Why are we still managing 2026 homes with 20th-century tools?

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Why are we still managing 2026 homes with 20th-century tools?

17th Nov 2026 | 11:00 - 12:00

Social housing has more data, technology and insight than ever before. So why are so many landlords still working reactively?

In this Switched Online webinar, Nick Atkin will share Yorkshire Housing’s experience of moving towards a more pre-emptive landlord service, including how data, technology and AI can help identify trends, spot risks and support earlier intervention.

Leann Hearne will challenge what stands in the way of making this shift across the sector, from legacy systems and organisational culture to operational capacity and the assumptions we make about what residents expect.

Together, they’ll explore why housing can be slow to adopt the approaches and technology already commonplace in other customer-facing services, and what it takes to turn better data and insight into meaningful action.

This is a conversation about more than technology. It’s about whether the traditional landlord service is fit for 2026, what residents should reasonably expect from their landlord, and what needs to change if housing providers are serious about moving from reacting to problems to identifying and addressing them earlier.

Nick Atkin, CEO, Yorkshire Housing

Nick joined Yorkshire Housing in 2019. Since this time, he’s delivered transformational change throughout the business to meet the future opportunities and challenges. The business manages 20,000 homes across the entire Yorkshire geography and has a strong focus on sustainability, inclusivity, and customer-centric services.

With extensive experience in the housing sector, Nick is recognised for driving innovation and championing digital transformation to improve customer outcomes, advocating for the use of digital as an enabler to drive fundamental change in how businesses operate. This includes the purposeful use of automation and AI to reduce friction and enhance services.

Nick is a disruptor in the ‘future of work’ debate and under his leadership Yorkshire Housing has embedded truly agile working approach.

He’s a keen advocate of devolution and fostering collaboration. He’s written the three Housing Prospectuses for West, South and North Yorkshire respectively. He Chairs the York and North Yorkshire Housing Partnership and is Vice Chair of both the West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire Housing Partnerships respectively.

He regularly shares insights on leadership and sector challenges through podcasts including Yorkshire Housing’s own series: Raising the Roof, where he explores a variety of topics.

He also writes regularly for Inside Housing as one of their columnists.

Connect with Nick on LinkedIn

Leann Hearne, Interim CEO, Switchee

Leann is an experienced leader with over 30 years in senior executive roles in housing, care and manufacturing sectors. A former housing association CEO, she is currently Interim CEO at Switchee and Chair of Yorkshire Housing. She also leads her own consultancy, advising boards and senior teams on leadership, governance and business transformation.

Leann is a values-driven leader who looks at social businesses through a commercial lens. She focuses on purposeful leadership and strong cultures and, as a qualified coach and mentor, has supported and championed female leaders in the sector, for which she was awarded ‘Woman of the Year’ in 2024. She serves on several boards and advisory groups within the housing and manufacturing sectors, supporting strategic direction and effective governance.

Joining information:

Your joining link will be sent immediately from Switchee Webinars (customercare@gotowebinar.com) and you will also receive a reminder 1 week, 1 day, and 1 hour before the webinar begins.

Sessions are recorded where possible, but please note that not all slides or presentation materials may be available to share afterwards.

If you have any questions about the webinar or your booking, please contact marketing@switchee.com. For troubleshooting or technical issues, please visit https://support.goto.com/webinar.

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