National Housing Maintenance Forum

The NHMF began in 1994 as a steering group that developed the NHF Schedule of Rates and a range of standard service specifications for other maintenance activities. It controls the annual license fee income on these products, which it invests in keeping them up to date with the latest best practice, and to develop new products and services for the maintenance of social housing. Any surplus funds are used to promote best practice in maintenance. It is serviced by M3 Housing, who own the products and share in the costs of developing and promoting them.

About ten years ago it was reconstituted as the National Housing Maintenance Forum and expanded its role in promoting best practice in the maintenance of social housing. The revenues from the NHF Schedule of Rates and other products were more than was needed for reinvestment in their development. The committee felt that maintenance was under-valued by representative bodies like the Chartered Institute of Housing and the National Housing Federation, and stepped in fill the gap, mostly by contributing to the work of the Federation. Initially it helped to fund a maintenance policy post at the Federation, and over the past ten years it has funded the publication of some excellent guides published by the Federation. Its annual maintenance conference is run by the committee who select the topics and chair the workshops, and make sure it addresses the wide range of detailed issues that maintenance managers have to grapple with.