Legislation required to ensure social landlords recognise resident groups, say tenant bodies

Liam Kelly, a Guinness Trust tenant and a London Tenants Federation (LFT) trustee, said: “I believe there has hardly ever been, and can only be, meaningful constructive dialogue between landlord and tenants when it’s a statutory/regulatory requirement. 

“The NHF and other groups like [the] CIH and TPAS can only recommend voluntary codes of good practic, with no recourse or penalty for failure. 

“If government is serious about avoiding another Grenfell or Rochdale, they need to empower tenants in a manner recommended by [Labour MP] Clive Betts in the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee report by amending the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment [Standard] to require social landlords to support and resource TRAs.

“Clearly there may be some areas where tenants are happy with services and may not want to engage, but it should not remain the landlord’s prerogative to determine what constitutes genuine consultation.” 

The Social Housing Action Campaign (SHAC), a tenants group aligned with Unite the Union, said the recommendations in the report were “welcome”, but “far stronger legislation to protect tenants and residents” is needed. 

A spokesperson for SHAC said the report “places the onus on housing associations to implement the measures and perform better”. 

“Our experience at SHAC demonstrates that housing associations cannot be relied on to govern in the interests of tenants and residents, when the drive towards commercialisation prioritises satisfying investors instead.

“What we need is far stronger legislation to protect tenants and residents, more powers for the regulatory bodies and courts, and legal aid to provide justice for those who receive a poor service,” the group said.

The panel made seven recommendations focused on improving services for tenants. They were:

• Every housing association, and the sector as a whole, should refocus on its core purpose and deliver against it
• Housing associations should work together to conduct and publish a thorough audit of all social housing in England
• Housing associations should partner with tenants, contractors and frontline staff to develop and apply new standards defining what an excellent maintenance and repairs process looks like
• The CIH should promote the traditional housing officer role as a supported and valued employment opportunity, with a CIH recognised programme of training and continuing development
• Housing associations should work with all tenants to ensure that they have a voice and influence at every level of decision-making across the organisation, through both voluntary and paid roles
• Housing associations should develop a proactive local community presence through community hubs which foster greater multi-agency working
• Housing associations should support tenants and frontline staff to undertake an annual review of the progress each organisation is making in implementing this review’s recommendations 

The sector broadly welcomed and agreed with the recommendations.

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the NHF, said: “We fully support stronger regulation protecting tenants’ and residents’ rights, and we have been working closely with the government on the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill and the various consumer regulations and tenant satisfaction measures being introduced.

“However, housing associations are committed to going further and acting now, and not simply waiting for legislation to come into effect.

“This is why we commissioned the Better Social Housing Review, which is an independent assessment of actions housing associations can take to tackle quality issues in their homes.

“We are currently developing an action plan in consultation with our members, setting out how each recommendation will be implemented, which we will publish this spring.”

James Prestwich, director of policy and external affairs at the CIH, said the panel provided a “really clear set of recommendations” for the sector. 

“The challenge now is to turn them into action,” he said. 

“Having commissioned the review, the CIH and NHF are now working with housing providers, tenants and other partners to discuss and agree next steps. 

“These will be framed by the proactive regulatory framework that goes live from next year, as well as the new Tenant Satisfaction Measures,” he said. 

Mr Prestwich added that “at the heart” of the recommendations and the new regulatory regime is a renewed focus on tenant voice and scrutiny.

“[The] CIH is committed to helping ensure this is honoured,” he said.