities next week.

You can also download the form here to complete and return.

Please submit your completed form to the Almshouse Association via email or post by 21st November 2025 – THE WINDOW FOR SUBMITTING FORMS IS NOW CLOSED

Gift vouchers are issued on a first-come, first-served basis and will be sent to the member contact listed on your form, so they can be handed to residents on Christmas Eve. (Please note: The Almshouse Association will not send vouchers directly to residents.)

We love seeing photos of these heartwarming moments, as almshouse communities come together to celebrate the festive season so please keep sending them in.

posted 30 October 2025

Awaab’s Law was introduced on 27 October 2025 through an amendment to the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, in response to the tragic death of Awaab Ishak who died after being exposed to mould at his Rochdale home in December 2020.

In the wake of this tragedy, Awaab’s family has fought to secure justice, not only for their son but for all those who live in social housing.

Awaab’s Law places strict time limits on social landlords who are regulated by the Social Housing Regulator to investigate and repair reported issues of damp and mould.

At the present time (October 2025), Awaab’s Law applies to Registered Providers in England only.

The Almshouse Association is pleased to confirm, however, that following extensive engagement with government officials, almshouse charities that are Registered Providers in England are exempt from the requirements of Awaab’s Law. This exemption recognises the distinct legal and operational status of almshouses, where residents occupy their homes under licence rather than tenancy agreements – and can be seen in the guidance produced by the Government below:

The Almshouse Association will now review and update its policies for all member charities on damp, mould and other housing hazards to ensure residents continue to live in safe, well-maintained homes. These policies will reflect the charitable nature, size and governance of almshouse charities, while maintaining high standards of accommodation and care.

posted 28 October 2025

OCTOBER 2025: A summary of the latest UK Government policy changes and news.

1. Tenant Satisfaction Measures Pilot

Earlier this month, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) published the findings from its pilot study involving small providers submitting Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs). Whilst almshouses were among the participating organisations, the results have broader implications for how the sector can approach resident feedback, performance monitoring, and reporting in smaller settings. The message is clear – small housing charities are fulfilling their role effectively, keeping residents at the centre of what they do. 

What this means for members:

• The outcome confirms that small providers are not required to make formal TSM returns, therefore, most almshouse charities (unless they are Registered Providers and have over 1,000 units) do not need to submit TSM data to the Regulator.
• Note, however, that regardless of size, almshouse charities that are Registered Providers are required to continue to collect TSM data and ensure the data is accurate, transparent and usable to demonstrate performance to tenants (residents) and improve services.

For more information about the pilot – see our response here.

2. Housing Qualifications – Competence and Conduct Standard

The Government has directed the Regulator of Social Housing to produce a standard for registered providers.

The Government has directed that the standard must:

• apply to senior housing managers and executives and service providers
• have written policies setting out the model approach to learning and development, appraising staff, and managing poor performance etc.
• adopt or develop an appropriate code of conducts for those staff
• give tenants meaningful opportunities to influence and scrutinise the development of the policy, and decisions relating to the code of conduct, and ensure they are made accessible to tenants and kept up to date and fit for purpose
• secure that their Senior Housing Executives and Senior Housing Managers have, or are working towards, a specified qualification, or type of qualification, in housing management and take steps to secure that Relevant Managers of their services providers also gain a specified qualification.

The standard will come into force in October 2026, with a transition period before all relevant staff must have or be working towards an appropriate qualification. The transition period is 3 years for large registered providers and their services providers (1,000 homes or more) and 4 years for small registered providers and their services providers (under 1,000 homes).

Most importantly, it sets out the criteria for who the standard will apply to. Following extensive engagement on behalf of the charity housing sector, The Almshouse Association is pleased to confirm that it will now, not apply to unpaid volunteers (trustees).

For more information, please visit the Government website here.

3. New consultation – Continuing the Warm Home Discount Scheme

The Government is seeking views on the The Warm Home Discount Scheme – which has been a key policy in the government’s approach to tackling fuel poverty and reducing the energy costs of low-income and vulnerable households ever since its inception in 2011.

This consultation sets out the government’s proposals for the new scheme period and is gathering feedback from stakeholders on:

• the design of the core elements of the scheme
• options for the next scheme period in Scotland
• proposals to change the administration of the scheme
• a call for evidence on Industry Initiatives
• a call for suggestions for future improvements during the next scheme period

The Almshouse Association will submit a response on behalf of its members.

We would encourage members to also submit responses, or to get in touch with any comments or concerns to inform our response ahead of the deadline: 20 November 2025

posted 9 October 2025

7 Oct 2025: Housing Ombudsman published a special investigation: Lewisham Council must know its homes better to improve services for residents.

Their article below highlights a recent special investigation by the Housing Ombudsman into Lewisham Council, which raises significant issues around how the landlord manages its homes, handles repairs and supports residents. The findings are relevant to all member charities, as they underline the importance of good data, effective complaint handling and proactive management of housing conditions, particularly in relation to damp and mould. We encourage members to read the report to identify potential learning and apply it, where applicable, within their own charities.

Housing Ombudsman Special Investigation

We have released our special investigation report into Lewisham Council.

This follows serious concerns about the way it manages hazards and handles complaints and repairs in its homes in the complaints we’ve investigated.

In 92% of findings the landlord had handled an issue poorly.

Our investigation found issues across multiple areas. This includes:

• hazards
• communication with, and attitude towards, residents
• contract management
• knowledge and information management
• system failure

During our investigation we met directly with residents to understand the real-life impact of the landlord’s failures, housing officers and the appointed Member Responsible for Complaints.
The landlord told us almost a quarter of the housing it manages did not meet the Decent Homes Standard as of September 2024. The standard is a set of minimum quality rules for UK social housing. This is compared to an average of 10.8% across London local authorities. Poor data prevented the landlord having a true understanding of its issue with decent homes.

Damp and mould is the leading cause for not meeting the standard and a primary reason why residents are escalating complaints to us. The landlord admitted to not using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to assess damp and mould or category 1 and 2 hazards. HHSRS is a risk-based evaluation tool to help local authorities find and protect against potential risks and hazards to health and safety. We also found the landlord applying temporary fixes, such as mould washes, to ongoing problems such as leaks.

The landlord has committed to make changes. It is currently collecting information about its properties and the people living in them. They told us it had previously relied on property information from when its housing management came back in-house.

We publish special investigation reports to help other landlords identify potential learning to improve their own services.

• Read the Housing Ombudsman’s full article on their website here
• Link to report here

posted 9 October 2025