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Decent Homes Standard review threatens council business plans
Local authority housing business plans could be rendered unsustainable if the government revises the Decent Homes Standard, it has been claimed.
That warning has come from the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH) after the Social Housing Green Paper proposed revisiting the standard, which was set in 2006.
The green paper said the standard “should be reviewed to consider whether it is demanding enough and delivers the right standards for social housing alongside other tenures”.
Any review would also look at whether the energy performance of social homes should be upgraded to at least energy performance certificate Band C by 2030, where practical and cost effective.
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John Bibby, chief executive of ARCH, said: “This review came in a bit left field, but I can see why in the context of Grenfell as the present standard applies to the homes themselves, not to communal areas or the environment around them.
“The problem comes with resources. The self-financing settlement of the [Housing Revenue Account] was predicated on local authorities having the income and borrowing to deliver and maintain the standard over a 30-year business plan period, and if there is a significant change that could make those plans not sustainable.
“The government would need to revisit the settlement if it did make major changes.”
John Perry, policy advisor to the Chartered Institute of Housing, said he expected widespread agreement that fire safety should be incorporated into any revised standard.
“The other issue is energy efficiency and eliminating fuel poverty for social housing tenants, but this needs an overarching approach as property standards are only one aspect,” he said.
Paul Hackett, chair of G15 and chief executive of Optivo, said: “I’d be inclined to stick with the present standard, which has given a consistent standard across the sector, and I think it would be wiser if anything additional was agreed locally.
“Fire safety is something different, as it can be dealt with through fire regulations while this standard applies to all properties.”
Sinéad Butters, chief executive of Aspire Housing and chair of the community-based housing associations body PlaceShapers, said: “We welcome anything that strengthens requirements within the [standard] to ensure a comprehensive approach to safety.
“Clearly there may be additional financial implications for landlords if this happened, and we would have to understand what that means in practice, but who can argue against enhanced safety standards following the tragedy at Grenfell?”
The Local Government Association said it supported “the ambition of greater safety of tenants in social housing”, but said any regulatory measures “should be proportionate”.
Inside Housing has contacted the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for further details on the review but has yet to receive a response.
Social Housing Green Paper: full coverage
All our Social Housing Green Paper coverage in one place:
Green paper measures are not enough to create May’s ‘new generation’ of council homes Green paper proposals are welcome but much more is needed to support councils to build, writes John Bibby
Green paper shows ministers now see associations as trusted partners Focusing on the failure of the green paper to address supply misses the point, writes Boris Worrall
Government should focus on building on what is already strong Philippa Jones considers the Social Housing Green Paper through a slightly different lens
We need more than a week of delayed announcements bundled together Jules Birch reflects on the government’s ‘Housing Week’ announcements
The regulator should monitor how associations assist homeless people Government announcements this week are positive, but any enhanced role for the English regulator should include looking at homelessness prevention work, argues David Bogle
The regulator’s role should be limited to dealing with systemic failures Julian Ashby suggests the Housing Ombudsman Service should deal with all complaints
The green paper shows ministers are in listening mode Despite some glaring omissions, the government appears to be in listening mode and it is important the sector takes advantage, argues Emma Maier
A short history of social housing league tables Attempts to create league tables for housing associations are nothing new. Mervyn Jones looks at how they have worked in the past
League tables could prove blunt and counter-productive, sector warns Housing figures criticise government proposals to measure social landlords against performance indicators
Government ‘must decide how proactive regulator should be’ on consumer standards Ministers now face a dilemma over the regulator’s focus, sector figures say
The Green Paper: a golden opportunity missed? Melanie Rees assesses the Social Housing Green Paper against recommendations drawn up by the Chartered Institute of Housing and finds the government comes up short
Longer strategic partnerships and guranteed debt to boost social housebuilding The Social Housing Green Paper outlines key ways of boosting supply
The green paper is remarkable progress but it is still not enough The green paper suggests the government appears to be re-writing much of its policy since 2010, but more needs to be done, writes Jules Birch
Green paper marks a ‘milestone’ on resident involvement The government’s recognition residents need clear information is to be welcomed, now it up to the sector to embrace tenant involvement, writes Paul Hackett
Ministers consider stock transfer programme to community-led associations The stock transfer programme could be revived under proposals in the housing green paper
Access to housing grant could be tied to new league tables Grant could be awarded according to how well landlords meet performance indicators, the paper suggests
Ofsted-style regulation of tenant services proposed The government is considering expanding the Regulator for Social Housing’s remit to intervene over tenant services and give it a more “proactive approach to enforcement”
Government proposes dropping one-for-one Right to Buy replacement commitment A consultation paper published alongside the green paper proposes a broader measurement to replace the one-for-one pledge
A list of recent housing policy U-turns The green paper confirms yet more housing policy U-turns from the government, which has spent the past two years dropping policy ideas developed under the David Cameron government. Here is a rundown of the major changes in policy direction
Sector welcomes green paper but calls for more ‘ambitious investment’ Reaction to the proposals, from the National Housing Federation, Chartered Institute of Housing and more
Morning Briefing: reaction to green paper announcements how the media reported the proposals trailed by the government overnight
Government drops plans to force councils to sell higher-value stock The government drops plans to force councils to sell higher value homes
League tables and ‘sharper teeth’ for regulator in social housing green paper Ministers reveal some of the things in the paper ahead of its publication
Grenfell survivors: green paper does not go far enough survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have said the measures published in the Social Housing Green Paper do not do enough to rectify issues in the social housing sector
KEY PROPOSALS IN THE SOCIAL HOUSING GREEN PAPER
- New 'league tables' of housing providers based on key performance indicators, surrounding services such as repairs and neighbourhood management. This could be linked to housing grant.
- Consideration to scrapping of the current 'serious detriment' test, to allow 'Ofsted-style' tougher consumer regulation
- New home ownership options such as allowing tenants to buy as little as 1% of their property each year through shared ownership. This would only apply to new shared ownership purchases.
- Ditching of plans to force social landlords to offer fixed term tenancies rather than lifetime tenancies in social housing
- Ditching of plans to force councils to sell off their most valuable social housing when it becomes vacant
- The potential introduction a new stock transfer programme from councils to 'community-led' housing associations
- The return of guaranteed debt funding to help the development of affordable homes, and longer term 'strategic partnerships' for developing housing associations
