Landlords will buy more Section 106 properties if they are included in customer satisfaction reviews after reporting a drastic drop in acquisitions due to poor standards.
JV North has seen a 69% reduction in the number of Section 106 homes bought by its 15 housing association members in the past three years with 688 in 2023-24 compared to just 213 in 2025-26.
The consortium, which formed in 2007, has acquired a total of 1,549 Section 106 properties over the past three years but cites receiving homes of poorer quality than individual private buyers as the main reason for the stark fall.
When homes hand over, the National House Building Council, Premier Guarantee and Local Authority Building Control Warranty send National New Homes Survey forms to private buyers.
These customer satisfaction survey results are then shared with the Home Builders Federation (HBF) which each year gives developers a 1 to 5 star rating.
For housebuilders to achieve the top five star mark, 90% or more of those surveyed must be prepared to recommend their builder to family and friends but registered providers are excluded from giving feedback even though they are also customers.
As a result, JV North members experience developers giving private buyers a better level of service to ensure they get the highest possible rating to help them stand out in the market place with staff such as project managers incentivised with bonuses if they get five stars.
Several JV North members have stopped working with some developers due to poor quality standards leading the consortium to call for landlords to be included in reviewing properties.
Unless the change is made, JV North expects Section 106 acquisitions among its members to drop further as the grant-funded Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) allows them to better control the quality of newbuild homes.
JV North Chair, John Bowker, said: “Being excluded from customer satisfaction surveys for Section 106 properties means the sector is not getting the quality we want at handover.
“This is confirmed in the stark drop in acquisitions over the past three years by our members which follows the national trend.
“We are treated differently to private buyers even though registered providers are also customers and always the biggest on any given scheme; individuals will buy one home whereas a housing association will have scores and sometimes hundreds on big plots.
“Poor quality equals unhappy tenants which can affect regulatory ratings and ultimately we are built on customer service.
“It also means repairs have to be carried out far earlier than a new home should need with too many falling in the warranty period.
“We factor this into our business plans when assessing schemes; Section 106 homes are not always as financially attractive as they first appear on paper.”
Saffer Cooper Consultancy, which manages JV North’s development programme that sees c. 3,000 grant-funded homes being built in the next four years, says including registered providers in the rating system would bring important benefits for warranty providers and developers too.
Director Sean Stafford said: “Landlord reviews would give warranty providers greater visibility of the issues they will have to manage in the future; they are currently underwriting properties that have not been fully assessed.
“By doing so a comprehensive, more reliable rating system would be created that could see less claims made resulting in fewer pay outs for warranty providers.
“There is an incentive for developers too as they are responsible for rectifying problems for the first two years and this comes at a cost especially if they have to appoint sub-contractors.”
Mr Bowker adds: “We are fully committed to building more homes and playing a key role helping government reach its 1.5m new homes target and welcomed the certainty the new SAHP brings.
“Our members also recognise the role Section 106 homes will play reaching the target. Demand in the consortium is there and we have some really positive experiences with developers but we can’t justify acquisitions at the level we would like because it would be irresponsible to accept homes of poor quality.
“In an increasingly customer-focused world for social housing, it is out of tune with government policy that quite rightly focuses on standards in the form of TSMs, Awaab’s Law, Building Regulations and stronger enforcement by the Housing Ombudsman.
“We are calling on warranty providers and the HBF to make the simple change of letting us review homes because we need all parts of the affordable housing market to be working to address the current lack of supply and keep standards high.”