London & Quadrant Housing Trust released a report on behalf of the G15 group of large social landlords in October. I am delighted to say I will discuss this, and the broader context of home ownership through s106, with L&Q's Caroline Pillay and Adam Gravely of the NHF at the NHF's Affordable Home Ownership conference on 4 June in Birmingham.

Although the G15 is London-focused, the issues are universal and the report will chime with RPs nationwide.

Section 106 is one of the key ways affordable housing is delivered, but there have been some well-publicised issues around it. Developers are finding it hard to find RPs to take units, but RPs have concerns over quality and design. Section 106 agreements can be complicated and inflexible. RPs are often not involved in the negotiation of the s106.

The report makes recommendations under five headings:

1. Pre-planning and scheme requirements
2. Design and construction standards
3. Land, planning and legal
4. Handover and post-completion 
5. Operational management and R&M

There isn't space here to delve into the detailed recommendations, but the overarching theme is how key early collaboration and continuing engagement with both the developer and the local authority are. I very much look forward to discussing these issues on 4 June. We hope to see you there!

You can register for the Affordable Home Ownership Conference here.