Hammersmith and Fulham Council has unveiled its new Housing Strategy for 2026-2031, a comprehensive plan designed to tackle the borough's housing challenges by focusing on affordability, safety, and resident needs. The strategy, developed after extensive consultation with over 640 residents, outlines five key priorities.
These priorities include preventing homelessness through early intervention and support, delivering genuinely affordable and accessible homes, ensuring all homes are well-maintained, safe, and warm, creating safe and green neighbourhoods, and providing compassionate and responsive housing services.
The strategy directly addresses resident feedback, with key concerns including the need for more affordable homes, shorter social housing waiting lists, better home conditions, and improved responsiveness from housing services. The plan aims to increase the supply of family-sized and adaptable homes, maximize the use of existing stock, and strengthen partnerships with housing associations.
Affordability and Accessibility
The council is committed to delivering new council homes at social rent and other genuinely affordable levels through the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) development programme. While a precise definition of 'genuinely affordable' is not explicitly provided, the focus on social rent and addressing affordability pressures suggests a commitment to lower-cost options. To increase the availability of suitable homes, the council will maximise the use of existing stock, including bringing empty homes back into use and reducing void turnaround times. Under-occupation will also be addressed sensitively to free up larger homes for families in need.
Homelessness Prevention
Key actions include strengthening homelessness prevention measures and improving access to settled accommodation. The success of these measures will be tracked through several metrics: homelessness prevention and relief outcomes achieved, reduction in temporary accommodation numbers and length of stay, an increase in successful private rented sector placements sustained for 12 months or more, increased successful move-on placements into settled accommodation, and improved tenancy sustainment rates with a reduction in failed tenancies.
Home Safety and Quality
Adele Cooper, Assistant Director for Housing Improvement and Governance, presented the strategy to the Housing and Homelessness Policy and Accountability Committee. She highlighted that the strategy builds upon the council's recent achievement of the highest possible 'C1' rating from the Regulator of Social Housing, demonstrating a commitment to resident-focused services and high-quality homes.
Concrete steps are being taken to modernize the repairs service, aiming for faster response times, better communication, fewer missed appointments, and stronger contractor performance management. This includes implementing Awaab's Law across Phases 1 and 2 to ensure rapid identification and remediation of emergency hazards and serious Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) risks, meeting mandatory response times, and strengthening case tracking. The expected impact is faster, more reliable repairs, fewer recurring issues, and residents living in healthier homes with damp and mould addressed quickly and effectively.
Energy Efficiency and Net-Zero
Beyond compliance with building safety regulations, the council plans long-term investment to modernise homes, ensuring all properties meet the Decent Homes Standard and benefit from improved insulation, heating systems, and energy-efficient upgrades. This includes a major programme of component renewal (kitchens, bathrooms, roofs, windows) and a borough-wide retrofit and energy-efficiency programme. The clear pathway to achieving Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C for all homes by 2030 will support the council's Net-Zero Carbon 2030 target through a projected reduction in CO2 emissions across tenant stock. Residents will benefit from warmer, safer, more energy-efficient homes with lower running costs.
Partnerships and Community
The strategy aims to strengthen partnerships with Registered Providers (housing associations) to maximise the number, quality, and suitability of homes available through nominations. A Housing Association Compact will be established to ensure residents of housing association homes receive the same quality of advice, advocacy, and representation as council tenants. Expected benefits include more consistent access to high-quality affordable homes across the borough. Potential challenges mentioned include Registered Provider pipeline uncertainty, data-sharing barriers, and competing Registered Provider priorities.
Councillor Florent Sherifi, Chair of the Housing and Homelessness Policy and Accountability Committee, noted the importance of robust scrutiny to sustain high-performance standards. The strategy's detailed action plan and commitment to regular reporting will ensure transparency and accountability in its delivery. The committee's agenda and reports can be found on the council's democracy website.
