Quality landlord services depend on strong data

The first is our consumer regulation review and the second our damp and mould report.

The consumer regulation review sets out the consumer breaches we found in the past year, highlighting what went wrong, why, and the lessons that all landlords can learn from the cases.

In the past year, we found 13 breaches of our consumer standards. This included landlords failing to meet legal health and safety requirements and tenants not being treated with fairness and respect. We’ve highlighted, again, the vital lessons the sector must learn from the tragic case of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale, including the need to listen to tenants and investigate promptly when they report issues. 

“Boards and councillors should integrate a range of data and use it to identify trends that could improve their performance”

These cases reinforce the importance of landlords having robust and accurate data and using it to inform strategic decisions on repairs and maintenance. This includes information on stock condition, health and safety requirements and hazards.

Landlords also need to understand their tenants and take their diverse needs into account. We expect to see a clear link between this data and landlords’ long-term funding and investment plans. In other words, they must use it proactively, not just to identify problems when they arise.  

In our damp and mould report, we looked at the evidence from social landlords and found that most tenants live in homes free from damp and mould. But there are lessons that all landlords can learn to enhance their service.

Again, the effective use of data is essential. We saw that better-performing landlords have accurate and up-to-date information about tenants’ homes, and they use it to find and resolve the root cause of problems.

Strong oversight from boards or lead members is also essential. They need to gain assurance that landlord management teams are responding effectively when tenants raise concerns.

In weaker examples, boards and councillors had limited oversight of the condition of tenants’ homes, and in some cases they had not ensured there were specific processes for identifying and tackling damp and mould.

A key finding in both reports is that boards and councillors should integrate a range of data and use it to identify trends that could improve their performance. For example, comparing repairs data with information on tenant satisfaction and complaints can help landlords tailor their services and ensure resources are targeted effectively.

Once the bill is given the green light, what are the next steps?

We’ll consult on our new consumer standards later in the summer, and we’re really keen to hear from a variety of voices across the sector.

We’ll also continue our pilot inspections with a range of landlords, which have been really constructive so far. They are as much about us testing our approach as testing landlords. The findings are invaluable and show that our plan to run economic and consumer inspections side-by-side works. We’re also testing our standalone inspections with local authorities. We’ll say more about the final approach to inspections before they begin.

There’s no doubt that new consumer regulation will be a step change. When I speak to tenants up and down the country, they tell me how important it will be. And I know from many landlords that they are determined to provide a great service for their tenants. We will have stronger powers to make sure this happens. But, ultimately, landlords should provide a quality service because it’s the right thing to do and a key part of their core purpose, not because we’re inspecting them.

Kate Dodsworth, chief of regulatory engagement, Regulator of Social Housing