Housing associations
Awaab's Law, the golden thread, the Decent Homes Standard and the Regulator all demand one thing most housing associations do not have: current, structured, defensible evidence of what condition the building envelopes are actually in.
01 The evidence gap
Most housing associations hold condition data. The problem is what it looks like when you need to use it.
Stock condition surveys, contractor reports, reactive maintenance logs. The data exists. But rolling survey cycles leave gaps of three to five years between assessments. Traditional surveys cover internal components but rarely reach the external envelope where the highest-value failures start. And when each data source uses different language, grading and scope, the combined picture is unreliable.
Surveys are rolling, not current
On a five-year survey cycle, the last assessment of a building may be three to five years old by the time it is revisited. Roofs deteriorate between cycles. Facades crack. The condition you planned against may no longer reflect the condition you have.
Surveys cover the inside, not the outside
Traditional stock condition surveys are predominantly internal. The external envelope, where the highest-value failures start, is typically assessed from ground level at best. Flat roofs on multi-storey blocks are frequently recorded as 'not inspected' or 'assumed satisfactory.'
Evidence does not survive scrutiny
When the Housing Ombudsman, the Regulator, or a coroner asks what you knew about a building's condition and when, a narrative PDF from three years ago does not constitute a defensible record. They want dated evidence, located findings, graded severity and a documented response.
02 What the gap costs
The evidence gap has specific consequences.
Awaab's Law timescale failures
When a potential significant damp or mould hazard is reported, the investigation must be completed within 10 working days. Without current condition evidence for the building envelope, the investigation starts from zero every time. You are reacting to symptoms without understanding the building fabric causing them.
Undefended CAPEX plans
If the condition data behind your capital programme is incomplete, out of date or inconsistent, the plan cannot withstand challenge. Board members ask why Building A received funding before Building B. Without graded, costed findings from the actual envelope, the answers are professional opinion, not evidence.
Golden thread non-compliance
Higher-risk buildings must maintain a digital golden thread of accurate, current building information. If your condition records consist of ground-level photographs and narrative reports from two years ago, you will struggle to demonstrate 'accurate, up-to-date' information.
03 How Ovrsite helps
A clearer external-condition record for your stock.
A systematic drone-captured inspection of your building envelopes produces the evidence you need in a format that serves multiple obligations simultaneously. Every building is assessed using the same analytical process, the same defect taxonomy and the same grading criteria. The findings are comparable across the portfolio, which means you can explain the evidence behind maintenance priorities.
- Dated visual and thermal evidence of every building envelope
- Graded, located, costed findings across the whole stock
- Consistent methodology and grading, building to building
- Thermal patterns to help target further investigation where capture conditions are suitable
- A persistent digital record in Ovrsite Enterprise for the golden thread
- Drone capture can reduce the need for access at height within the agreed scope
04 Evidence to support your responsibilities
How one source of evidence serves each duty.
Awaab's Law
Thermal patterns can help target building-fabric investigation. They do not confirm a damp-and-mould cause or replace a resident-focused investigation and response.
Golden thread
For higher-risk buildings, the graded finding register in Ovrsite Enterprise provides dated, digital condition evidence to contribute to the wider golden thread maintained by your responsible team. each recorded finding is located, photographed, graded and tied to your response.
Decent Homes
External findings can contribute to a wider condition assessment. This evidence does not independently determine whether a home meets the Decent Homes Standard or identify every damp-and-mould cause.
CAPEX planning
Graded, costed findings feed directly into a multi-year capital forecast. You can model different investment scenarios, phase work by severity and defend the plan with evidence when the board or a funder asks for the rationale.
Housing associations, answered
How does this compare to our existing stock condition surveys?
It complements them. Stock condition surveys cover internal components: kitchens, bathrooms, heating, electrics. Drone-captured inspection covers the external building envelope: roofs, facades, windows, drainage, thermal performance. Coverage and inaccessible areas must remain explicit. Combining datasets does not guarantee complete coverage or remove the need for specialist investigation.
Can you inspect our higher-risk buildings?
Yes. UAV inspection is particularly suited to higher-risk buildings where scaffold access is expensive, disruptive and slow. The accessible elevations and roof zones are agreed after reviewing the building, flight conditions and site constraints.
What about leaseholder and mixed-tenure blocks?
External inspection does not need access to individual homes. We capture the building envelope from outside, which reduces the access problems that can delay inspections in mixed-tenure blocks where leaseholder cooperation varies. Site access and any internal follow-up are agreed separately.
How quickly can you mobilise?
Tell us the buildings and the deadline. We agree mobilisation and reporting dates after reviewing the scope, airspace, site arrangements and available capacity.
What does it cost?
Price depends on the buildings, access arrangements, capture scope and outputs. We agree a scoped proposal so you can compare the full service, including any follow-up access, with alternatives. Owners of portfolios of 10 or more buildings can request one building inspection free.
See it on your stock.
Tell us about your stock and the obligations you answer to. We will inspect a representative building, return graded findings in Ovrsite Enterprise, and show how the findings can support your building decisions.