Trade bodies call urgent meeting with Peter Marsh to discuss regulation
Landlords and TSA face off over rules overhaul
Tenant Services Authority chief executive Peter Marsh is heading for a showdown with landlords over fears that the new regulator will not have a ‘light touch.’
Officials from all of the main social landlord trade bodies have called for an ‘urgent’ meeting with Mr Marsh, to raise concerns about discussion documents released by the social housing watchdog over the summer.
The papers, which it is understood were unauthorised for release, set out what the lobby groups say were detailed standards to which they and their members would be bound.
Umbrella group London Councils, the Local Government Association, the National Housing Federation, and the National Federation of Arm’s-length management organisations, called for the meeting. A London Councils report said the call followed ‘increased concern over the detailed nature of the documents’ on ‘allocations, repairs and maintenance and whether this indicated a return to a more centralised approach.’
Gwyneth Taylor, policy director at the National Federation of ALMOs, said the talks with Mr Marsh would be a ‘back to basics’ discussion. ‘To set very detailed standards equally applicable to large housing association group structures, small housing associations, ALMOs and local authorities isn’t doable so don’t waste time on it,’ she added. ‘If you have a top-down process you disempower tenants.’
A spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: ‘We want to reiterate our message that standards are really high-level-outcome focused. We don’t want them to get into how landlords make decisions about repairs and maintenance.’
Iain Wright, then junior housing minister, told Parliament in February that the TSA would adopt a
‘light touch’ approach.
Mr Marsh this week insisted he personally had ‘never used the word light touch and never would’. He added: ‘If in the period of consultation…not a single provider had complained then there would be doubts about our ambitions to make a difference to tenants.’
An ‘overwhelming’ majority of the 806 responses the TSA received to its consultation paper had positively endorsed its proposed approach, he said. But writing in Inside Housing this week, Mr Marsh pledges: ‘We will not set out detailed codes telling boards how to run their housing services. Nor will we set national standards. Instead the TSA will come up with a series of outcomes that will avoid being prescriptive.’
His piece, which was set to be echoed in his speech to this week’s NHF conference, continues: ‘We will expect providers to set out how they will meet the incomes we’re looking for and how they will measure their performance.’
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Readers' comments (3)
Dave Hollins | 25/09/2009 1:26 pm
How vital it is for tenants that Mr Marsh stands his ground. Landlords calling for a light touch regulatory regime is the same as bankers calling for the FSA to get off their backs. It was only when the Audit Commission started inspecting housing associations - in an intrusive way, according to the landlords at the time - that we discovered that they were very poor at doing their core job. Virtually none got more than one star. Yet chief executives had spent years boasting about what they did and not listening to tenants complaints. They have started to get their act together but this is not the time to ease off. Housing associations have virtually no scrutiny except from the regulator, they do not have the democratic scrutiny of councils and almos, and they should welcome tough regulation until they can demonstrate that they are doing well. Incidentally, its sad to see the nat fed of ALMOs joining in with this, I thought they were a bit different and understood the need to drive up standards. Unfortunately they now seem to have joined the landlords complacency club.
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WATT | 25/09/2009 2:53 pm
Have a look at thread started on 22nd - TSA / Tenants Shun Ownership.
For every reason TSA cited about 80% of tenants stated satisfaction, there was a probable explanation for otherwise:
Not exercising Right to Buy - look at costs and discounts;
Staying in sector for next ten years - are there other prospects?;
Only 8% have further stair cased re: Shared Ownership - satisfied or waiting to get out?
Don’t doubt there are some very happy tenants and leaseholders and some quality housing but the language here re: TSA conclusion continues the tick box theme that really needs to be abolished.
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vernony | 25/09/2009 11:25 pm
Just how are the residents protected in a 'light touch' approach. What powers will they have ? Why not national standards, one assumes that the needs are the same nationally. I am afraid that 'detailed codes' are precisely what the housing providers do need and if that is not enacted then they TSA might as well shut up shop
sincerely
Vernon J Yarker
Sheltered Housing UK Association
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