Tracking the shift: Where are priorities changing for the social housing sector?

To understand how priorities are shifting, we surveyed sector leaders across two consecutive years to identify key trends and what they mean for housing leaders today.

Financial pressure remains the dominant concern

Across both years, financial resilience consistently emerged as the most immediate concern for housing leaders. In 2025, almost nine in ten leaders described financial sustainability as a major organisational risk — and while this dropped slightly in 2026, it remains the top concern. Rising repair and maintenance costs, growing regulatory demands, inflationary pressures and more complex borrowing conditions all contribute to a sense of sustained strain.

For the social housing sector, this pressure may be partly offset by greater certainty over future income. The introduction of the 10‑year rent settlement and progress on rent convergence may provide more stable and predictable revenue base, offering some protection against volatility. In addition, the National Housing Bank has been launched to support the delivery of new homes by improving access to long‑term finance.

Even so, social housing leaders are clear that balancing immediate financial pressures with essential long‑term investment is becoming increasingly difficult, particularly as expectations from residents and regulators continue to rise and cost pressures show little sign of easing.

A widening gap between short-term pressures and long-term transformation

A strong theme running through the conversations is the growing tension between short‑term risk management (what leaders worry about most) and long‑term transformation (what they believe the sector should prioritise).While financial pressure, political uncertainty and cyber risk dominate leaders’ immediate concerns, there is clear alignment on what the sector needs to prioritise for the future. Digital transformation and sustainability, in particular, were repeatedly highlighted as essential — even though far fewer leaders described them as current risks.

For example, in 2026 fewer than four in ten leaders (35%) saw digital transformation as a risk, yet almost six in ten identified it as a top strategic priority (59%). Similarly, only 26% see sustainability as a risk, but 38% place it among the top priorities.

This mismatch suggests that housing leaders recognise the need for transformation but are constrained by immediate resource and capability pressures. The sector’s biggest strategic challenge may be finding ways to protect long-term programmes from short-term disruption.

Workforce and culture concerns are evolving

Workforce concerns remain prominent, though leaders’ emphasis is shifting. Compared to 2025, fewer leaders spoke about workforce challenges as a critical risk in 2026 — potentially reflecting improved recruitment conditions or greater post‑pandemic stability.

The most notable shift, however, was in how leaders talked about workplace culture. Culture featured far less prominently in 2026 conversations than it did the year before. Some leaders felt their organisations had regained stability; others acknowledged that financial and external pressures were simply taking precedence.

The key question raised by several leaders is whether this shift reflects genuine improvement, or simply a deprioritisation of culture in the face of more pressing external pressures. Many noted that culture risks often resurface quickly when organisations are stretched, suggesting this remains an area that requires careful attention.

Digital transformation is rising rapidly on leadership agendas

Leaders increasingly described digital transformation as essential to improving resident experience, driving efficiency and meeting regulatory expectations. Alongside this shift, concerns about cyber exposure are also growing — reflecting a recognition that modernisation brings both opportunity and new vulnerabilities.

Adopting advanced technology and driving digital transformation further rose from 53% in 2025 to 59% in 2026, with participants identifying it as a top improvement priority.

Cyber risk, strongly linked to the same modernisation agenda, also shifted in importance from 22% in 2025 to 32% in 2026.

There is still wide variation in digital maturity across the sector, but there was broad agreement that: technology investment can no longer be postponed, and must be matched with capability building, training and strong governance.

Sustainability: fluctuating priority, rising long-term pressure

Views on sustainability and decarbonisation varied across conversations. Some leaders feel more confident about delivery pathways; others worry that financial pressures are pushing long‑term environmental commitments down the agenda.

In 2025 44% saw sustainability programmes as a top priority but this fell to 38% in 2026. At the same time, the perceived risk associated with climate and sustainability dropped from 39% in 2025 to 26% in 2026.

Despite the lower emphasis this year, leaders acknowledged that the scale of the decarbonisation challenge has not diminished. Several expressed concern that progress could stall without dedicated focus and protected investment — risking bigger pressures later.

What does this mean for housing leaders?

1. Rebalance strategy to protect long-term transformation

With financial risk dominating attention, there is a real danger of under‑investing in digital, ESG and service redesign - all of which are essential to future resilience.

2. Focus on workforce value proposition

Flexibility and team culture have become defining factors in talent attraction. Leaders who intentionally shape culture and empower teams will be best placed to meet rising service expectations.

3. Strengthen integrated risk-management frameworks

As cyber risk grows and sustainability risk is deprioritised, leaders need holistic approaches to avoid blind spots.

4. Use data and resident insight to drive decisions

Pressure on service demand, coupled with tightening budgets, requires more sophisticated use of data to understand needs, allocate resources and measure impact.

The social housing sector knows where it needs to go — the challenge is enabling it

It is clear that social housing leaders want to drive transformation to better support communities. Efforts to modernise the sector are hampered by immediate financial and operational pressures.

Breaking the cycle requires bold leadership and a sustained investment in people, technology and sustainable homes.