Global accounts data from the HCA are a rich vein waiting to be mined. We've reviewed the 2014 data set, and this is the first of many snapshots we'll be producing for information. Could some spend less and more wisely on management to help build more #affordablehomes?

On this first annual UK #housingday,  aside from general and individual experiences being shared across the #socialhousing sector, what exactly will the sector as a whole be doing?

We thought it would be interesting to take data from the @HCA_UK 's  Statistical Data Return dataset 2013 to shed some light.

So we've 'mined' that annual data and divided it by 263 working days to produce a daily snap shot of the basics which staff up and down England will be doing today.

Letting Homes
On this day, staff will be letting homes at social rents to 1047 people who otherwise can't afford one or need some form of support, and 113 to new tenants at 'affordable' rents ( generally 80% of the market rent)

They'll also be completing 85 mutual exchanges with tenants who are swapping their homes for a variety of reasons - either their current one is too small, too big, too far away from work or neighbours etc. In light of the #bedroomtax and the need for many of those affected needing to move, there may be even more.

They'll be taking handover of 181 newly built or acquired  homes: 151 for rent and 30 for sale on a shared ownership basis.

Managing Homes
On this day, staff will be coordinating and delivering 26,000 responsive repairs for tenants (based on a sector average of 3 per year per property).
They'll also be starting the repairs and reletting process for 104 homes which will become empty as the former tenant leaves for whatever reason. 90 of those homes will be converted from a social housing rent to an affordable rent.

They'll be completing the sales process for 12 existing tenants (through the Right to Buy/Right to Acquire etc), as well as 31 sales of initial shares in a low cost shared ownership home, and 'staircasing' sales to 11 existing shared owners who have decided to buy the remaining shares and own their property outright.

The Sad Side.....
Unfortunately, staff will  be evicting 34 tenants today. 25 for rent arrears. 5 for antisocial behaviour. 4 for other reasons.
They'll also be handling 51 empty properties  becoming vacant which their organisation will decide for whatever reason are not currently available to let, and the demolition of 18 homes.
Not the outcomes many would like to see, but the sad reality nevertheless.

"Big Data". The new buzzword in the housing sector. As Bernard Marr states, it is still such a foggy term that it attracts many myths ranging from ‘big data is not useful to anyone’ to ‘big data will help us solve all our problems’. Like most things, the truth can be found somewhere in the middle.
Housing organisations like all other businesses can already delve into existing data repositories and transactions using big data techniques to extract maximum analysis, insight & value for money. Here we outline how.

Buried amidst all the changes that have taken place in the last few years across the housing sector is a significant regulatory change.

The Homes and Communities Agency has confirmed that English Social Housing landlords can now take deposits from new tenants.

In this article, Peter Hall and Barry Marlow outline how reviewing an approach to tenancy deposits could be an effective tool in the box to help landlords maximise income in the new era of direct payments by tenants.

This year's CIH Housing Conference in Manchester had a packed agenda with some potentiallly great sessions to pick up fresh ideas and share experiences from.
Here we shared some of the key questions and suggestions we've made over the course of the past year in articles on our website, Guardian Housing and 24.dash.com which might oil the cogs of your housing mind .

Don’t take part in an ugly dogs competion - be a best in breed!
A recent round table of senior people within the housing sector echoed what many have been saying for some time in concluding amongst other things that ‘social landlords will increasingly need to demonstrate the value of every £ they spend’.  They recommended fresh ways of looking at value for money, which don’t involve taking part in an ‘ugly dog’s completion’. If you’d like to take part in a good looking dogs competition, we have a fresh and creative solution already being used by many across the sector, which Raglan and Catalyst Housing are the latest landlords to benefit from. 

Whether you're an existing or aspiring leader, and in whichever sector you work, at a time of significant change ( aka all the time) you need to be on top form.
This great article by Glenn Llopis in Forbes.com contains 15 key habits which great leaders exercise everyday.
Get exercising, or put some nudge theory into practice and remind your leader to go to the leadership gym more....

2013 is the year when housing needs to shift from social to digital. Tenants will need to start claiming their benefits online, and the shift to digital has become less of an option and more of a basic business benefit.
In this Guardian Housing Network article, Helen Milner, chief executive of Online Centres Foundation and chair of the Social Housing Providers Digital Inclusion Strategy Group sets out six steps to help organisations in getting there.

With the summer recess and spectacle of sport now well and truly over, it’s back to business across the housing sector, with many challenges ahead in the coming months. Welfare reform and the Green Deal are key issues, but looming amongst them all is how to demonstrate compliance with the new value for money regulatory standard & judgement. 
In keeping with our 'Einstein' themes this month, if you’re interested in a unique balanced scorecard for Vfm which makes everything simple, but not simpler,read on.