Could Smarter Asset Management Save the NHS £85 Million a Year?

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• Could Smarter Asset Management Save the NHS £85 Million a Year?

12 August 2025

Analysis from the Chartered Institute of Housing highlights a connection between housing quality and health outcomes, predicting that retrofitting social homes could save the NHS £85 million a year.

In this Opinion piece, David Webb, Managing Director of Property & FM at Totalmobile, discusses how improved asset management in housing could reduce NHS pressure and how FM and housing teams aren’t just managing buildings; they are part of the public health solution.

David has over 25 years of experience in asset-centric services, working for companies such as Cognito iQ, JLL Property Group, Integral and Serco.  David’s clients include Hermes, Stanley Black & Decker, Konica Minolta, Computacenter, Transport for London, Wolseley, Saint Gobain, and Jones Laing LaSalle.

 

Aligning Housing Decisions with Wider Public Sector Priorities

 

While the numbers are powerful, the message is even clearer - investing in the condition of our housing stock isn’t just a social imperative; it’s a financial one. At the heart of making those investments count is more innovative asset management.

For facilities and housing professionals, this isn’t just confirmation of the social value of our work. It’s a reminder that asset management, often seen as a technical process, now plays a critical role in delivering better outcomes for residents and for public services.

Cold, damp, and energy-inefficient homes contribute to a range of preventable illnesses, from respiratory conditions to mental health stressors. The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) findings show that the cost of failing to address these conditions falls disproportionately on the NHS — a system already under intense pressure.

This doesn’t mean every housing provider can immediately roll out deep retrofits across their stock. The reality of constrained budgets, competing demands, and delivery pressures is well understood. But what this insight does offer is a broader framework for value, one that positions FM and asset management decisions as part of a wider effort to protect not only buildings but also the wellbeing of the communities they serve.

The Building Research Establishment has estimated that poor housing conditions cost the NHS £1.4 billion annually in England alone. 

We can’t retrofit everything overnight. So, how do we decide which homes to prioritise? That’s where modern asset management systems become essential. They give housing providers and FM managers visibility over thousands of properties at the click of a button, allowing them to map building condition data, energy performance, and resident needs, helping identify not just where interventions are required, but where they’ll have the greatest impact.

This aligns strongly with the Government’s FM Strategy, which calls for a whole-life approach to asset decision-making and the use of structured standards: “Embedding whole-life asset management will drive efficiency, improve decision-making and unlock sustainability gains across the public estate.” 

As these frameworks are adopted more widely, we gain the ability to see housing data not in isolation, but in the context of environmental performance, resident safety, and, increasingly, public health.

 

Asset Management is Not an Isolated System

 

Of course, technology and data are only part of the story. Housing and FM organisations also need the capacity to act on that information — whether through in-house capability, upskilling, or cross-sector collaboration. Many housing providers are already under pressure to comply with the Building Safety Act and decarbonisation goals. Layering in health-based priorities could be seen as an added pressure and requires careful strategic coordination. So, while the NHS may feel one step removed from housing decisions, the outcomes are tightly connected.

That’s why it’s so important to see asset management not as an isolated system, but as part of a wider ecosystem involving health, housing, finance, and local government. Collaboration between these services will help unlock shared value and position asset managers as enablers of broader social outcomes. The NHS Estates Strategy, for instance, already prioritises prevention-first thinking. Extending that philosophy into housing policy could reduce long-term demand on clinical services. 

Asset management has always been about stewardship of buildings, budgets, and compliance. But in 2025, it’s increasingly about foresight. The opportunity now is to use our data, systems, and planning processes to deliver not just technical improvements — like reducing carbon emissions and strengthening compliance — but strategic outcomes that will lead to healthier homes, lower societal costs, and stronger communities.

As we align housing decisions with wider public sector priorities, the value of asset management becomes clearer than ever. It’s time to reframe how we measure success and recognise that more informed decisions - on retrofitting, maintenance, and housing upgrades - can lead to better health outcomes.

Picture: a photograph of the bottom corner of a room's walls, showing black mould above a wooden skirting board. Image Credit: Unsplash

Article written by David Webb | Published 12 August 2025

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