Social Housing
UK Guide 2025 : South West
Band 1
Email address
[email protected]Contact number
(0870) 194 1000About
Provided by Bevan Brittan LLP
Housing sector participants, in particular registered providers and local authorities, are experiencing significant upheaval and disruption. The structural change across the housing sector is resulting in dynamic and innovative responses from registered providers and local authorities who are rising to the challenge of saving costs and generating flows of capital and revenue to deliver the housing the nation needs.
Some of the biggest challenges are:
- UK Government's call for registered providers to contribute towards the building of the 200,000+ homes needed to meet demand.
- Registered providers and local authorities needing to compete with private sector developers and housebuilders for key development sites.
- The impact of new policies, including universal credit, the 1% annual rent reductions until 2019, the capping of Housing Benefit (and its payment direct to tenants), and changes to Right to Buy (RTB), which all impact significantly on funding and delivery strategies in business plans.
- The Social Housing Regulator's increasing focus on registered providers delivering tangible value for money in their core activities.
Chambers Review
Bevan Brittan has a robust social housing practice that advises clients including housing associations and local authorities. The firm provides a multidimensional offering that covers litigation, employment law matters, housing management, development and regeneration. The firm is also noted for its strength in the social housing finance space, which includes providing counsel on loan agreements. It has additional expertise in handling joint ventures between housing associations and shared ownership schemes.
Work Highlights
- Bevan Brittan advised the Peabody Group on its joint venture with Lendlease to deliver over 11,500 new homes.
Strengths
Provided by Chambers
"Bevan Brittan provides excellent customer service and detailed guidance which allows us to make informed decisions on next steps."
"I always feel that we are a valued client. Response times are fast as they appreciate that these matters are important to us."
"Bevan Brittan are very effective, very accurate and diligent in the way that they complete labour-intensive work."
"The team at Bevan Brittan are thoughtful and responsive."
"Bevan Brittan provides excellent customer service and detailed guidance which allows us to make informed decisions on next steps."
"I always feel that we are a valued client. Response times are fast as they appreciate that these matters are important to us."
"Bevan Brittan are very effective, very accurate and diligent in the way that they complete labour-intensive work."
"The team at Bevan Brittan are thoughtful and responsive."
Notable Practitioners
Alison Buckingham maintains an excellent reputation for her work advising social housing providers on complex, high-value development schemes. She leads the social housing team for the South West region.
"Alison is very good. She's responsive and knows what we want."
Jonathan Turner leads the firm's housing practice and is recognised for his experience representing clients in joint venture agreement, development and regeneration matters.
"Jonathan has a broad spectrum of knowledge, but he's very good on contract matters."
Jessica Church regularly advises registered providers and their lenders on a range of financing transactions, including securitisations and bond issuances.
"Jess's 'get the job done' attitude was especially appreciated when we were up against a tight deadline."
Charlotte Rawson regularly assists with housing management matters and is particularly noted for her expertise in anti-social behaviour issues.
"Charlotte is excellent to work with. We fully trust her with our work."
"Charlotte is experienced in all matters of social housing litigation. She has a lovely calm manner in the face of very difficult cases and is always knowledgeable and organised."
"I have always found Charlotte to be professional and responsive."
Ranked Lawyers at
Bevan Brittan LLP
South West
Members
Provided by Bevan Brittan LLP
