The London Housing Directors’ Group (LHDG)

The London Housing Directors’ Group (LHDG) is a professional network of senior housing officers from across London’s 33 local authorities. Collectively, the group’s members are responsible for managing London’s 390,000 social rented homes and provide services to 410,000 leaseholders. They deliver on the boroughs’ statutory and strategic housing objectives across the range of issues, including homelessness, housing delivery and housing management.

The London Housing Directors’ Group (LHDG) is a professional network of senior housing officers from across London’s 33 local authorities. Collectively, the group’s members are responsible for managing London’s 390,000 social rented homes and provide services to 410,000 leaseholders. They deliver on the boroughs’ statutory and strategic housing objectives across the range of issues, including homelessness, housing delivery and housing management. 

The LHDG facilitates the sharing of best practice between Housing Directors, explores opportunities for joint working and leads engagement with key stakeholders on strategic matters on behalf of borough housing teams. As a professional network it is a politically neutral voice within the housing sector.

LHDG has a monthly newsletter that provides regular updates on our work, the views of Housing Directors and emerging issues for housing in London. To register to receive this, please contact sue.hannah@londoncouncils.gov.uk

Housing pressures

Housing pressures in London are the most acute in the country. This is driven by the chronic and longstanding shortage of affordable housing in the capital.

London boroughs estimate that one in 50 Londoners are homeless and living in temporary accommodation. On average, there is at least one homeless child in every London classroom. There are also 320,000 households on social housing waiting lists in the capital. 

What LHDG does

Amid immense housing and homelessness pressures, London boroughs’ housing officers actively collaborate to provide systems-level leadership, to look at opportunities for shared services, for developing skills and capacity in our workforce, research and analysis to inform future policy priorities, and the promotion of best practice.

With our collective aspirations and combined resources, we are prioritising the following:

  1. Delivering housing-led regeneration schemes. Boroughs have a strong track record in this space and with the right conditions and support can bring forward more schemes that will improve housing conditions and boost housebuilding together. 
  2. Solutions to address the homelessness crisis – including accelerating the supply of temporary accommodation, focusing more on prevention, and leading change and improvement in the private rented sector. 
  3. By working together and with key stakeholders, we’ll seek to ensure boroughs are better prepared and able to implement regulatory changes and deliver a higher quality service as landlords. 

The group takes also nominates representatives of borough Housing Directors to external boards, including the London Safeguarding Adults Board, and Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements Board and the London Strategic Migration Partnership. 

Housing Directors have also taken forward joint initiatives, including Setting the Standard, Retrofit London and the Housing Development Academy and co-sponsors the annual London Homelessness Awards organised by the London Housing Foundation.

Get in touch

The Co-Chairs of the London Housing Directors’ Group (LHDG) are Joanne Drew, Strategic Director of Housing and Regeneration, London Borough of Enfield, and Jamie Carswell, Director of Housing & Safer Communities, Royal Borough of Greenwich.

If you’d like to know more about the work of the London Housing Directors’ Group and explore opportunities to collaborate, please contact Sue Hannah, Special Projects Lead at London Councils: sue.hannah@londoncouncils.gov.uk

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