Industry Viewfinder INDUSTRY VIEWFINDER
The Social Housing Act: Empowering Tenants
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Landlords have a duty to ensure tenants live in safe homes, free from hazards. Unfit homes result in deadly risks to tenants, from the dangers of fire, to poor
air quality and inadequate repairs. Retaining Royal Assent in July 2023, Te Social Housing (Regulation) Act
was introduced to tackle these issues by reforming the quality and safety of homes in the sector. Aiming to balance the relationship between residents and providers, the
Act brings new powers to set time limits on actioning complaints of health and safety, as well as a number of new requirements for housing professionals – including qualification requirements for social housing managers, new standards intended to improve the health and safety of social housing, and the enforcement of customer standards compliance. In short, the landscape of health and safety for housing professionals has
fundamentally changed. As such, Housing Management & Maintenance sought to learn how the
housing sector is experiencing this change, as well as their experience of failure in the health and safety of housing to date. While the majority of our respondents welcomed the upcoming changes
– over three-quarters at manager or director level – almost half would not describe all their housing as ‘safe’, and only one in five respondents reported that none of their homes are damp or mouldy.
Our survey provides data that goes some way to explaining why this is, while highlighting a number of clear failings of the sector at present.
INTRODUCTION In the wake of the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, which was caused by the damp and mould in his home, the Government tabled amendments to the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to require landlords to fix reported health hazards within specified timelines. Labelled “Awaab’s Law,” consultations which take in views from across the
sector are currently underway, and the release of the results later this year should further define a time frame for landlords. One of the ways these standards are being defined at present is through
the Charter for Social Housing Residents, which was introduced to detail what social housing residents should expect from their landlords, such as feeling safe in their home, and safe in the knowledge that their complaints will be resolved quickly. In setting the standard for social housing, residents must be both listened to
and given the opportunity for redress where failings occur, having information about the services provided, be treated with respect, and have a good quality home to live in. For landlords, this means that they must ensure residents are informed on the ways they are working, that they ‘put things right when they go wrong’, that they
“How do you think the Social Housing (Regulation) Act will affect the housing sector?”
www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMMFebruary/March 2024 | 27
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