The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has today launched a consultation on a new set of standards for all social landlords, designed to protect tenants and improve the service they receive.
Social landlords (including councils and housing associations) already need to comply with standards set by RSH, and it takes action if they fail to do so. But the new requirements will be even stronger and give tenants greater power to hold their landlord to account.
The proposed standards will:
- protect tenants by strengthening the safety requirements that all social landlords need to meet
- require landlords to know more about the condition of their tenants’ homes and the individual needs of the people living in them – landlords will need to use this evidence to provide safe and decent homes with good-quality landlord services
- make sure landlords listen to tenants’ complaints and respond quickly when they need to put things right
- require landlords to be open and accountable to their tenants, and treat them with fairness and respect.
RSH is looking for a wide range of views on the proposed standards. This includes speaking directly to tenants and encouraging them to take part in the consultation.
The consultation is part of a major, positive change to social housing regulation. RSH has been given stronger powers by the government to scrutinise landlords’ performance from April next year. This will include regular inspections of landlords to help assess whether they meet the new requirements, as well as new powers to take action if they don’t.
The consultation on the consumer standards is running for 12 weeks, finishing on Tuesday 17 October 2023, and people are invited to have their say via RSH’s website.
Fiona MacGregor, Chief Executive of the Regulator of Social Housing, said:
“All social housing tenants deserve to live in safe and decent homes, and receive good-quality services from their landlords. We’re proposing new requirements to make sure this happens. We encourage tenants, landlords and others in the sector to have their say through our consultation.
We’re gearing up for the biggest change to social housing regulation for a decade. This will include our landlord inspections from next April, as well as stronger powers to make landlords put things right when they breach our standards.”
Resources
Announcement: RSH proposes new standards to protect social housing tenants
Open consultation: Consultation on the consumer standards
