The British Property Federation has published a bespoke governance code of practice for for-profit registered providers of affordable housing.

The new code aims to promote good governance among for-profit registered providers (FPRPs), safeguard the interests of shareholders, customers, and other stakeholders, and protect the sector’s reputation.

The code is informed by existing codes of governance used by the National Housing Federation, as well as the UK Corporate Code and the European Confederation of Directors’ Associations (ecoDa). But the BPF has developed its own for FPRPs due to “the distinct elements of these organisations”.

The code has taken almost a year to develop.

According to a recent report by Knight Frank, FPRPs could triple their affordable housing portfolios, meaning they could own more than 86,000 homes by 2028.

Ian Fletcher, director of policy at the BPF said: “Housing is essential to the UK’s economic and social prosperity. Pension funds are a key source of new capital for delivering homes and, as we set out in our manifesto for housing – Building for Generations, our offer to the next government is to deliver a step change in output of homes across all tenures, including affordable housing.

“The publication of a code of governance for for-profit registered providers provides a framework that will enable providers to demonstrate to stakeholders the highest standards of good governance and positive stewardship of affordable housing.”