Industry Viewfinder


“Does your company know how it is performing against the upcoming time limits for addressing hazards?” “If ‘yes’ - How often is it meeting the new time limits?”


listen to residents, and that they have someone who is responsible for health and safety in their housing stock. It is hoped that through these measures, complaints will be dealt with quickly,


and that any failings are looked into by the Housing Ombudsman, which will inform landlords on how they should handle them. Tis year will be key in beginning to evaluate the effectiveness of these


measures, as many of the requirements of the Act start to take effect. Te introduction of a proactive consumer regime and a new set of consumer


standards is just one example, as well as the results of the consultation on Awaab’s Law, and details of the new qualifications registered provider employees will have to hold. By July 2024, landlords of more than 1,000 homes will have to complete


self-assessments to the Housing Ombudsman, those with fewer homes are expected to do so 12 weeks aſter their financial year-end – with an end to the two tiered system of standards for complaints procedures between social and private properties.


THE STOCK AT PRESENT Our survey highlighted the importance of these new measures, with our respondents revealing serious failings in their stock. When asked what portion of their housing stock they would describe as ‘safe’,


a shocking 12% of respondents would describe none of their housing as such, with only a quarter (25%) who would describe all of their housing as ‘safe’. Following this, just 19% of our respondents would describe none of their


housing as damp or mouldy, with respondents reporting that an average of almost a third (28%) of their stock is currently damp or mouldy, and one in ten saying that all their stock suffers from these issues. Introducing some confusion around why these issues of health and safety


are not being dealt with in the above responses, the length of time in which respondents’ companies are reported to action such complaints was relatively quick in comparison. 71% of respondents said that initial inspections are carried out within a week


aſter complaints have been raised, with the following remedial works actioned by 49% within a week and 41% within a month. Some might assume that this implies a poor relationship between tenants and


landlords, where residents do not feel able to reach out with such complaints. Tis was not entirely supported in our data, however. When asked how respondents would describe their organisation’s


relationship with their tenants, the vast majority were positive. 66% said their “How would you describe your organisation’s relationship with tenants?”


relationship with their tenants was ‘very good’, 31% ‘good’, just 5% ‘poor’ and 2% who didn’t know. Of the few who reported they had a poor relationship with their tenants,


when asked what the barriers were to improving these relationships, respondents cited teams “unable to work together,” teams “lacking coordination,” and one user blaming “incompetent senior management, a lack of good methods for achieving good outcomes, and managers having no understanding of demand.” Tey continue, arguing: “blame the people, not the system.” Still, this leaves the question, are housing professionals aware of the need for


regulation to improve this, and do they think the upcoming changes are both necessary and realistic in the timeframe set?


APPRECIATION FOR CHANGE When it came to the reception of the Act itself, the large majority of respondents believe the sector as a whole has received it well, with 58% saying it was received ‘positively’, and 8% ‘very positively’.


28 | HMMFebruary/March 2024 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


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