The research, by Affinity Sutton, Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust (HACT) and a London School of Economics-based economist, shows seven outcomes, such as talking to neighbours, accessing the internet and feeling in control of life, all have quantifiable healthbenefits for tenants.

An innovative project that aims to put monetary values on the health benefits to tenants of housing association work has released its first findings. Read more from Inside housing:

“Full-time employment was found to have indirect health benefits worth £3,666 per individual per year in addition to its previously established well-being value of £10,767, while regular volunteering has health benefits worth £892, on top of a general wellbeing value of £2,357.

The publication of the findings, which have been seen exclusively by Inside Housing, could prove useful to English housing associations, which are grappling with how to demonstrate social return on assets in their value for money self-assessments.

The method uses complex ‘regression’ analysis, looking at the relationships between a wide variety of variables. It builds on earlier work by HACT calculating the impact of activities on well-being.

Gary Moreton, head of social housing at auditor Baker Tilly, said: ‘It’s very useful to put a quantifiable health value on outcomes like ‘not worried about crime’. The way these were used in the early days was seen as quite woolly and fluffy, so with actual pound-note measurements it’s a lot more powerful.’

Tony Stacey, chair of the Placeshapers group of associations, said: ‘It is absolutely essential that we make a breakthrough on social accounts, because housing has to be able to demonstrate that we have a huge offer for the health and social care integration agenda,’ he added. He warned, however, that theTreasury tends to take such studies with a pinch of salt.

Inside Housing’s Housing Benefits campaign seeks to demonstrate the wider impact of housing association work.”