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Scottish regulator to focus on homelessness and safety for annual risk assessments
The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) will focus heavily in this year’s annual risk assessment on how social landlords have responded to the COVID-19 crisis, especially in the areas of homelessness and safety.
The SHR said the pandemic has “impacted on landlords’ ability to let homes and resulted in a significant increase in the numbers of households currently in temporary accommodation”.
“So we will focus our assessment on the provision of access to suitable temporary accommodation and how local authorities and RSLs [registered social landlords] are working together to provide lets to homeless households and reduce the number of people in temporary accommodation.”
It added that COVID-19 has also affected landlords’ “ability to progress planned maintenance and safety checks”, and reiterated that they must meet their legal duties concerning safety in areas such as the management of asbestos, gas and electrical safety, and fire regulations.
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The regulator said that in terms of financial health, some landlords will have less capacity, “not only to deal with adverse events but also for planned maintenance and development”.
As part of its financial risk assessment this year, the SHR said it will consider themes including rent levels, pensions, development and treasury management.
When assessing governance, the regulator said it will be unlikely to engage with a landlord that has not complied fully with regulatory requirements because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An exception will be if it feels tenant safety is compromised.
The SHR uses its annual risk assessment to decide how it will engage with individual RSLs from the start of each financial year.
Helen Shaw, assistant director of regulation at the SHR, said: “This year, we will have a strong focus on how social landlords are responding to the challenges of COVID-19. We will also take into account each landlord’s view of its compliance with regulatory requirements, as set out in their annual assurance statements.”
“Tenant and resident safety, and rent affordability, as well as good governance and financial health, all remain important priorities in our assessment of risk this year. We will continue to have a strong focus on how local authorities meet their duties to provide homes for people who are threatened with or experiencing homelessness.
“We will also focus on how social landlords deliver for Gypsies/Travellers and the need for landlords to meet the minimum standards and fire safety requirements for the people who use their sites.”
