Regulation of social housing providers
Registered social housing providers in England are regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing.
The Regulator of Social Housing
The Regulator of Social Housing regulates registered social housing providers including local authorities and housing associations. It is a stand alone non departmental public body of government.[1]
The Regulator of Social Housing sets consumer and economic standards for social housing providers and can take action if these are breached.
Individual complaints about social housing providers should be made to the Housing Ombudsman Service.
Register of social housing providers
The Regulator for Social Housing in England must maintain a register of social housing providers and make it available for public inspection.[2] Members of the public can view or request extracts of the register by contacting the regulator's registry unit.
All social housing providers in England are required to be on the register. This includes local authorities, housing associations, housing co-operatives, profit-making organisations and any other form of housing provider.[3]
Social housing means low cost rental accommodation and low cost home ownership accommodation.[4]
All local authorities are regulated, including those whose stock is managed by an Arm's Length Management Organisation (ALMO) or a Tenant Management Organisation (TMO).
Content of the register
The register contains information collected from registered providers, the lettings and sales they carry out, and their key spending.
The information includes:
type of homes owned
rent levels
tenant satisfaction with the overall service
tenant satisfaction with opportunities for participating in making decisions about the services provided
tenant satisfaction with repairs and maintenance
Registration criteria
All local authority providers are automatically registered with the social housing regulator.
PRPSHs need to apply to register as a social housing providers[5] and must:
be English bodies
be, or intend to be, providers of social housing in England
satisfy the criteria established by the Regulator
These criteria are based on the provider's financial situation, its constitution and other arrangements for its management.
Non-profit making organisations are also required to have within their objects the provision of social housing, not-for-profit status and non-distribution of assets to members.
Any organisation that applies to register, is eligible, and meets the registration criteria must be registered.[6]
Find out more from gov.uk on how to register with the regulator of social housing in England.
Annual reports for tenants
All providers should publish an annual report for their tenants and include their local offers to tenants.[7]
The report must set out how the provider is meeting the regulatory standards and how the provider measures compliance against the standards, and must describe how tenants have been involved in producing and scrutinising the report.
Regulatory framework
The Regulator of Social Housing sets standards which registered providers of social housing must meet. Registered providers are local authorities and private registered providers of social housing (PRPSHs).
The regulatory framework includes:[8]
regulatory requirements
codes of practice in relation to certain standards
regulatory guidance in relation to the regulatory requirements and how they will be regulated
The regulatory requirements comprise consumer and economic regulatory standards.
Find out more at gov.uk: Regulatory framework and Guide to regulation of registered providers.
Consumer standards
The consumer standards apply to all registered providers.[9]
Transparency, influence and accountability standard
The Transparency, influence and accountability standard requires registered providers to:[10]
consult with tenants
have in place a clear and accessible complaints procedure
provide information so tenants can use their services
respond to the diverse needs of tenants
Safety and quality standard
The Safety and quality standard requires registered providers to maintain an accurate and up to date understanding of the condition of their homes.[11]
Providers must ensure tenants' homes meet the standards set out in the Decent Home Guidance and maintain this standard through repairs and planned maintenance.[12]
Under this standard, registered providers must also co-operate with relevant organisations to provide an adaptations service that meets tenants' needs.[13]
Find out more from gov.uk: A decent home: definition and guidance.
Tenancy standard
The Tenancy standard requires registered providers to:[14]
allocate their homes in a fair, transparent and efficient way, with clear application, decision-making and appeal processes in place
enable mutual exchange of existing tenants and promote their access to opportunities by way of internet-based mutual exchange services
provide services to support tenants to maintain their tenancies and to prevent unnecessary evictions
It also requires that when deciding the types of tenancies to grant, registered providers must consider the:[15]
purpose of the accommodation
needs of individual households
sustainability of the community
efficient use of housing stock
All registered providers must have a clear tenancy policy including the type and length of tenancies it will grant, how fixed term tenancies are granted and its policy on discretionary succession rights.[16]
Under this standard, a PRPSH can only grant a periodic assured tenancy or a fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy.[17]
Registered providers must have regard to the tenancy strategy of the local authority in which area they operate. Find out more about Local housing authority tenancy strategies on Shelter Legal.
Neighbourhood and community standard
The Neighbourhood and community standard requires registered providers to:[18]
consult with tenants in developing a policy for maintaining and improving their neighbourhoods
co-operate with relevant partners to help promote social, environmental and economic well-being in their areas
work in partnership with other public agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour
Economic standards
The economic standards apply only to PRPSHs, not to local authorities.[19]
Governance and financial viability standard
The Governance and financial viability standard requires PRPSHs to ensure effective governance arrangements that deliver their aims and outcomes in an effective, transparent and accountable manner.[20]
PRPSHs must also:
adhere to all relevant legislation and regulatory requirements
be accountable to tenants, the social housing regulator and relevant stakeholders
safeguard taxpayers' interests and the reputation of the sector
have an effective risk management and internal controls assurance framework
manage their resources effectively to ensure viability
Value for money standard
The Value for money standard requires PRPSHs to:[21]
clearly articulate their strategic objectives
have an approach, agreed by their board to achieving value for money
articulate a strategy for delivering homes that meet a range of needs
optimise economy, efficiency and effectiveness
PRPSHs must set out in public annual self-assessment reports how they are meeting their obligations and how they intend to meet them in the future.[22]
Rent standard
The Rent standard mandates that rents in PRPSH properties should increase by no more than CPI (consumer price index) plus 1 per cent.[23]
The limits set by the Rent standard do not apply to social housing tenants with a household income of more than £60,000 in the previous financial year.[24]
For affordable rent properties, PRPSHs can set a rent of up to 80% of the full market rent at the start of a tenancy or when a new tenancy is signed.[25] Rents can be increased by CPI plus 1% each year. [26]
Find out more about Rent levels in private registered providers of social housing on Shelter Legal.
