NHF consults on revised guidance on impairment of social housing assets

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30 Apr, 2014

Following consideration of responses to the Exposure Draft (“ED”) on the revised Housing Statement of Recommended Practice (“the Housing SORP”), The National Housing Federation (NHF), along with the SORP Working Party, have published a further ED that significantly revises the proposed guidance in the Housing SORP relating to impairment of social housing assets. Comments on these revised proposals are invited until 4 June 2014.

The original ED was issued by the NHF in December 2013 with a comment period which closed on 14 February 2014.  The impact assessment performed by the NHF, along with the responses to the original ED indicated that that “the sector was deeply concerned about proposals on the impairment of social housing assets”.

The key changes proposed to the original guidance related to impairment are:

that assessment should reflect that social housing assets are held for their (public) service potential, not only their income generating capacity;

clarity that impairment should not be routine, i.e. as soon as a development is delivered this should not trigger a write-down in value; and

more flexibility in the definition of what constitutes a cash generating unit, e.g. allowing consideration of whole development programmes.

As a result of this additional consultation, the NHF comment that “the final SORP will be delayed until September 2014”.

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