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We are looking to hear about outstanding projects, whether you are completing the work yourself or partnering with other organisations (local authority, housing association or developers).  

• Showcase how you have made a real impact on the delivery of quality homes and the lives of the people living in them.  
• Provide evidence of how you have made, or contributed, to a more cost-effective and efficient process.  
• Show evidence of how you have engaged with the community, and how this has influenced and positively impacted the overall outcomes of the project.    
• Demonstrate how you have maintained good stakeholder relationships. Where appropriate, include testimonials from the people and organisations you have worked with, including feedback from residents and/or the wider community.  
• Why has the past year been particularly outstanding? (This should be linked to performance and objectives, rather than a milestone such as an anniversary). 

We are looking to recognise the outstanding work of professional services organisations working within the social housing sector. Entries are welcomed from but not limited to consultancies, legal services, financial services, recruitment and IT.

• Outline the size and scale of your housing business. 
• Demonstrate how you have been effective in allowing housing associations to achieve their goals. 
• Provide evidence of how you have made, or contributed, to a more cost-effective and efficient process. 
• Include testimonials from the people you have worked with.   
• Provide evidence/measures of success, ideally with contextual data (sector averages etc). 
• Why has the past year been particularly outstanding? (This should be linked to performance and objectives, rather than a milestone such as an anniversary).

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Campaign of the year can include a variety of initiatives, for example, you may have run a successful campaign to tackle a specific issue, run sustained communications activity to become a thought leader in a particular area, transformed the culture of your organisation with powerful internal communications work or you may have demonstrated excellence in communications across the board.

Eligibility: Projects must have taken place between 1 June 2022 and 14 July 2023

• Set out the objectives of the campaign and how these were met and exceeded.  
• Demonstrate how you have put communication at the heart of the work you do and show how it has supported the wider goals of your organisation.   
• Provide evidence of how you have clearly communicated your work to your target audience (and how you have involved them in the process) - whether it is to your tenants, the wider community, different organisations or politicians. Ideally you should include contextual data (sector averages etc).  
• Why has the past year been particularly outstanding? (This should be linked to performance and objectives, rather than a milestone such as an anniversary). 

We are looking for organisations that can show a truly innovative approach that other organisations could learn from to improve business operations or service delivery for residents.  This could relate to any part of your business or service. Technology may have been central to your innovation but this isn’t essential.  

• Demonstrate how you have thought outside the box to deliver a service or product in a way which shows a truly innovative approach.   
• We’re looking for original thinking which has changed the way you work in a clear and sustainable way. Show evidence of how this has strengthened your work and enhanced your overall service.   
• What can others in the sector learn from your innovation/approach? How can the learning be replicated?
• Provide evidence/measures of success, ideally with contextual data (sector averages etc).  
• Why has the past year been particularly outstanding? (This should be linked to performance and objectives, rather than a milestone such as an anniversary). 

We are looking for an organisation that has played an outstanding role in supporting residents into training and work, whether you have used traditional means or shown innovation in your approach.

• Outline the challenges your residents face and how your programme is designed to help.  
• Demonstrate how the approach had a positive, tangible and lasting impact on the quality of lives of tenants, including testimonials from the people you have worked with. Judges will be interested in how residents were involved in service design or how the service was tailored to meet their needs.
• Show how the work has supported the wider goals of your organisation.  
• Provide evidence/measures of success, ideally with contextual data (sector averages etc).  
• Why has the past year been particularly outstanding? (This should be linked to performance and objectives, rather than a milestone such as an anniversary). 

This award will recognise an approach to regeneration that has been successful in transforming an area and the lives of the people living in it. Your project must have at least one phase that is complete.

Eligibility: Projects must have taken place between 1 June 2022 and 14 July 2023

• Summarise the regeneration challenge, the local circumstances, community make-up and stated objectives.
• Demonstrate how you engaged and collaborated with the wider community and the impact this had on delivery.   
• Show evidence of the tangible outcomes that have come from your regeneration, ideally with contextual data (sector averages etc). This could include the difference on issues such as health, education and employment, or work to level up communities. Judges will welcome testimonials from the people and organisations you have worked with, and from community members. 
• Why has this project been particularly outstanding? What can others learn from it? 

This award celebrates projects, initiatives and organisations working to prevent or relieve homelessness in their communities. Judges will be looking for innovation, collaboration and evidence of success. 

Eligibility: Projects must have taken place between 1 June 2022 and 14 July 2023.

• Summarise what homelessness looks like in the community, and what role your project, initiative or organisation has played.  
• Demonstrate the impact you’ve had and the difference you’ve made to people’s lives in your community. Judges will be interested to hear how service users have been involved in the project or initiative. 
• Describe how your work has been innovative, what new approaches you have taken and whether your work could be replicated elsewhere.  
• Provide evidence/measures of success, ideally with contextual data (sector averages etc).  
• Why has the past year been particularly outstanding? (This should be linked to performance and objectives, rather than a milestone such as an anniversary).

We are looking for a landlord who has played a vital role in providing high-quality housing and support to the elderly population.   

• Demonstrate that you have developed and delivered a housing offer which meets needs.   
• Showcase how your project does much more than put a roof over the heads of your residents. How have you helped people to maintain their independence and live healthy, happy lives?   
• How have you worked with relevant organisations to get the best outcomes for the people you house?   
• Where appropriate, include testimonials from the people and organisations you have worked with.  
• Provide evidence/measures of tenant satisfaction with the landlord services, ideally with contextual data (sector averages etc). Judges will also be interested in how residents are involved in your service.
• Why has the past year been particularly outstanding? (This should be linked to performance and objectives, rather than a milestone such as an anniversary). 

