February Bulletin
February’s bulletin for members is now available to view and download
Annual Conference Booking 2025
Booking is now open for the NFTMO Annual Conference 2025!
The booking form can be found here and we would remind members not to make any payment until you booking has been confirmed and an invoice received.
We would also draw your attention to the requirement that Early Bird bookings are both booked and paid for by 31st March 2025.
We can hardly wait!
Freedom of Information Act to be extended to TMOs
The government have announced that they intended to extend the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) to TMOs in the future.
To date TMOs have not been covered by the FOI and have not been required to disclose information they hold. In response to the Phase 2 Report into the Grenfell Tower tragedy the government announced the extension as they have decided not to include TMOs in the proposed Social Tenants Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) provisions. This will now be solely to allow tenants of housing associations to access information held by their landlords. Council tenants were not included because they have the ability to access information using FOI.
The NFTMO had successfully argued that STAIRs should not include TMOs as we believe that there are already enough provisions within the FOI to cover tenants in homes managed by TMOS. The landlord council should already hold information on TMO performance through the monitoring reports TMOs submit quarterly. Additionally, a TMO complain procedure should integrate with the council process so as to allow tenants to challenge performance issues.
We will continue to make this point to government.
Conference Refund Policy and Late Payment Information
For 2025 we have adopted a new refunds policy regarding bookings for our Annual Conference which will also appear on the invoices sent requesting payment.
Past years have seen a large number of requests for refunds were delegates find that they can no longer make the event once they’ve booked and we have endeavoured to be as flexible as possible when dealing with this. Unfortunately, if we are unable to find a replacement (some requests come in a day or two before the event!) we still have to pay the full charge to the venue. This is obviously very difficult for the NFTMO which operates on very small margins and small changes can have a disproportionate impact on our overall financial health.
We will still try to be as flexible as possible when considering refunds but the later the notice we receive the more difficult it will be to find a replacement delegate so we have reflected this is the policy.
As you know, we offer an Early Bird discount on the booking fee and we usually manage to sell all places on this basis. However, the reduced price is quite clearly made available for payments made by 31st March 2025. A few TMOs have sought take advantage of this by booking before this date and making payment after the start of the new financial year. We will therefore be making an additional charge, to the non-discounted price, for payments made after the cut-off date.
Caretaker Required at Blenheim Gardens RMO
Blenheim Gardens RMO in LB Lambeth are looking for a part-time caretaker for a fixed-term contract of 12 months.
If you or anyone you know might be interested please take a look at out job vacancies page.
Annual Conference 2025
We are about to send out details of this year’s NFTMO Annual Conference which, once again, will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon over the weekend of 27th-29th June 2025.
If your TMO decided to carry forward their booking from 2024 then you will not need to book again as these have been held for you at 2024 prices. We are in the process of checking with all of those TMOs to see if they still require the same number of places/rooms. Any additional rooms will need to be secured by returning the booking form which you will receive shortly.
Although we have fewer rooms at the Crowne Plaza this year we have been able to secure additional rooms at the neighbouring Alveston Manor Hotel to accommodate what we anticipate will be another sold out Conference.
Once again we will be holding a Gala Dinner on the Saturday evening followed by the NFTMO Annual Awards and an evening of entertainment.
We look forward to welcoming you all to what will be another fantastic celebration of all things tenant management.
NFTMO January Bulletin for Members
The January edition of the monthly bulleting for NFTMO Members can be found here.
Do let us know if you have news to share with the wider TMO world.
Awwab’s Law set to be introduced
The Government have today announced that Awaab’s Law will be introduced across the social housing sector from October 2025.
The Secretary of State, Angela Rayner, said “We intend to act as quickly as possible to bring all relevant hazards within the scope of new legal requirements, but to ensure its effective implementation we will implement Awaab’s Law through a phased approach.
“This sequencing will allow us to apply the protections that Awaab’s Law provides to damp and mould earlier than would be the case if we sought to apply it to a wider group of hazards from the offset.
“It will also provide for an initial period of testing and learning to ensure the reform is being delivered in a way that benefits social tenants and secures the lasting legacy that Awaab Ishak’s family have fought so hard for. As we progressively extend the application of Awaab’s Law, we will continue to test and learn to make sure the new legal requirements are operating effectively.”
The full government response to the recent consultation will be published shortly and we expect further guidance as to the implementation of the new Law to follow. The phased approach means that regulations around condensation, damp and mould will be introduced from October 2025 with requirements around a wider range of hazards sometime in 2026 and 2027 until they cover the full range of hazards as defined by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSR).
Employment Rights Bill
Generational change is what the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) promised so we have an major piece of legislation with parts that could have a great effect on the relationship between employees and employers over the coming years. This piece of legislation covers a range of areas including statutory sick pay, parental leave and when employment rights start.
If you want to learn more about the proposed scope of the bill, its likely impact and when changes may come in, Anthony Collins Solicitors have introduced a free Employment Rights Bill hub where you can learn more about the complexities of the ERB and where you’ll find consultations, draft regulations, commencement timelines and key implications.
You can also sign up to receive updates on the Bill’s progress, amendments, and most importantly, insights into what they mean for your organisation.
The Government have also published several factsheets on the new Bill which they state will be consulted on across 2025 with the new legislation coming into effect no earlier than 2026.
Don’t get caught out by these changes, particularly that employment rights in many areas will come into effect of day 1 of any persons employment by your TMO.