Enforcement of standards
The Regulator of Social Housing has enforcement powers if a registered provider does not meet a consumer or economic standard.
The regulator can take action before there is a risk of serious detriment to tenants or potential tenants.[27]
Surveys and inspections
The Regulator of Social Housing must make a plan of which registered providers should be subject to regular inspections.[28]
The regulator can enter a property at any reasonable time to carry out a survey. The regulator must give at least 48 hours' notice to the registered provider and the occupier. The registered provider and the occupier can waive the requirement for 48 hours' notice.[29] The regulator can apply for a warrant to enter the premises if entry is refused.[30]
The inspector must produce a written summary of their findings and a report for the regulator.[31]
Performance improvement plans
The Regulator of Social Housing can require a registered provider to prepare a performance improvement plan if the regulator is satisfied that either:[32]
the provider has failed to meet a standard, or will fail to do so if no action is taken
the provider has failed to collect, process and publish information about their performance
the interests of tenants require protection
the provider has given an undertaking and failed to comply with it
The performance improvement plan notice issued by the regulator must:
specify the grounds on which is it served
require the provider to submit a performance improvement plan to the regulator
specify the date by which the plan must be submitted to the regulator
The regulator must either approve or reject the performance improvement plan. The provider must implement in full a performance improvement plan that has been approved by the regulator.[33]
Enforcement notices
The Regulator of Social Housing can issue an enforcement notice on a provider if a standard has been breached.
Grounds for serving an enforcement notice include when the provider has failed to:[34]
meet a consumer or economic standard
comply with a performance improvement notice
comply with an order made by the Housing Ombudsman
comply with an earlier enforcement notice
The regulator can also serve an enforcement notice on other grounds, including when the interests of tenants require protection or the provider has mismanaged its affairs.
An enforcement notice must:[35]
specify the grounds on which it is served
state the action required by the provider
state when any action must be completed
The regulator can issue a fine to a provider if it fails to comply with an enforcement notice.[36] The regulator can also award compensation to affected tenants if a provider fails to meet a consumer or economic standard.[37]
Emergency remedial action
The regulator can arrange for emergency remedial action to be carried out when:[38]
a survey has been carried out by the regulator
the regulator is satisfied that the provider has failed to maintain the property
that failure has caused an imminent risk of serious harm to the health and safety of the occupiers
and the provider has failed to comply with an enforcement notice
The regulator can require the provider to pay expenses it incurs by arranging emergency remedial action.[39]
A registered provider or an officer of a registered provider commits an offence if they obstruct the regulator from carrying out emergency remedial action.[40]
When providers can be deregistered
There are a limited number of circumstances that lead to compulsory deregistration. A provider will be removed from the register if it either:[41]
is no longer eligible for registration
has ceased to carry out activities
has ceased to exist
A PRPSH can apply for voluntary deregistration on the grounds that it:
no longer is or intends to be a provider of social housing in England
is subject to regulation by another public authority whose control is likely to be sufficient (for example, by Charity Commission, Companies House or Financial Services Authority)
meets any relevant criteria for deregistration, including the arrangements to ensure the continued protection of tenants and arrangements to ensure there is no misuse of public funds
Deregistered providers
Deregistered providers are:
still subject to the regulator's consent rules for sale and transfers of housing stock unless there have been directions that any specified dwelling should cease to be social housing
still subject to any conditions attached to the public funding imposed by the Home and Communities Agency (HCA)
able to apply again for registration at any time
Find out more from the Regulator of Social Housing about How to deregister with the regulator of social housing.
Relationship between social housing regulator and Housing Ombudsman
The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 introduced new provisions to strengthen the respective roles and improve the relationship between the regulator and the Housing Ombudsman. The aim is to ensure a more joined up approach to regulation and the handling of complaints for the benefit of tenants, and improved exchange information powers.
The regulator and the Ombudsman are required to publish and review a memorandum of understanding outlining how they will cooperate together and how they will communicate and share information with one another.[42] The Secretary of State must consult the Housing Ombudsman when setting standards and giving directions to the social housing regulator.
The Housing Ombudsman can issue a code of practice on complaint handling about the procedures members of the scheme should have in place for considering complaints against them. It must consult with the social housing regulator when making amendments to its scheme.[43]
For more information about their respective roles and powers see the Regulator of Social Housing and Housing Ombudsman Service: factsheet on GOV.UK
Last updated: 10 April 2024