Landlords lambast the lack of focus in new regulation proposal
TSA local standards plan slapped down
Landlords have warned the social housing regulator they are baffled by its plans for local housing standards because it has provided such vague guidance on how they would operate.
They expressed their concern in responses to the Tenant Services Authority’s consultation on its new regulatory framework, which closes today.
The consultation document states providers and tenants will be required to develop a ‘local offer’ which reflects the priorities in different areas. The TSA wants the offers to be put into effect by October this year. But it has steadfastly refused to define what it means by ‘local’ because it wants landlords and tenants to work together to draw up plans.
Consultation responses from individual landlords and umbrella groups, seen by Inside Housing, consistently call for greater clarity on how local standards will be formed and what they will mean for those with homes in many towns and cities.
Charlotte Harrison, director of policy and practice at the Northern Housing Consortium, said providers want ‘further clarification around tailored standards reflecting local needs’.
In its response, the Tenants’ and Residents’ Organisations of England, said it recognised that landlords needed more help.
‘Additional guidance on how local standards may operate in practice is required to support landlords to engage in meaningful discussions with their tenants,’ its response states.
Cambridge-based housing association Hanover said that as a ‘national specialist provider with very thinly dispersed coverage’, it could be forced to ‘adopt the approaches of more dominant providers in the locality that may not be in keeping with our ethos or priorities’.
Sheron Carter, chief executive of Arhag Housing Association, added that it was difficult to see how equality and diversity were overarching themes in the consultation when only one of the six standards mentioned them. ‘The only point where it has made a reference to it is in the tenant involvement and empowerment section,’ she said.
TSA
The search for a standard
5 February 2010 Consultation on TSA’s regulatory framework closes
March 2010 TSA publishes decision statement on its regulatory plans. Consultation launches on the new Audit Commission inspection regime
1 April 2010 TSA co-regulation of local authorities and housing associations begins
July 2010 TSA to make decision on new inspection regime
1 October 2010 Deadline for providers with more than 1,000 properties to publish plans for developing local standards, and a report detailing how they already meet national standards.
New inspection regime, based around a system of short-notice inspections, comes into force
1 April 2011 Local standards rolled out
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Readers' comments (1)
vernony | 05/02/2010 9:50 am
I have not read the Report but I can see that 'predictably' housing providers are up in arms against anything which may limit their powers. I am not so sure that the inference I gleaned was for local standards, because that make things subject to local politics, hence it would lack continuity from election to election and budget to budget year, national standards would be must simpler and more easily controlled.
I was glad to see the term 'best practice' did not appear in the short version on the Inside Housing website. Best practice is beloved by those who are relieved of making a legislative decision, sounds good on paper, but in effect gives all powers to the providers who can decide which parts of best practice they choose to implement . From a residents point of view I would like to see 'law' replace best practice, then we all know where we stand
Sincerely
V.Yarker
Chairman
The Sheltered Housing UK Association
www.shelteredhousinguk.com
mailbox@shelteredhousinguk.com
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