Sheffield Steel

Having a dead rat hurled at you on your first day at work would surely make you think twice about a career in housing. Joanne Roney, however, is made of sterner stuff. Displaying a mettle rare among most 16-year-old trainees, Roney remained both calm and pragmatic. "My first client, a tenant whose flat was infested by rats, brought one in and threw it at me to prove a point," she says. "Yes, I was shocked, but I was also interested in what would happen to the tenant – how would we deal with the problem? As far as an induction to a career in housing went, I was in at the sharp end."

Roney, the school-leaver, went into housing simply to get on the job ladder but, once employed, her reluctance to shy away from gritty front-line problems quickly led to promotion. Rising through the ranks at Kirklees and Birmingham councils and Sanctuary and Focus housing associations, she was appointed executive director of housing and direct services at Sheffield in 1999. With 5000 staff to manage and an annual £500m budget to run, Roney was named as one of 10 leading housing professionals in the Independent on Sunday earlier this month.

What has also put the spotlight on Roney is the recent news (HT 31 October, page 8) that Sheffield has been dropped from the government's stock transfer list. The big question now is how will the city bring its 62,000 homes up to decency standards by 2010? Partial or estate transfers are an option.

Roney stresses that the jury is out until the deputy prime minister's review of funding for stock options is published in January, but she is matter of fact about Sheffield's position. "We had a place on the programme but we didn't have a viable position because of our premium and start-up costs," she says. "The truth is we don't have a viable plan. We probably won't be clear on the way forward until the review is done." But push her on what exactly Sheffield will do to avoid being in housing limbo and the usually upbeat Roney gets annoyed: "I hate this view that Sheffield is in this lull. It's not. All we haven't got is real clarity on investment to 2010."

She cites a number of regeneration projects across the city, the market renewal pathfinder in South Yorkshire and a continuing demolition programme as examples of Sheffield's progress.

If Roney gets passionate about housing, it's because she grew up on "a pretty impoverished estate" in Birmingham and several members of her family are still council tenants. They can prove harsh critics. "They're not interested in how many people I manage; they're concerned about what I've done to make things better for tenants. The only way to look at a decision is to understand what it means for the customer – that's the only thing that matters."

This tenant focus is why Roney welcomes government moves on antisocial behaviour, announced earlier this month. "I think the tenants' agenda is far more concerned with tackling antisocial behaviour and the general appearance of estates than it is about the funding decent homes." She favours the use of community support work over harsher moves such as the docking of benefits or faster eviction. "I would rather be putting resources into giving young people a voice."

The only way to look at a decision is to understand what it means for the customer

Among Roney's proudest acheivements for tenants is the fact that Sheffield was chosen last year as one of 27 councils to pilot the government's choice-based lettings system. She is justifiably proud of the council's property shop, which looks like an ordinary high-street estate agent until you study the properties in the window and realise they're all council-owned.

Roney describes herself as "a pushy broad" who can be a difficult person to manage – she jokes that chief executive Bob Kerslake would probably agree. "I do think everything is achievable," she says. "There is always a way to solve things."

She hopes that her staff find her "energetic and positive". "There's this American phrase, 'the power of zap', the ability to energise, and I think people find me energising." As Kerslake says: "The housing's team's been strong, but Joanne's brought in a stronger sense of direction for the service. She has a strategic approach to housing, rather than just seeing housing inside a box. Determined, definitely, forceful, absolutely, extrovert, yes, but I wouldn't dream of calling her pushy."

While Roney's exuberance may be excessive at times, she seems to have caught it from Sheffield. Here, she says, she has come across some of the best people she has ever worked with. "This is a really exciting place, the extent of innovation and ambition here is second to none. There is a vibrancy, a commitment, a passion which is captivating. We're honest about the scale of the challenge. We may not have the vehicle yet, we may not have the means, but we've got the ambition, the vision and we're capable of delivering it."

Ultimately, the task she faces on the decency standard is tough and Roney is keen to temper her optimism. "I worry about the housing conditions; I worry that the time it's taking us to find a means to bring in huge investment to housing; and I worry about the seven-year difference here in life expectancy between the most deprived wards and the most affluent wards. I feel I have a responsibility here to close that gap.