My role
I am a housing partner at Anthony Collins Solicitors and lead the housing sector. My role is to apply my skills, and the skills of my colleagues, to bring solutions to the issues faced in social housing. I have considerable experience in the housing sector, having acted for housing associations for over 25 years across property, housing management, supported housing and finance fields.
My experience
I have had the privilege of leading my colleagues on a number of sector firsts, including acting for: Derwent Living in the first ever housing association sale and leaseback arrangement through Aviva and have supported the subsequent sale and leaseback arrangements with other clients; Derwent Living in the first ever disposal of a Registered Provider’s retained equity on a shared ownership portfolio; Pennaf Housing Group in the first Welsh sale and leaseback arrangement; and the associations participating in the Voluntary Right to Buy pilot (600 sales) and acting for the National Housing Federation in supporting the Midlands Pilot (approximately 3,000 sales). I have assisted my colleagues in several of our other ‘housing firsts’ on the Trafford Housing Trust/London & Quadrant joint venture (where the intention is to build at least 2,000 new homes) and the Red Kite “Twenty 11”, a new kind of charitable housing company creating an innovative solution for affordable rents, resolving anti-social behaviour cases and widening peoples’ housing choices.
I have lectured and published articles on a wide variety of housing topics, and was co-author of the NHF report, Many Landlords – One Neighbourhood; primarily suggesting cost-effective ways of delivering stock swaps, and contributed to the NHF publication “Service Charges: a guide for housing associations”.
I have been rated as “Band 1” by Chambers & Partners’ Guide to the Legal Profession, and a “Leading Individual” by the Legal 500.
I am also a regular speaker at conferences at the Chartered Institute of Housing, the National Housing Federation and the National Housing Maintenance Forum.
‘Jonathon Cox has a unique blend of vast and technical expertise and hands-on knowledge combined with an approachable, friendly manner. He stands out as one of those rare experts who is a pleasure to work with.’ Legal 500, 2021
‘[Jonathan] attracts an impressive roster of housing association clients. “He is an absolute star; creative, responsive and supportive and a real expert in the field.”‘ Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He is determined, collaborative and very commercially minded.” – Chambers and Partners, 2022
My specialisms
- Social housing
- Property
- Housing management
- Supported housing
- Finance fields
Blog
My latest articles
Social Housing White Paper: A new hope for tenants?
Delayed since Spring 2020 as the Government tackled the Covid-19 crisis, Tuesday 17 November saw the publication of the Social Housing White Paper, setting out the future regulation of the sector
Lockdown 2.0 – what to expect and lessons learnt
As England enters its second lockdown, organisations are once again having to adjust its ways of working to align with Government guidance.
What will be the Conservative’s “housing game changer?”
Housing was one of a number of areas where in the election the parties tried to outdo each other. The Conservatives made “relatively modest” promises in respect of social housing; […]
Asset management
Over the last few years the meaning of “asset management” has changed from being all about repairs to understanding that assets might not stay in an organisation forever.
Shared ownership right to buy
Looking at the Conservative’s latest proposal about shared ownership right to buy, concerns from associations about the impact that might have on their funding ability are well placed.
Funding for supported housing: no change for now
The Government has published its’ response to two consultations on the funding of supported housing, stating that for now, there will be no change to the current systems in place.
Tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market
On 25 July 2017, the Government published a consultation which received over 6,000 replies, showing the vast amount of interest in the area. We were amongst those who sent a response...
Rent Increases and Supported Housing
The Inside Housing article listed a wide variety of types of supported housing; and in our view housing associations should increase rents for all types mentioned. However housing associations need […]
Asset Registers
The specific requirement in the Standard is: – “To maintain a thorough, accurate and up to date record of their assets and liabilities and particularly those liabilities that may have […]
Going further down the road
Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance (LHA) and new tenancies + Universal Credit = a Market Economy For most housing associations, having LHA as a limit on new rents will […]