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The long-awaited Social Housing White Paper will toughen up the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) and strengthen the Housing Ombudsman, the government has claimed.
Changes will include a move to proactive regulation of the RSH’s consumer standards, in line with the approach taken on governance and financial viability standards. It will also see a “new arm” of the regulator created to ensure robust oversight of landlords in these areas.
In a press release issued last night ahead of the publication of the paper today, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) promised “major reforms” to support tenants and “ensure landlords raise standards”.
Titled The Charter for Social Housing Residents, the white paper comes nearly three-and-a-half years on from the Grenfell Tower fire and more than two years after its forebear, the Social Housing Green Paper.
The green paper, published in August 2018, proposed sector league tables.
MHCLG has not yet given any indication about whether these changes will be brought forward in the white paper, but promised a legislation-backed “transformation” of consumer regulation.
That will include a “new arm” of the RSH “to proactively regulate on consumer standards, including quality of homes, repairs, meaningful engagement with tenants and complaints handling”.
This could be an effective reversal of the coalition government’s decision to scrap the Tenant Services Authority in 2010 as part of its “bonfire of the quangos”.
Measures in the white paper will speed up the complaints process by improving access to the Housing Ombudsman, MHCLG said, in an apparent reference to removing the “democratic filter”. The democratic filter, which was introduced by the coalition government in 2012, requires residents to wait eight weeks or consult a politician before escalating their case.
The “charter” will also make social landlords more accountable through a new information scheme for housing association tenants and “a set of tenant satisfaction measures that landlords will have to report against”, the government added.
Other measures will include a new obligation for landlords to identify a nominated person responsible for health and safety compliance, plus a requirement to improve tenant engagement and a government review of the Decent Homes Standard.
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: “We are delivering on the commitment we made to the Grenfell community that, never again, would the voices of residents go unheard.
“This white paper will bring transformational change for social housing residents, giving them a much stronger voice and, in doing so, refocusing the sector on its social mission.
“I want to see social housing tenants empowered by a regulatory regime and a culture of transparency, accountability, decency and public service befitting of the best intentions and deep roots of social housing in this country.
“The new approach and regulatory changes we set out in this white paper will make a measurable difference to the lived experiences of those living in England’s four million social homes in the years ahead.”
The charter will set out seven things social housing residents should be able to expect, including “to be safe in your home”, “to have your voice heard by your landlord” and support for “people to take their first step to ownership”.
MHCLG said measures in the white paper follow “extensive engagement and consultation with residents’ and landlord groups as well as hearing directly from those most affected by the Grenfell tragedy”.
The government will also publish its response to the Social Housing Green Paper consultation, a consultation on smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and a response to the call for evidence on its review of regulation today.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “The publication of the Social Housing White Paper is an important and welcome milestone in the country’s response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
“The sector has been unwavering in its commitment to strengthening the relationships between housing associations and their residents.
“The white paper offers much-needed certainty as we continue this work.”
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