Two thirds of social housing in England is owned or managed by just 40 of the largest landlords. So what does it actually mean to be a smaller registered provider in a sector shaped by that kind of concentration — and is being small necessarily a disadvantage?

In this episode of the Social Housing Round Table, hosted by Elaine Middleton, Caroline Harraway, Head of Housing at Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, joins the conversation to share her experience of working across local authority, large housing association, and now smaller RP settings — and what she has learned from all three.

Caroline is refreshingly honest about the realities of being small. The same regulatory requirements, the same rising expectations from residents, the same legislative pressures — but without the backroom support functions, the large specialist teams, or the financial scale that larger organisations rely on. She shares some of the genuinely unexpected layers of complexity that come with JRHT’s history: a post office in the heart of the community, apple and pear trees in every garden planted by Joseph Rowntree himself in 1901, and box hedges that recently fell foul of a moth infestation — all of which carry legacy expectations that cannot simply be swept aside.

But the conversation is equally clear about what smaller providers do well. The ability to adapt quickly, the closeness to residents, the real-time feedback that comes from being embedded in a community, and the sense of purpose that comes from genuinely knowing the people you serve.

The discussion that followed brought in contributions from across the room — including a powerful intervention from Lizzie, a tenant and retired professional, who challenged the sector’s tendency to treat tenants as social work clients rather than as skilled individuals with expertise to offer. Kevin, an executive director at a large housing association and chair of a small one, offered a rare perspective from both sides. And a wider conversation about mergers, technology, consortia, and what the future of smaller RPs looks like rounded out a session that had plenty for landlords of every size to reflect on.

Big thank you to Devonshires, our sponsor for the Policy and Governance Stream and of course to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.