The purpose of this inquiry is to examine the quality and regulation of social housing in England and the Government’s proposals in the social housing White Paper for improving the regulatory regime. Read the key findings and recommendations from our report published on 20 July 2022.
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Report - The Regulation of Social Housing | HC 18 | 20 Jul 2022 | 55 | Responded |
The level of disrepair in some parts of the social housing sector can undoubtedly be attributed partly to the age and design of the housing stock, some of which was never built to last and is now approaching obsolescence. For this, some blame must attach to successive Governments for not …
We are concerned, however, about the Government’s decision to extend the statutory right to buy to all tenants of private social housing providers. The existing policy has reduced the number of homes available for social rent and increased the proportion of the social housing stock that is hard to maintain, …
To reduce the social housing sector’s reliance on outdated stock, we recommend that the Government introduce funding specifically for regeneration that does not require the delivery of net additional housing and deliver on its commitment to increase the supply of homes for social rent. We also recommend that it amend …
To prevent the further erosion of the social housing stock, we urge the Government to set out how it plans to fully fund the one-for-one and like-for-like replacement of every home sold under the proposed extension of the statutory right to buy to tenants of private social housing providers. One-for-one …
We urge all providers of social housing to support tenants who, through no fault of their own, cannot heat or ventilate their homes properly. This support should include the provision of dehumidifiers and mechanical ventilation systems to deal with condensation before it leads to damp and mould.
Whilst social housing providers cannot be blamed for the age of their stock or for government policy, they must certainly take responsibility, where they have failed to respond properly to requests for repairs, have preferred quick fixes to structural problems, have failed to properly investigate the causes of serious disrepair, …
We are pleased the Government is setting up the Social Housing Quality Resident Panel, but we believe there is a strong argument for committing now to making it a permanent national voice for tenants, or at least to establishing such a body in The Regulation of Social Housing 71 one …
We recommend that the Government establish the Social Housing Quality Resident Panel on a permanent basis as the national tenant voice body that tenants representatives have been calling for. The Government should send the strongest possible signal to tenants that it is determined to involve them in the national conversation …
Whatever external or impersonal forces might be contributing to the very poor treatment some tenants have to endure, ultimate responsibility must lie first with the individuals concerned and then with senior management. We therefore strongly welcome the Government’s review of qualifications and professional training. Ensuring those working in the sector …
We call on the Government to provide an update on the progress of its review of qualifications and professional training in the social housing sector, including a timeline for implementation of any new qualifications. (Paragraph 103) The Housing Ombudsman
If they have not already done so, all providers must immediately review and where necessary improve their complaint handling processes. As part of this, all providers that have not already self-assessed against the ombudsman’s complaint handling code should immediately do so. We also recommend that the ombudsman more proactively monitor …
We recommend that the Government legislate through the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to place a legal requirement on social housing providers to self-assess against the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code and to report to the ombudsman when they have done so. To ensure that providers are self-assessing against the code, …
The Housing Ombudsman’s new power to investigate systemic issues across the sector is an extremely valuable tool for improving quality across the sector, and we disagree strongly with the assertion that this represents any sort of encroachment on the remit of the Regulator of Social Housing.
We encourage the Housing Ombudsman to continue investigating systemic failings across the social housing sector. In response to this report, the ombudsman should identify which further areas it may investigate. We further encourage both the ombudsman and the Regulator of Social Housing to continue co-operating and sharing information, building on …
The Government must commit to ensuring social housing tenants get the same levels of compensation it has said tenants in the PRS will be entitled to under its proposals for a new ombudsman. We recommend it does this by amending the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to include provisions setting out …
It is clear from the evidence we received during this inquiry, and from the constituency casework we deal with, that generally tenants are not aware of the Housing Ombudsman. We welcome the work the ombudsman has done recently to raise awareness of its service among tenants and agree that this …
We encourage all social housing providers and the Housing Ombudsman to adopt a co-ordinated strategy to increase awareness among tenants of the ombudsman. As part of that, providers should routinely send letters and leaflets specifically about how they can complain to the ombudsman, as well as including this information in …
To ensure that the consumer regulatory regime does not continue to let down tenants whose providers are responsible for serious mismanagement that does not meet the ‘systemic failure’ test, we strongly urge the Regulator of Social Housing to reconsider its interpretation of its duty to minimise interference and act proportionately. …
We are also uncertain about the argument that any increase in the regulator’s powers would prompt the Office for National Statistics to reclassify the social housing sector as belonging to the public sector and so push its debt on to the government balance sheet. The primary consideration should be the …
We disagree with the regulator’s assertion that intervening to shape the market - for example, to encourage providers to consolidate their stock in particular areas - would take the regulator beyond its duty to minimise interference. As we have stated elsewhere, we think it should reinterpret this duty, as its …
Whilst understanding the advantages of a relatively light touch regulatory regime, we still find the regulator to be extremely reticent and passive in its use of its enforcement powers. It is appropriate for the regulator to punish providers responsible for the most serious service failures. If used sparingly, the power …
| Date | Witnesses | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 May 2022 | Eddie Hughes · Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Nick Burkitt · Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities | View ↗ |
| 19 Apr 2022 | Jonathan Walters · Regulator of Social Housing, Richard Blakeway · Office for Legal Complaints, Richard Blakeway · Housing Ombudsman Service | View ↗ |
| 14 Mar 2022 | Angela Price · Guinness, Daniel Hewitt · ITV News, Nicole Walters · Southwark Council | View ↗ |
| 9 Mar 2022 | Dr Amanze Ejiogu · Newcastle University Business School, Helen Garrett · Building Research Establishment, James Prestwich · Chartered Institute of Housing, Jenny Osbourne · TPAS, Tarun Bhakta · Shelter | View ↗ |
| 7 Feb 2022 | Chloe Fletcher · National Federation of ALMOs, Cllr David Renard · Local Government Association (LGA), Karen Brown · Northern Housing Consortium, Kate Henderson · National Housing Federation, Matthew Walker · PlaceShapers, Nick Murphy · Nottingham City Homes | View ↗ |
| 17 Jan 2022 | Ben Denton · Legal and General Affordable Homes, Clare Miller · Clarion Housing Group, Darren Hartley · TAROE Trust, Pat Turnbull · London Tenants Federation, Professor Ian Cole · South Yorkshire Housing Association, Suzanne Muna · Social Housing Action Campaign | View ↗ |
| Date | Direction | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Feb 2023 | To cttee | Letter from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Faith and Communitie… |
| 6 Dec 2022 | To cttee | Letter from the Chair to the Secretary of State and the Regulator of Social Hou… |
| 19 Oct 2022 | To cttee | Letter from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Housing and Communit… |
| 19 Oct 2022 | To cttee | Letter from the Chair to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Housing… |
| 12 Jul 2022 | To cttee | Letter from the Central Hill Estate Residents Association Committee to the Comm… |
| 21 Jun 2022 | To cttee | Letter from the Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing dated 13 June 2022 foll… |
| 30 Mar 2022 | To cttee | Letter from the Guinness Partnership to the Chair dated 23 March 2022 concernin… |
| 30 Mar 2022 | To cttee | Letter from the Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing dated 29 March 2022 con… |
| 22 Mar 2022 | To cttee | Letter from BRE to the Chair dated 10 March 2022 concerning the inquiry into th… |
| 1 Mar 2022 | To cttee | Letter from Cllr David Renard, Local Government Association, to the Chair dated… |
| 22 Feb 2022 | To cttee | Letter from Broadacres Housing Association to the Chair dated 9 February 2022 c… |