How housing associations can use the Local Insight Services Directory to better understand their patch

We have added a new feature to Local Insight that allows for the exploration of Registered Social Housing organisations that operate within the areas you are working, alongside information on the social infrastructure and community assets nearby.

This data can be accessed through the new Services Directory module within Local Insight, available now to all Local Insight subscribers.  You can choose your area of interest, and generate a list of the providers and the number of properties they own within the areas selected. 

For housing associations, this update brings additional value to the platform that some former Community Insight users may find familiar, while expanding its scope to provide a more complete picture of both the local housing context and the wider community services operating in your patch.

The return of this feature enables social housing organisations to:

• Identify partnership opportunities for community investment activities with other providers to avoid duplication, reduce costs and increase impact.
• Explore shared service opportunities, for example,  for repairs contracts to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
• Benchmark against other similar providers to understand your representation in different areas.
• Support any potential acquisition opportunities by identifying providers that would be a good fit.

If you are not subscribed to Local Insight, and would like to explore this feature, alongside the maps, dashboards and reports – book a demo today.

What data is available in the Services Directory?

The Services Directory has launched in beta, with further improvements set to arrive in the near future. These improvements will bring both new functionalities and datasets – as well as wider coverage of existing data.

As of the beta launch in August 2025, data on registered providers of social housing is available for England and Wales only.

In England, this information is drawn from three sources:

• The Register of Social Housing Providers
• Land Registry ownership of properties by UK companies 
• Social Housing Characteristics (CORE), which offers further detail on each provider, including size and stock managed or owned

In Wales, the information is based on two sources: the Register of Social Landlords published by the Welsh Government, alongside the same Land Registry dataset used in England.

Exploring social infrastructure and community assets

Along with data on the social housing providers operating within your area, the Services Director offers point location data on the key services and infrastructure operating within your areas of interest.

This data is available for several different categories of location. These categories include ‘NHS Sites’, ‘Schools’ and ‘Third Sector’ organisations.

By combining this data with registered providers of social housing, your organisation can:

• Understand the wider housing context of an area
• Build a clear picture of how your footprint compares to others
• Identify gaps and maximise the impact of community investment
• Bring all data in one place to better support decision-making, using a single source of truth

Explore the Services Directory

Join a member of the OCSI team for a tailored tour of the Local Insight platform, and discover how other housing organisations make use of the sophisticated mapping and data insight features available.

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