Plugging the Void in Social Housing

Social housing in the UK is at a tipping point. 650 social homes were lost in England during 2023/24, with more than 1.3 million households stuck on waiting lists. At the same time, 34,000 dwellings owned by local authorities and 55,000 housing association homes sat vacant.

Plus, research shows that 297,000 social homes became empty during 2023–24, costing the sector a massive £1.6 billion (including £1.1 billion on repairs, £220 million on lettings and lost rental income).

These empty properties are known as voids, where a property is vacant with no tenant occupying it. As long as the number of void properties for prolonged periods continues to be too high, it will prove to be a devastating obstacle to improving access to affordable housing.

Why do void turnaround times matter?

A void turnaround time refers to the interval from vacancy to re-let. The longer a property is vacant, the more damaging it is for social housing providers and prospective tenants. 

Long void turnaround times can have the following effects:

• Lost income: No tenants means no rent is being collected. This leads to a loss of income, which can impact maintenance and building new properties. 
• Rising costs: During void periods, repairs, council tax, utilities and security costs all continue to climb.
• Worsening demand: Prolonged void periods mean fewer properties are available, leading to bigger and longer waiting lists.

Therefore, housing providers must try to keep the number of void properties down and minimise the duration they’re empty.

How does it hold back affordable housing provision?

Currently, there isn’t enough affordable housing in the UK. Void properties will exacerbate this issue, with fewer social homes available to meet the demand of over 1.3 million households on waiting lists.

Here’s how voids block affordable housing provision:

• Spiralling financial problems for providers: If social housing providers keep pumping money into void properties, they won’t necessarily have the funds for new construction and conducting essential repairs and maintenance. Therefore, they will be unable to replenish the shrinking housing stock.
• Wasted housing potential: All across the country, there are households patiently waiting for homes. This is made increasingly frustrating by the fact that there are almost 100,000 local authority and housing association homes vacant.
• Further supply bottlenecks: If the country loses more affordable homes than its building, every delay means more families are without a home or living in subpar living conditions. 
• Community issues: If properties are void for too long, they might attract vandalism and other anti-social behaviour, which could lead to additional repairs. It also lowers standards in the community, impacting neighbourhood cohesion and property values.

Put simply, until the social housing sector can get to grips with the number of void properties and how they’re managed, affordable housing will continue to be a major problem nationwide. 

Void properties represent real lost opportunities. Therefore, speeding up void turnaround times could unlock tens of thousands of homes for families in need. 

Managing complex voids, repairs and compliance work in one unified platform

Fortunately, there is a software solution that can help minimise void disruption, as well as manage repairs and compliance work. 

Voids span multiple trades and days, compliance work demands precision and large-scale programmes require constant coordination. However, with ROCC, social housing providers can manage all of these complexities in one joined-up platform. This means you no longer have to rely on fragmented systems and manual processes.

Our platform is designed from the ground up to handle multi-trade, multi-day, multi-stage work – within a single, unified job structure. Whether it’s a void that needs cleaning, repairs, compliance checks, and key handling, or a planned works programme involving internal teams and external contractors, ROCC gives you one clear view from start to finish.

✔ Create structured workflows: Define sequences of tasks with dependencies across trades.
✔ Assign roles: Allocate tasks to internal operatives or third-party contractors.
✔ Track progress: Real-time visibility of each stage through back-office dashboards.
✔ Incorporate admin: Include back-office steps like key allocation or void inspections.
✔ Comply confidently: Every job has a full audit trail, timeline and reporting pack.

The positive impact this can have on social housing associations and local authorities is enormous. ROCC will ensure you reduce delays, minimise missed steps and improve turnaround times on challenging jobs.

This allows you to deliver better service to your tenants.

Keen to find out more and say goodbye to prolonged void turnover times? Get in touch with a friendly member of our customer support team today.