Gavin Smart appointed to board overseeing new code designed to improve the experience of shared ownership customers 

A watchdog set up to monitor the quality of new build homes has appointed a raft of social housing sector figures to its new board overseeing the shared ownership code.

The New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) has previously announced former Sovereign chief executive Ann Santry will chair the new board on a temporary basis.

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Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, has been appointed to a board overseeing the shared ownership code.

Today it announced the appointment of a further seven board members. These include Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, Steve Moseley, group executive director of governance and transformation at 110,000-home provider L&Q, and Russell Baldwinson, executive director of development & investment at 41,000-home LiveWest.

Anita Khan, managing director of for-profit provider Sparrow Shared Ownership, Andrew Greenwood, deputy chief executive of Leeds Building Society, Paula Higgins, chief executive of the HomeOwners Alliance and Gillian Cooper, chair of the consumer advisory committee at Citizens Advice complete the list of appointments.

At-a-glance: The board

  • Andrew Greenwood, deputy chief executive of Leeds Building Society
  • Anita Khan, managing director of Sparrow Shared Ownership
  • Ann Santry, former chief executiv of Sovereign (chair)
  • Gavin Smart, chief executive of Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH)
  • Gillian Cooper, independent member of NHQB Board, and Chair of the Consumer Advisory Committee, Citizens Advice
  • Paula Higgins, founder and chief executive of HomeOwners Alliance (and former Shared Ownership Council Board member)
  • Russell Baldwinson, executive director of Development & Investment at LiveWest
  • Steve Moseley, group executive director of governance and transformation at L&Q.

The voluntary code is designed to improve the shared ownership customer experience (see the code’s measures below).

It was initially set up by temporary body the Shared Ownership Council (SOC) with the backing of 27 housing providers and financial institutions. NHQB was selected to operate the code from October and registered providers have been able to formally apply to adopt the code since last month.

Santry said: “The board brings a breadth of experience and representation - spanning providers, consumer bodies, lenders, and the wider sector - reflecting the collaborative nature in which the code was developed.

“Having worked with many through previous Shared Ownership Council activity, I know their commitment to shaping a fairer market and look forward to working with NHQB and the board as we support providers to adopt the code.” 

What does the code consist of?

Under the code, providers provide an information document to customers showing a range of scenarios for potential service charge changes and an assessment management plan.

In order to meet the code, providers across England would need to follow the Greater London Authority’s Service Charges Charter, which aims to improve the experience of leaseholders with service charges, as well as collaborate with freeholders on affordability. Providers must flag via annual customer updates if final service charges rise significantly above estimates or inflation.

Other key measures include a 14-day cooling-off period that allows customers to cancel their agreement and receive a full refund; fee transparency where providers must publish all costs associated with shared ownership upfront and a defects liability period extension to 24 months.

The code asks providers to ensure their staff are adequately trained to offer support and improve CORE data reporting.

It also guarantees shared owners a minimum 12-month defects period from purchase completion (after an initial transition period).

 

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