Welcome to the team - Kyle Smith
We are delighted to announce that Kyle Smith has recently joined CHIC as Director of Partnerships and Communication:
Hi, I’m Kyle and I am excited to be joining the CHIC team. I bring over 15 years of experience across social housing, community development, business engagement and marketing – most recently as Head of Communications at Trent & Dove. I will be overseeing Marketing, Partnerships and Social Value and I am especially passionate about making sure social value is meaningful, visible and embedded in the way we work every day. I’m also a Board Member at Citizen Housing, one of CHIC’s member organisations, which has homes across the West Midlands.
My career has included roles in the education and charity sectors, including the University of Birmingham and The King’s Trust (formerly The Prince’s Trust). I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a qualified Mental Health First Aider. I look forward to working with you all.
CHIC Conference 2026 – That’s a Wrap
What an incredible day at the CHIC Conference on 3rd June. We were delighted to welcome members and partners for a packed day of insight, collaboration and conversation focused on the challenges and opportunities shaping social housing today. In line with this years theme, we truly did ‘Join the Dots’ on how as a sector we can combine all our individual priorities and knowledge into real outcomes for residents.
A huge thank you goes to our headline sponsor, Broadoak Group, for their support and to all our sponsors, speakers and exhibitors who brought expertise, energy and real world perspective to the event. Most importantly, thank you to every delegate who joined us and contributed to such a positive and engaging atmosphere throughout the day.
Don’t just take our word for it as our media partners have captured the key takeaways and highlights from the conference HERE.
You can also watch the highlights video HERE.
UNZ Partnership
CHIC is pleased to confirm that we have renewed our UNZ (Unlock Net Zero) Partnership for another year. This continued relationship reflects our commitment to supporting the sector’s journey towards net zero, while ensuring social housing providers have access to practical insights, innovation and shared learning to help deliver warmer, safer and more energy efficient homes.
As part of the partnership, CHIC will continue to contribute thought leadership and sector perspectives across a range of platforms, sharing our unique insights on procurement, retrofit and delivering better outcomes for residents. Over the next 12 months, we look forward to working with UNZ and Ocean Media to continue shaping meaningful conversations across the sector and highlighting the role procurement can play in achieving net zero ambitions.
This Month’s Housing Update:
Social Housing Bill Progresses with Stronger Stock Protection Measure
The Social Housing Bill continues to move through Parliament, with reforms focused on protecting existing social housing stock, strengthening tenant protections and improving regulatory clarity across the sector. The legislation forms part of a wider government drive to increase delivery and safeguard long term housing supply.
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Warm Homes Programme Accelerates Social Housing Retrofit Delivery
The Government’s Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, launched as part of the wider Warm Homes Plan, is now scaling up delivery to improve energy efficiency and low-carbon heating across up to five million homes by 2030. The programme is a key driver in supporting decarbonisation and reducing fuel poverty across the social housing sector.
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Housing Market Shows Signs of Stabilisation Despite Ongoing Pressures
Recent market data indicates that while housing activity remains subdued, some indicators suggest conditions may be stabilising. Demand and sales remain below average, but the pace of decline is easing, with continued pressure on rents due to constrained supply and longer transaction times.
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