TPAS calls for stronger consumer regulation
A tenant body has called for consumer regulation of social landlords to be strengthened after three quarters of people it surveyed said the regulator is not intervening enough.
The Tenant Participation Advisory Service found that of 121 tenants and landlords, more than 75 per cent believe the Homes and Communities Agency regulation committee should intervene ‘more often’, or ‘much more often’ on consumer issues.
It found just four in 10 think the consumer standards are adequate, while 82 per cent said there is not enough information made available to tenants about the activities of the HCA regulation committee.
The survey results, seen exclusively by Inside Housing, will be submitted to MPs as evidence for an inquiry into the regulation of social housing. The inquiry, launched on 6 June, is being carried out by the communities and local government select committee.
Michelle Reid, chief executive of TPAS, said she hoped the committee would make recommendations which would enhance ‘the status of consumer regulation’.
‘Consumer regulation is not perceived to have the same status as governance and finance regulation and we feel that weakens the co-regulatory framework,’ she said. ‘Too often we are hearing that tenant involvement no longer matters because it is no longer monitored.’
The findings come two weeks after Inside Housing revealed the HCA has not judged a single complaint from a tenant as being serious enough to warrant investigation despite receiving nearly 500 since April 2012.
Unlike its predecessor the Tenant Services Authority, the committee only intervenes in consumer complaints where there is a risk of serious harm to tenants. The HCA has pledged to publish information about what meets this ‘serious detriment’ test.
Housing ombudsman Mike Biles last week said just 12 tenant panels, to which tenants should now refer their complaints, have registered with the ombudsman since April.
