The digital switchover is a silent risk for tenants who need support
As housing associations focus on net zero, new standards and AI governance, we risk disconnecting thousands of residents when they need support most, writes Joe McLoughlin, a tech-enabled care consultant
As housing associations focus on net zero, new standards and AI governance, we risk disconnecting thousands of residents when they need support most, writes tech-enabled care consultant Joe McLoughlin #UKhousingImagine waking up and needing help, only to find that the alarm system you thought you could rely on no longer works. It is a distressing thought, yet it could soon be a reality for many housing associations and their tenants if the digital switchover is not adequately planned.
The digital switchover is closer than many housing providers realise. By early 2027, every analogue phone line in the UK will be replaced by digital IP networks.
For housing associations, it could mean that alarm call systems, telecare devices and building monitoring technologies simply stop working overnight. It is a silent risk, and one that is not getting the attention it deserves.
Right now, the sector’s energy is fixed elsewhere: tackling damp and mould, responding to the new consumer standards, preparing for Decent Homes 2, driving net zero commitments, and strengthening cyber resilience and AI governance. These are all legitimate and urgent priorities, but together they have created a kind of strategic tunnel vision.
The switchover feels like a technical detail, not a board-level issue. Yet it touches the very heart of landlords’ responsibilities: resident safety, service reliability and regulatory compliance.
“The switchover feels like a technical detail, not a board-level issue. Yet it touches the very heart of landlords’ responsibilities”
Many landlords still rely on analogue telecare connections, thousands of lifelines quietly operating through copper networks or using analogue protocols to connect. When those lines are switched off, the systems that depend on them will fail. For older or vulnerable residents, that failure could be life-threatening.
The Regulator of Social Housing’s new consumer standards make the implications clear. Landlords must ensure residents live in safe homes with dependable communication and service delivery. If a telecare call does not connect because the network has changed, it is not an IT fault; it is a failure of assurance, governance and care.
The regulator’s 2025 casework review reinforces this point. It highlights persistent weaknesses in governance and risk management, particularly around how boards oversee operational resilience.
It is hard to imagine a clearer test of that resilience than the digital switchover. And the timing could not be trickier. Providers are juggling new EPC targets, retrofit programmes, decarbonisation plans, and the complexities of AI oversight.
Digital infrastructure rarely makes it to the top of the agenda, but this is not a problem that can wait for the next board cycle.
“The regulator’s 2025 casework review highlights persistent weaknesses in governance and risk management, particularly around how boards oversee operational resilience”
Part of the challenge is its invisibility. There is no single switch-off date and no headline moment of crisis. It is happening in phases, one exchange and one area at a time. That incremental nature makes it easy to underestimate, but when the line goes dead, the consequences are immediate.
Across the UK, housing and care teams are discovering gaps: devices that have not been tested, suppliers who cannot confirm compatibility or deliver interoperability, and procurement frameworks that still reference analogue signalling. The picture is patchy and uncertain.
What is needed right now is focus. The digital switchover represents the quiet intersection of technology, care and governance: the very place where housing’s social purpose meets operational reality.
The next crisis in housing might not come from a regulatory letter or an ombudsman ruling. It could come from a resident pressing their alarm, and hearing nothing at all.
Joe McLoughlin, tech-enabled care consultant
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