Select committee: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee

Recommendation 36

First Report - The Regulation of Social Housing Published 20 Jul 2022 Paragraph 133 Addressed to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee The Regulation of Social Housing All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

Recommendation (the committee's words)

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 all other correspondence. Every single piece of correspondence about a complaint that providers send to tenants should inform the latter of their right to complain to the ombudsman and how to go about it. This should also explain that if tenants take legal action they cannot also refer their case to the ombudsman. We also recommend that the Regulator of Social Housing, as part of its review of the consumer standards, introduce a requirement on housing providers to ensure tenants are aware of their right to take a complaint to the ombudsman.

From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, First Report - The Regulation of Social Housing (HC 18), paragraph 133, 20 July 2022

Government response

The Regulation of Social Housing: Government Response to the Select Committee Report

The government responded to the whole report on 21 July 2023 (deadline 20 September 2022).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government welcomes the Committee's report and responds to each recommendation in turn, pointing to its reforms, chiefly the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill, while leaving many matters to the independent regulator and Housing Ombudsman.

On Awaab's Law, it says the details, including time limits for action, "will be settled through consultation". It will consult within six months of Royal Assent and aims to bring the requirements into force in summer 2024.
On funding regeneration without net additional housing (Recommendation 2), it points to existing funding and a recent change allowing replacement homes where this "increases overall housing supply". It will "keep under review" the need for additional funding.
On prescribing support for tenants' associations (Recommendation 8), it says that "Setting prescriptive requirements risks creating a tick-box approach" and may not deliver the best outcomes for tenants.
On the Resident Panel (Recommendation 10), it will provide an update next year on its long-term future and "agree[s]" there is a long-term need for government to hear directly from tenants.

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First Special Report - The Regulation of Social Housing: Regulators' responses

Published 24 October 2022.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Regulator of Social Housing welcomes the Committee's report and says it will carefully consider the recommendations as it develops proactive consumer regulation, while the Housing Ombudsman agrees with several recommendations but does not believe a £25,000 compensation threshold is required in legislation.

The Regulator agrees that providers must understand their stock condition, and says it "will collect more data from providers on the Decent Homes Standard from next year".
The Regulator plans to consult on new consumer standards in 2023, "subject to enactment of the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill and Direction to the regulator by the Secretary of State". It intends to set outcomes without prescribing how providers achieve them.
The Ombudsman does not believe the £25,000 threshold is required in legislation, saying there is "no legislative cap" on compensation it can award. It plans a review of its remedies guidance during 2023-24, intending that amounts in the compensation bands will increase.
On proactive monitoring of the Complaint Handling Code, the Ombudsman welcomes the Bill's proposals; "subject to the Bill reaching the statute", this would let it seek assurance that the Code is being met. It will publish an updated systemic framework during 2023.

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