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The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) has written to all social landlords in Scotland asking them to provide a monthly information return to help understand the impact of coronavirus on housing services.
Details to be included in the return, the first of which is due on Thursday 7 May, includes information on rent arrears, empty homes, lettings, staff absences and homelessness applications and offers (for local authorities).
The SHR will use the data to provide the Scottish government with regular updates on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social landlords.
Signed by Ian Brennan, director of regulation at the SHR, the letter to social landlords reads: “We are working with the Scottish government and the newly formed social housing resilience group (SHRG) to understand the impact of the pandemic and where support is needed by social landlords.
“In order to get a clear picture of the impact on social landlords, tenants and other service users, we have agreed with the Scottish government and the SHRG that we will provide regular reports on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social landlords.
“This will help them understand the scale and nature of disruption and to plan co-ordinated responses.”
Mr Brennan said the regulator is “keen to minimise the work that is involved in providing information to us during the pandemic” and has therefore kept the information needed to “a minimum”.
Monthly returns do not need to be approved by landlords’ governing bodies, however it is expected that the information will be approved by the senior officer of the registered social landlord or the chief housing officer of a local authority.
At the end of March, a social housing resilience group was formed in Scotland in response to the coronavirus crisis – members include the SHR, the Scottish government and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.
It came one week after the Scottish regulator announced it will postpone the majority of its regulatory engagements as it shifts its focus to monitoring the impact of the crisis on social landlords.