We are looking for a landlord who has played a vital part in providing housing and support to residents needing additional support in areas such as mental health, substance misuse and learning disabilities.

• Demonstrate that you have developed and delivered a housing offer which meets their needs.   

• Showcase how your project does much more than put a roof over the heads of your residents. How have you helped people to maintain their independence and live healthy, happy lives?   

• How have you worked with relevant organisations to get the best outcomes for the people you house?   

• Where appropriate, include testimonials from the people and organisations you have worked with.  

• Provide evidence/measures of tenant satisfaction with the landlord services, ideally with contextual data (sector averages etc). Judges will also be interested in how residents have been involved in your service. 

• Why has the past year been particularly outstanding? (This should be linked to performance and objectives, rather than a milestone such as an anniversary). 

We welcome entries from any size of landlord with any initiative where tenant and residents have played a key role in your decision-making process, whether through a co-creation or co-production model, or other approaches where their influence on outcomes can be demonstrated. Our judges will be looking to see that your initiative has included some degree of ownership for tenants and that the initiative has made a meaningful difference to the lives of your tenants.

Eligibility: Projects must have taken place between 1 June 2022 and 14 July 2023.

• Set out the objectives of the initiative and how these were met and exceeded.  

• Demonstrate how you have incorporated the views of tenants and residents as a key part of your decision making.  

• Outline the ways in which your tenants have ownership of or influence over the initiative – please provide evidence via tenant testimonials to support your entry where possible. 

• Provide evidence of how your initiative has made a meaningful difference to the lives of your tenants.  

Recruitment or retention campaign of the year celebrates any initiative that has made a significant difference in either attracting new talent to your organisation; or in retaining talent in the affordable housing sector. Our judges will especially be looking for campaigns which have been mindful of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce. 

Eligibility: Projects must have taken place between 1 June 2022 and 14 July 2023.

• Set out the objectives of the recruitment or retention campaign and how these were met and exceeded.  
• Demonstrate how your campaign has promoted the benefits of working within the affordable housing sector.
• Outline the ways in which your campaign has remained mindful of diversity and has targeted a diverse workforce in your local area.  
• Provide evidence of how the campaign has made a difference to your recruitment and retention stats (ideally please state what these were before and after the campaign). 

We are looking to hear from housing providers that have played a key role in delivering financial inclusion for tenants and residents. The landlord must show that they have played an active role in improving finances as well as any signposting to other agencies or charities. We are interested in innovative approaches or approaches that could make a big difference to residents across the UK if they were adopted more widely by other landlords.

Eligibility: Projects must have taken place between 1 June 2022 and 14 July 2023. 

• Demonstrate how you have good procedures in place with regard to early intervention and the delivery of help, advice and support to residents to help them improve their finances and sustain their tenancy.
• Give examples of how staff are trained in money management and advice on this topic and how they go the extra mile to reach all tenants, not just those who get in touch with services. This should include communication methods that cater for different demographics and the diverse communities that landlords work in.
• Demonstrate how they are linking with other agencies or organisations like utilities services to improve tenant finances or increase the support available to them.
• Provide evidence/measures of success, ideally with wider contextual data (how your work compares to peers for example).
• Why has the past year been particularly outstanding? (This should be linked to performance and objectives, rather than a milestone such as an anniversary).

Partnership of the year can include any partnership within the affordable housing sector that has delivered results for the community you serve or had a meaningful impact on the lives of residents. For example, you may be a landlord that has a joint venture with a homebuilder; or you may have collaborated with another organisation on an initiative around health and housing or you may be partnering with an external organisation on initiatives to tackle domestic abuse or anti-social behaviour. We welcome entries from any partnership initiative that goes beyond a single or one-time campaign (for single or one-time campaigns, please consider entering 'campaign of the year' instead). 

• Describe the key parties to the partnership and how the partnership came about.

• Set out the objectives of the partnership and how these were met and exceeded.  

• Demonstrate how you have collaborated effectively with your partner to achieve desired outcomes. 

• Provide evidence of how your partnership has made a significant contribution to the community it serves and or a meaningful difference to the lives of tenants and residents.

We are looking for local authorities or combined authorities that have used their strategic role to provide leadership, facilitate housing development and meet local housing need. Entrants don’t have to deliver new homes directly, or to manage stock themselves. Judges are looking for evidence of councils or authorities working closely with partners and joining up their housing offer with other services for the benefit of residents. 

• Summarise local housing need and how the council/authority has responded.

• Provide detail of how you have worked closely with partners to provide local leadership and to drive forward a committed approach to meeting housing need in your area.   

• Show how your housing offer links effectively with other services to the demonstrable benefit of your communities.  

• Provide evidence/measures of success, ideally with contextual data (sector averages etc).  

• Why has the past year been particularly outstanding? (This should be linked to performance and objectives, rather than a milestone such as an anniversary). 

We are looking for entries from social landlords that own and manage stock, regardless of the size. Entries are welcomes from housing associations, councils and ALMOs.

• Demonstrate how your team has delivered efficient, high-quality, outstanding services and homes that both you and your tenants can be proud of. What has the impact been? 

• Show how your approach has had a positive impact on the lives of people in your communities. How have you gone above and beyond?   

• Your outstanding work may have been driven by a specific part of your organisation. Demonstrate high quality across the board. 

• Provide evidence/measures of tenant satisfaction with the landlord and core services. Judges will also be keen to understand how tenants and residents have been involved in decision making at your organisation. 

• Why has the past year been particularly outstanding? (This should be linked to performance and objectives, rather than a milestone such as an anniversary).