What's Happening at CHIC

CHIC’s BuildSmart Showhome

CHIC developed its off-site constructed showhome to demonstrate the improved speed of delivery and quality that modular homes can provide. The house is a 2 bedroom, 4 person 79m2 home built offsite using two modules. It is designed as one of a pair of semis’.

It also shows that it can look just like a traditionally constructed house and can be finished in a variety of materials including cladding, brick slip, render or traditional masonry. The house has been designed to show a completed structure downstairs and upstairs. Upstairs parts of the walls, ceilings and floor have been left unfinished to demonstrate the construction techniques and materials used.

We have developed a virtual tour which allows you to view the house from the comfort of your armchair but, if you want to view in person, we are happy to arrange a socially-distanced appointment once we have made it through lockdown 3.0.
 
 
The showhome is located in Kidderminister, kindly hosted by Community Housing Group.

Please contact Sarah Davey, CHIC’s Head of Development for more information on BuildSmart options, our house types or to book a viewing sdavey@chicltd.co.uk


CHIC CONFERENCE 2021

Last year, the annual CHIC Conference went virtual as we delivered our high quality content online. This year, we are really looking forward to be able to host the event live again, returning to Sixways Stadium in Worcester. Reflecting the current covid situation, we have moved the date of the 2021 ‘live conference’ to Wednesday 24th November when we hope that the impact of the pandemic will have significantly eased.

You can expect a wide range of experts from the housing and construction sectors, delivering valuable content on the latest topics around asset management, development, people and more. Our workshops are influenced by your feedback and offer a chance for you to gain key transferable knowledge and to question sector experts on current issues.

As with all CHIC conferences it is supported by our contractors and supply chain partners and free to attend for members.

Register Your Place

So please book your own place, ask colleagues to book theirs and keep an eye on our website for further updates www.chicltd.co.uk. You do not want to miss out!

In the meantime, read later about our webinar programme, which will include a day of three webinars chaired by Mark Easton on Wednesday 9th June, so please book this date too.


Rapid, Reliable, Procurement
CHIC Dynamic Purchasing System

Housing providers need to deliver services to customers and manage their assets in what can be a fast-changing and unpredictable operating environment. Over the past few years, situations such as Fire Safety and the Coronavirus Pandemic have shown just how quickly organisations have needed to respond to cope with the unexpected.

Rapid access to reliable and cost-effective contractors and supply chains can be critical to success and CHIC’s Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) offers Members the perfect solution.

The DPS has proven popular since first introduced and many members have used it to access new services and suppliers.

CHIC has a wide range of DPS solutions available to Members and we are continually reviewing these to meet ongoing requirements. If you have any queries, please get in touch at enquiries@chicltd.co.uk.

You can find out more about our DPS Solutions HERE
 
 

CHIC’s Legal Services Framework

Our updated legal services framework went live in 2020. Many members have since been using the framework to receive expert advice and cost savings across three legal workstream lots. Some of the housing specialist law firms on our framework include:

 

 

Trowers is delighted to be reappointed to the CHIC Legal Services Framework, and to continue working with CHIC members on the important and innovative work they do, serving their communities.

We are appointed to Lot 1 of the Framework – Corporate, Governance and Finance. We have a broad team of social housing and real estate lawyers who can advise you on all matters in this Lot - covering governance, finance, employment, pensions, commercial, corporate, procurement and joint ventures. Niche areas of advice such as intellectual property, data protection, cybercrime and fraud are also within our specialism.

 
Working with us, CHIC Members will benefit from building a close and trusted working relationship with partners who have a deep understanding of the sector.
 
If you would like to get in touch, please contact:
 
Richard St John Williams
Partner
T: 0161 838 2097 / M: 07436 794595
E: rstjohnwilliams@trowers.com
 
 
 

Ward Hadaway's social housing team is delighted to be part of the CHIC Framework. We are on Lot 2: Housing & Asset Management.

The Partner-led Social Housing Group acts for both large and small Registered Providers throughout the North of England and the Midlands.

We are experts on:

  • Anti Social Behaviour and other Breach of tenancy
  • Bespoke and General Legal training for housing management
  • Boundary and Party Wall Act disputes
  • Disrepair litigation
  • Equality, Human Rights and Vulnerability Advice
  • Gas servicing access
  • HCA regulation
  • Leasehold disputes
  • Policy and Procedure
  • Possession proceedings against all levels of tenure
  • Recovery of rent
  • Service Charge disputes and Rent Review including Tribunal representation

We also offer fixed price support packages to help with leasehold management.

If you would like to get in touch, please contact:

Alistair McDonald
Business Development Manager-Built Environment
T: +44 (0) 330 137 3021
M: +44 (0) 774 040 5741

 

 

With an outstanding market reputation, we are committed to providing CHIC members the very best service. Weightmans is recommended for social housing in leading legal directories Chambers & Partners and Legal 500.

As a large and well-resourced firm, CHIC members will benefit from our strength and depth with multiple office locations, multiple experts, niche specialisms, strong business support teams and established business lines to benefit our clients.

We will offer a variety of added value benefits to CHIC and its members including free training, monthly management information, free of charge pre-instruction advice, library services, two-way secondments and access to our innovative use of technology; our product is market leading and in how it can help CHIC members manage their asset portfolios, enabling an early approach to potential areas of risk. 

 

If you would like to get in touch, please contact:

Lot 2 - Housing and asset management        

Sian Evans

Partner

sian.evans@weightmans.com   

0151 242 6821

 

Lot 3 - Property and development

Thomas Starkey

Partner

thomas.starkey@weightmans.com

0151 305 8921

 

 

Wright Hassall has been acting for Registered Providers since 1965 and provides the full range of RP legal services.

Lot 1 - Our securitisation team has helped raise over a billion pounds for the sector - £750 Million alone in 2020. One of our partners, Carol Matthews, lobbied the Government to abolish Section 133 of the Housing Act 1988 which has resulted in huge valuation uplifts.

Contact: carol.matthews@wrigthassall.co.uk

Lot 2 - Our Housing Management team doesn’t just deal with tenancy enforcement – we will revise your procedures to minimise risk to the business and are proactive in training teams to bring their own court claims, saving time and reducing cost.

Contact: mary.rouse@wrighthassall.co.uk

Lot 3 - Our Development team is at the cutting edge of RP development recently advising on a large-scale modular build together with land led and traditional methods of procurement.

Contact: claire.waring@wrighthassall.co.uk

 

 

Published in: CHIC CHAT

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