What's In Store For The Social Housing Sector In 2023?

• Published date: 27 January 2023
• Subject Matter: Real Estate and Construction, Landlord & Tenant - Leases
• Law Firm: Weightmans
• Author: Jo Loake

We look at the themes which arose from the regulator's consumer review, which was published in the summer of 2022.

A new year has begun and we thought we would start it with an overview of where the sector is with the various laws, policies, reviews and more and what this could mean for you and your focus in 2023.

The regulator of Social Housing's consumer review

The review, published in the summer of 2022, is important, as the regulator is of course preparing for more proactive consumer regulation, therefore it is useful to look at the themes coming out of the review as a potential guide to what the regulator is already focusing on and is likely to be pulled through into the new regulation.

In the cases where breaches of the consumer standards were found, they were in the areas of non-compliance with health and safety, repairs and accurate and good quality data. The regulator is keen that registered providers ensure they have robust assurances about the running of the organisation, that critical issues are dealt with as they emerge and that they need to avoid complacency.

The regulator notes that as progress on new legislation and the new consumer standards is well underway, registered providers should act now to be ready to meet the new regulatory requirements. The way to do this is carry out an audit of your compliance with the current regulatory standards and to assure yourselves that you meet them. The regulator has set out that listening to your tenants and hearing what they tell you will be critical to ensuring that they receive good housing services and live in safe, decent, good quality homes. The regulator also recognises that the upcoming changes may require a cultural shift within some registered providers, and this can take time to achieve, so starting to ready yourself for the changes should begin now.

The key lessons from the review are as follows:

Good governance is key

Now would be a good time for boards to review the governance arrangements of their organisation with a fresh pair of eyes and ask themselves whether they are getting the assurances they need about how services are being delivered. This could be a wholesale review of the governance framework of the organisation or a review of policies and procedures around decision-making, the quality of information being provided to boards and the services provided to tenants and other stakeholders.

Tenant engagement & health and safety

Effective engagement with tenants will be for registered providers to be prepared for the new proactive consumer regulation. Registered providers must provide good quality, safe homes, ensuring that all relevant requirements relating to fire, asbestos, water, lift, electrical and other matters are met, with accurate records maintained, that repairs are carried out effectively and reported issues are responded to promptly.

It is critical to listen to feedback from tenants about all matters, treat them fairly and with respect, and provide mechanisms of redress in cases where things do go wrong. Registered providers may...