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Regulator strengthens tenant consultation standard
The social housing regulator has published a more detailed version of its Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard following a sector consultation.
The Homes and Communities Agency published the updated standard following the move to deregulate housing associations in April.
The regulator requires housing providers to consult with tenants if they were considering changing their landlord or changing the management arrangements of their homes.
Previously housing providers had to get the regulator’s consent before disposing of properties and as part of this process the regulator would check that an adequate tenant consultation had been carried out. However, this disposal consent was dropped in April as part of the government’s deregulatory package for the sector.
In response, the regulator decided the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard needed to be made “more explicit and strengthened” to ensure it was fully understood by housing providers.
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The previous wording was: “Registered providers shall consult with tenants setting out clearly the costs and benefits of relevant options if they are proposing to change their landlord or when proposing a significant change in their management arrangements.”
The new wording is: “Where registered providers are proposing a change in landlord for one or more of their tenants or a significant change in their management arrangements, they shall consult with affected tenants in a fair, timely, appropriate and effective manner.
“Registered providers shall set out the proposals clearly and in an appropriate amount of detail and shall set out any actual or potential advantages and disadvantages (including costs) to tenants in the immediate and longer term.
“Registered providers must be able to demonstrate to affected tenants how they have taken the outcome of the consultation into account when reaching a decision.”
There were 156 responses to the consultation and the majority were in favour of the change.
