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Housing Professional
The ARK update.
February 2026 |
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Welcome to the latest edition of Housing Professional, our regular newsletter bringing you news and updates from the social housing sector.
With the Government recently publishing the New Decent Homes Standard, two of our expert team published blogs with their thoughts on the changes and how organisations can prepare, prioritising getting their data up to standard. |
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Some early thoughts on the New Decent Homes Standard |
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| ARK Assistant Director Luke Beard gives his useful insight on the New Decent Homes Standard. |
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Getting Ready for the New Decent Homes Standard |
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| Fellow Assistant Director Karl Linder outlines how organisations can prepare for the new standard. |
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Do you have the expert, experienced, senior housing leaders you need for the challenges ahead? |
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At ARK, we have spent more than 35 years supporting the UK housing sector, providing the experience and expertise you need to provide and improve the homes your residents need.
Social landlords rely on having the right people on their teams, whether in leadership or other senior roles. We have successfully placed housing professionals into organisations, in interim positions to help see projects through successfully, or into permanent, senior roles through our Housing Executive Search service. |
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ARK Executive Director Helen Scurr explains how we can provide an interim housing professional or find the right candidate to fill a permanent senior role – or do both! in her blog:
Bridging The Gap |
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Find out how our Interim Housing Professional and Housing Executive Search services can get you the senior housing leaders you need by following the links below. |
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View Our Video Case Studies |
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We recently filmed two case studies showcasing our work with Oxfordshire based Soha Housing, and Ardenglen, a housing association based in south Glasgow.
In the first video, ARK Assistant Director Luke Beard features alongside Soha Chief Executive Kate Wareing, Director of Housing and Communities Matt Archer, and Director of Property Services Andy Tollett, and looks at our work to help them launch Soha Response, which saw them bring their repairs and maintenance service in-house.
The second video features ARK Assistant Director Kirsty Wells, Ardenglen Chief Executive David Byfield and Director of Customer Services Suzanne Casey talking about our work on Ardenglen’s customer engagement strategy. |
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Make sense of your data with ASAP |
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| ASAP, our Strategic Asset Performance model, allows housing providers to visualise and identify the performance of their housing stock and understand relationships between the many aspects of housing asset management. |
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£1,410 raised for Birmingham Care Group with our ‘ARK Amble’ |
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| Every year, we embark on our ‘ARK Amble’, a collective effort to walk as many steps as possible while raising money for a worthwhile cause. In December, we supported Birmingham Care Group, collectively walking more than 6 million steps and raising £1,410! |
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We recently updated our company Environmental, Social and Governance statement. The ARK Amble and other fundraising activities are an important part of this. Find out more by visiting our ESG Statement on our website. |
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Big changes are coming for heat networks – are you ready? |
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Heat network regulations are changing in 2026. While many landlords and housing providers are already subject to heat network obligations, the regulatory landscape will tighten significantly from 2025–2026, with Ofgem becoming the statutory regulator for heat networks. |
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For organisations operating communal or district heating systems, this is not a future issue—it is a live compliance risk. Penalties for non-compliance can reach £1 million or up to 10% of annual turnover, alongside enforcement action and mandatory consumer compensation. |
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| Spend on Housing Repairs and Maintenance – Big Shock or Celebration? |
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| Net Zero and Decarbonisation in Scottish Housing |
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| Navigating Change: An Interim Leader’s Perspective on Social Housing |
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| “3 Perspectives” to assure RSL Financial Planning and Resilience |
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| Making Retrofit Stack Up: Your “Why” Matters More Than You Think |
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