Our response to coronavirus and current priorities

Housing associations are working closely with residents, local government, the NHS and others to respond to the coronavirus crisis. We welcome the vital steps the government have taken so far to support individuals and businesses.

This briefing sets out housing associations’ priorities in responding to the pandemic, which are:

1. Keeping residents safe.
2. Protecting residents’ income and livelihoods by:
   • Ensuring people can claim all their entitlement to help.
   • Pledging that no one will be evicted from a housing association home as a result of financial hardship caused by coronavirus, where they are working with their housing association to get their payments back on track. 
3. Keeping vital services running, including care and support schemes to protect the most vulnerable and ease pressure on the NHS.

For each priority, the briefing outlines what housing associations are already doing, and what the government can do to support this. 

On top of these immediate priorities, housing associations are ready to work with the government to strengthen the economic and social recovery from the pandemic. We set out the long-term measures the government can take to help housing associations do that at the end of this briefing, and in our submission to the Spending Review.

Download the briefing