How I Use My Direct Housing Experience to Deliver Better Outcomes with GIS

Bringing That Experience to ODCGIS 

At industry trade shows, I met ODCGIS, already a respected name in GIS services for social housing. They had strong expertise in data capture for grounds maintenance, but I saw the opportunity to go further: to deliver fully managed GIS services that any housing association could access, regardless of size. 

Working closely with ODCGIS Managing Director, Craig Godwin, we developed the GIS Managed Service model — a scalable solution that’s now used by 69 social housing providers managing over 1,000,000 homes, around 30% of the UK’s housing association stock. 

Why GIS Is So Much More Than Site Measurement 

GIS today is not just about maps or measurements — it’s about insight. By combining a housing association’s own data with open data sources (covering everything from flood risk to biodiversity), GIS builds a living, breathing picture of the housing portfolio. 

That picture helps teams answer critical questions: 

• Which homes are at risk of flooding or subsidence? 

• How can we route repairs teams more efficiently? 

• Where should we prioritise investment or regeneration? 

• Which areas are most vulnerable to extreme heat or poor air quality? 

GIS also supports service transparency. For example, by mapping and quantifying all grounds maintenance areas, we can provide tenants with detailed Bills of Quantities that clearly justify service charges, turning a common point of contention into a conversation based on evidence. 

Improving the Health of Homes and Their Occupants 

When we talk about “healthy homes,” it’s easy to think only in terms of repairs, insulation, or energy efficiency. But a healthy home is about far more than the bricks and mortar, it’s about the conditions people live in, and the environment that surrounds them. This is where GIS comes into its own. 

At its core, GIS brings together different layers of data to tell a complete story about a property, its physical condition, its exposure to environmental risk, and even the social factors that affect the wellbeing of the people who live there. 

For example, by linking property data with environmental datasets, housing associations can identify homes that are particularly vulnerable to issues such as: 

• Damp and mould, often linked to property archetypes or poor ventilation patterns visible in spatial clusters. 

• Flooding and subsidence, by overlaying topographical, soil, and drainage data. 

• Overheating, through heat risk mapping that identifies properties most exposed to rising summer temperatures. 

These insights allow housing teams to take preventative action, not just reactive maintenance, targeting interventions where they’ll have the greatest impact on residents’ comfort and safety. 

But GIS can also influence the external environment that shapes residents’ health. By mapping biodiversity, green space access, and tree cover, housing providers can identify opportunities to create healthier, more sustainable neighbourhoods. Simple changes such as tree planting, new green corridors, or better use of open spaces can improve air quality, support biodiversity, and provide social and mental health benefits to the local community. 

There’s also a social wellbeing angle. By combining GIS with customer feedback, we can start to see patterns in tenant experiences, for example, repeated reports of condensation or heating issues within the same estate. That gives housing officers the data they need to prioritise resources, plan holistic interventions, and communicate transparently with residents. 

Ultimately, GIS gives housing associations the evidence base to make the invisible visible, to see not just the condition of homes, but the lived experience within them. It turns data into understanding, and understanding into action. In doing so, GIS plays a growing role in creating housing that doesn’t just meet regulatory standards, but actively supports healthier, more resilient communities 

Looking Ahead 

From my early days setting up GIS at THT to helping over sixty housing associations use it today, I’ve seen first-hand how spatial data can transform housing management. The growth in GIS across the sector has been remarkable, and it’s only just beginning. 

Better data means better decisions. And better decisions mean healthier homes, happier residents, and more efficient housing associations. That’s the real power of GIS, it connects the dots between the built environment and the people who live in it. 

Rick Thompson 

Director of Operations 

ODCGIS Limited