Industry News


New Social Housing Regulation Bill aims to tackle poor conditions across the sector


N


early five years aſter the Grenfell Tower fire, the Government is promising to deliver a beefed up regulatory framework


for social housing which puts tenants’ voices and interests at the heart of it. Ongoing reports of poor housing conditions,


disrepair and health and safety breaches across the sector over the past 18 months have clearly influenced the final shape and content of the new legislation. Perhaps the most eye-popping feature was the empowerment of the regulator to undertake surveys and order repairs to tenants’ homes at very short notice. Te new Social Housing Regulation Bill means


councils and housing associations that fail to deliver homes and services of a decent standard will face unlimited fines, with the Regulator given a stronger set of powers to intervene on tenants behalf and to enforce higher standards. Tenants are being promised greater transparency


in how their landlord is performing with a new set of performance measures that social landlords will be judged on, such as health and safety, repairs and complaint handling. Tis should raise the profile and importance


of consumer standards, which have played second fiddle to financial and governance standards until now. We need to await sight of the Bill before knowing if the consumer standards will be toughened up significantly and whether the


Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “Every person in this country deserves to live in a safe, secure, good quality and affordable home”


threatened re-introduction of inspections is to delivered. New powers being given to the regulator mean


that it will be able to impose emergency repairs to properties where there is evidence of a systemic failure by the landlord, or where the landlord appears unable or unwilling to act.


NEW POWERS Much will depend upon the details written into the Bill during its passage through Parliament, as well as the resources provided to the regulator to carry out its work. At present we know the regulator will only need to give 48 hours notice before carrying out a survey on a tenant’s home, but this is potentially an area fraught with difficulties. Under the new rules, housing association tenants


will be able to request information from and about their landlords under the Freedom of Information Act in a similar way to council tenants. Tis had been strongly resisted in the past by HAs, who said this could compromise their status as non-public sector bodies. Responding to the Queen’s Speech, Councillor Darren Rodwell, housing spokesperson


for the Local Government Association, said: “Proposals to strengthen both the role of the Housing Ombudsman and the Regulator in the Social Housing Regulation Bill are positive, to increase the rights of tenants and enable tenants to better hold their landlord to account. “Councils want their tenants to have the security


of a safe and well-maintained home with any issues quickly and satisfactorily addressed, and we are keen to continue working with councils, the Regulator and the Ombudsman to support the implementation of the reforms. Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National


Housing Federation, said: “Every person in this country deserves to live in a safe, secure, good quality and affordable home; and to have a voice and clear route to redress if their home isn’t up to standard. We fully support the government’s aim to strengthen tenants’ rights through the Social Housing Regulation Bill and housing associations stand ready to work with their residents and the government to ensure every home delivers on the high standards they expect.


Strong criticism of plans to revive RTB for HA tenants


Government plans to introduce the legal right for housing association tenants in England to be able to buy their existing homes at discounted prices have been met with strong objections from across the sector. Since its introduction in 1980 the statutory


right to buy has existed for council tenants and around 2 million local authority homes have since been sold, although many of them have been sold- on (some estimates are as high as 40 per cent) and are now re-let as private rentals at higher rent levels than previously. Te Chartered Institute of Housing said it is


supportive of measures to help people into home ownership, but extending the Right to Buy to housing associations is not the right policy to achieve this. It said the policy would lead to a reduction in the overall number of affordable homes with little prospect of homes sold being replaced on anything like a one for one basis. “We are at a point of crisis in this country, with


over 1.1 million households on waiting lists for social housing. Te number of households living in temporary accommodation has nearly doubled in the last decade. We need more, not less, affordable social homes.” It added that the Government was talking


about selling assets that do not belong to the state. Te homes belong to housing associations, many of them are charitable organisations, which exist to provide benefit to the community, holding their assets in trust for the community by providing affordable homes for rent. Imposing the change could create enormous legal and financial difficulties. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, was


more strident in her opposition, saying: “Te hare-brained idea of extending Right-to-Buy to housing associations is the opposite of what the country needs. Tere could not be a worse time to sell off what remains of our last truly affordable social homes.


6 | HMMJune/July 2022 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk “Te cost of living crisis means more people are


on the brink of homelessness than homeownership – nearly 34,000 households in England became homeless between October and December last year, more than 8,000 of them were families with children. “Right to Buy has already torn a massive hole in


our social housing stock as less than 5 per cent of the homes sold off have ever been replaced. Tese half-baked plans have been tried before and they’ve failed. Over one million households are stuck on social housing waiting lists in England, and with every bill skyrocketing, the Government should be building more social homes so we have more not less.” Te new right did not appear in the Queen’s


Speech and the strength of the opposition to it may have caused it to be dropped from the Prime Minister’s plans. Te right to buy has been abolished in Wales and Scotland by the devolved administrations.


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