At the turn of the millennium, government acknowledged that social housing was in difficulties. The first 1920s and 1930s council houses had liberated ordinary people from the terrible living conditions in much of the privately rented sector. Even council homes built immediately after the Second World War met generous minimum standards of space and facilities.

But through the 1960s and 1970s, poor build quality, brutalist experimental architecture and ever dwindling investment in maintenance meant that goodwill towards publicly provided housing – and often, towards the people who lived in it – had evaporated.

This board celebrates two decades of effort to turn those perceptions around in Derby. Derby Homes is one of the most successful ALMOs in the country, and this is very largely because it has had solid and consistent support from its parent council despite many shifts in political control.

It is also down to the sea change that Derby Homes has wrought in the city’s housing offer, from the first round of work in the early 2000s to make sure all council homes met the new Decent Homes standard.

Since then, the organisation has made full use of the unique ALMO structure to offer ‘more than housing’, wider local services that both improve the lives of residents and make the most of the council’s finances and resources. For instance, a ‘Tenancy Sustainment Service’ supports new residents through the first year of their tenancy, and in the council’s 22 Community Rooms, tenant volunteers help fellow citizens try something different, gain skills and experience and meet new people.

In 2022, in its 20^th anniversary year, a new 10-year agreement was signed with Derby City Council to continue managing the homes that remain a publicly owned community asset. Councillors, in their report on Derby Homes performance, concluded that ‘the ALMO continues to perform highly, combining good services for tenants and leaseholders whilst offering value for money’.

August 2023