Welcome from our Managing Director, James Place:
Hi and welcome to our first blog of 2026.
In 2025, we focused and invested in every part of Hilldale and its services to improve our tenant experience. This includes engagement, housing and income services, building safety, repairs and much more. We aim to see the outcomes of this within the 2026 tenant satisfaction measures which will publish within our annual tenant report later this year.
We expect 2026 will be just as focused and busy, starting with the planning of our next 5-year business strategy. Over the next 6-months, we will involve our stakeholders and tenants so that you have an opportunity to inform our plans.
The Hilldale Leadership Team have prepared this blog by reflecting on 2025 and provided a lookahead for the coming 12-months. We hope you find this informative and if you would like to provide us with any feedback, please email us: hello@hilldale.org.uk
Amy Kirk, Customer Engagement Manager:
It’s been a year of meaningful progress in strengthening how we listen to and work with our tenants. One of the most significant steps forward was the introduction of our Tenant Involvement Strategy. This three-year strategy represents our clear commitment to hearing your voice, using your feedback to shape what we do, and ensuring we communicate with you regularly and in ways that work best for you.
This year also saw the launch of our House Meetings, a key step forward as part of our annual engagement programme. These have created valuable opportunities for face-to-face conversations and will continue to grow in 2026, helping us remain accessible, responsive, and connected to the communities we serve. Alongside this, our Tenant Voice Panel has continued to provide invaluable insight over the past year. Their dedication, time, and willingness to represent the voices of many tenants has made a real difference to the work we do and the improvement within our services we deliver to you, it’s with them we created the strategy.
In 2025, we were also proud to launch our new Tenant Committee. Working alongside the Board, Tenant Voice Panel and Hilldale teams to govern our compliance with the Consumer Standards. The committee plays a vital role in assessing compliance with the Consumer Standards, scrutinising service performance, carrying out audits of service provision and customer data, and holding Hilldale accountable to improvement plans. As we look ahead, we remain committed to building on these foundations and delivering our commitments. We look forward to having more conversations with tenants and hearing your feedback.
Emma Jones, Housing Services Manager:
Over the past 12 months, our Housing team has had a busy and rewarding year, with a strong focus on strengthening relationships and really getting to know our tenants all over England and Wales. We were pleased to welcome two new team members who have already made a positive impact, particularly through increased visibility and engagement with residents. Alongside this, we’ve worked hard to improve how we manage and turn around void properties, bringing homes back into use more quickly and efficiently.
This year also marked the start of a comprehensive review of our Housing Offer. This 12-month programme of work is focused on strengthening service delivery through improved consistency, accountability, and performance. Aligned to our Business Strategy 2023–2026, the review provides assurance that our housing, income, and customer services are operating effectively, with tenants at the heart of everything we do. A core theme of this work is the establishment of clear professional standards and a full review of our service standards, ensuring we continue to respond to the evolving regulatory landscape, sector learning, and tenants changing needs.
Partnership working has been another key theme throughout the year, with teams and external partners working closely together to achieve real, tangible improvements.
Looking ahead to 2026, we’re excited to build on this strong foundation by continuing to listen, learn, and work collaboratively to deliver high-quality, responsive housing services and to support our ambition of being one of the best providers of specialised supported accommodation.
Helen Warburton, Income Manager:
In 2025, our Income team focused on strengthening relationships with local authorities, helping to resolve long-standing housing benefit queries. As a result, we entered the New Year with 97% of housing benefit awards approved, an improvement from 94% last year.
We also improved how we work with housing benefit teams by increasing telephone contact, allowing issues to be resolved more quickly and helping to prevent rent arrears. Supporting tenants through the ongoing move to Universal Credit has remained a key priority, and this support will continue as tenants migrate from legacy benefits.
We placed greater focus on rechargeable repairs, working closely with our Housing, Repairs, and Finance teams to find solutions earlier and reduce unnecessary costs. This collaborative approach has helped ensure a fairer and more efficient service for everyone.
Looking ahead, we remain committed to supporting tenants to manage their rent, access the right benefits, and sustain their tenancies.
Phil Parrot, Head of Property and Development:
In 2025 we introduced 5 new Specialist Supported Housing properties across our portfolio, providing 45 new homes for people in need of our supported accommodation. The locations of these properties are The Wirral, Macclesfield, Stone and Leeds.
We have opened these properties in partnership with both existing and new Care Providers and the Local Authorities, Commissioning Teams.
Looking ahead to 2026, we anticipate another busy year of growth for Hilldale. We are currently appraising 15 new developments. In total these would deliver over 100 new homes throughout the coming 12-months.
As part of our review of the Business Strategy, the Board will set the direction for our growth over the coming 3-5 years which may include exploring alternative opportunities for development.
Keep an eye on our social media pages (Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram) and website where further updates will be posted.
Simon Cooper, Head of Asset Management:
The past 12 months have been a challenging and transformative period for repairs and maintenance. We have had to balance high demand, new regulatory requirements, cost inflation, and the ongoing responsibility to deliver safe, warm, and decent homes for our tenants.
As we look back on 2025, it’s clear that the repairs and maintenance teams have played a critical role in supporting tenants and protecting their homes. We have used the lessons learnt over the last year from data and tenant feedback to make changes aimed at improving the services.
In October, we launched our new Policy and process aligned to Awaab’s Law. Our focus on high risks such as damp and mould have remained a top priority. We have invested significant time and resources into inspections, root-cause diagnosis, and long-term remediation to prevent hazards recurring.
Alongside this, building safety has continued to dominate our maintenance planning. The Board have approved an increased budget to ensure we can continue to complete fire safety and other compliance works to ensure our tenants homes remain safe.
Regulatory compliance, health and safety, and quality assurance remains firmly in the spotlight. Whether driven by new guidance or heightened awareness, we have placed greater emphasis on data, documentation, audits, and consistent standards, particularly in areas such as electrical safety, gas and building hazards.
The year ahead will see a continued shift toward planned maintenance and investment into our existing homes. We recognise that our repairs and maintenance service will continue to be one of the most important and impactful services provided to our tenants. By applying the lessons learnt, planning proactively, and keeping residents at the centre of decision making, we will continue to improve outcomes and deliver safe and secure homes.
Anne-Marie Holyoak, Head of Operations:
As the lead for our Consumer Standards, I will continue to work alongside our Tenants Voice Panel and Tenant Committee to ensure we continue to listen to our tenants, learn and make the tangible improvements that will benefit Hilldale and our tenants for years to come.
I personally look forward to visiting and meeting more tenants and having them shape our future Business Strategy. If you would like to get involved, please contact us.
Thanks for taking the time to read our blog from the Leadership Team members.
