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Regulator reports drop in tenant complaints
The number of consumer complaints about social landlords received by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) fell by more than a fifth last year, new figures reveal.
According to the HCA, the number of ‘consumer referrals’ relating to issues such as gas and fire safety dropped by 128 to 461 between 2014/15 and 2015/16 – a 22% decrease.
The HCA’s annual Consumer Regulation Review also showed however that the proportion of complaints deemed serious enough to be investigated further rose again last year, from 40% to 44%.
Jack Lee, assistant director investigation and enforcement at the HCA, said the reduction in initial referrals could have been due to a temporary spike in 2014/15 in tenant and landlord awareness caused by the publication of a number of regulatory notices.
He said: “There may have been some increased awareness [last year] either across the sector or across tenants, and we were being clear that providers self-referring is a sensible thing to do.”
Initial referrals can arise from tenant complaints against their landlords. However, social landlords are also encouraged to refer themselves to the HCA when they find something wrong.
Mr Lee said: “Transparency with the regulator is a clear message that we’re seeking to get across at this point.”
Out of 461 initial referrals in 2015/16, the HCA published just four findings of ‘serious detriment’ where tenants were deemed to have been at risk of serious harm.
Since the 2011 Localism Act, the HCA will not take action against a landlord for consumer issues unless the complaint has led to the potential of serious harm to tenants.
Asked if tenants still had an unrealistic expectation about the HCA’s powers, Mr Lee said: “I think it’s a little bit unrealistic to expect all social tenants to be completely au fait with the ins and outs of what the regulator does… the best thing to do is to be clear when they contact us about what our remit is.”
Mr Lee acknowledged that the deregulation agenda of the Housing and Planning Act might prompt a review of the HCA’s consumer standards, however he did not give detail on what this could include.
“Obviously we as a sector may need to do something following the Housing and Planning Act, so you would be expecting us to look at our standards in light of that,” he said.
