Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Rejected
Paragraph: 61
Insist regeneration projects fully account for and meet existing tenants' needs.
Recommendation
Regeneration should respect the experience of existing tenants, whose lives will be disrupted, as well as those who will benefit from the new or additional homes in the future. An additional challenge is presented when estates contain both social housing tenants and leaseholders, who may be in a more challenging position when looking to move to an alternative property. When the Government, Homes England or the Regulator of Social Housing are involved in regeneration projects, they should insist that the regeneration takes full account of and meets existing tenants’ needs wherever possible.
Government Response Summary
The government rejects setting detailed standards for providers' engagement in regeneration projects, citing the desirability of providers choosing their own service delivery and avoiding increased regulatory burden. However, it states that existing general consumer standards align with the committee's aspirations for tenant experience.
Paragraph Reference:
61
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
15. In setting standards the regulator must have regard to the desirability of registered providers being free to choose how to provide services and conduct business.8 Therefore our standards do not detail how providers should deliver our requirements or set out specific scenarios or groups of tenants on which the standards are focused. This is because the prescription necessary to examine all potential situations would lead to a significantly increased regulatory burden on providers. We therefore do not identify specific expectations of providers around their engagement in regeneration projects. However, we believe that our new consumer standards do set out, in general terms, expectations of providers that would align with the committee’s aspiration for tenants’ experience during regeneration projects. For example, our Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard requires landlords to treat tenants with fairness and respect, take their views into account in decision-making about how landlord services are delivered, and where considering a significant change in management arrangements consult affected tenants on proposals at a formative stage and take those views into account in reaching a decision. 16. Providers are also expected to take reasonable steps to assist tenants wishing to implement tenant-led activities to influence and scrutinise their landlord’s strategies, policies and services. We have issued Regulatory Notices under our previous Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard where landlords’ engagement with tenants has not met our expectations.9 We recognise the potential impact that relocation during and potentially after a regeneration project might have on the affected tenants. Within our Tenancy Standard we outline expectations that providers grant tenants who have been moved into alternative accommodation during any redevelopment or other works a tenancy with no less security of tenure on their return to settled accommodation.