Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
First Report - The Regulation of Social Housing
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
HC 18
Published 20 July 2022
Government response
First Special Report - The Regulation of Social Housing: Regulators' responses · published 24 Oct 2022
Recommendations & Conclusions
3
Conclusion
Accepted in Part
Para 28
The level of disrepair in some parts of the social housing sector can undoubtedly be...
Conclusion
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 …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees on the importance of quality housing and notes that most social housing is decent. It commits to collecting more data on the Decent Homes Standard from providers next year and emphasizes strong messaging and regulatory engagement to ensure landlords prioritize quality and accurate stock data.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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32
Conclusion
Accepted in Part
Para 124
The Housing Ombudsman is supposed to award compensation to cover financial loss and avoidable inconvenience,...
Conclusion
The Housing Ombudsman is supposed to award compensation to cover financial loss and avoidable inconvenience, distress and detriment. We do not think, however, that the levels of compensation being awarded come anywhere close to reflecting any of these things. We …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of both financial and non-financial remedies for tenants, supporting transparency in compensation decisions and the consideration of loss of earnings for missed appointments. It will consider explaining how its assessment of compensation can be further explained in investigation reports. However, they do not agree with increasing the compensation limit.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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36
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
Para 133
We encourage all social housing providers and the Housing Ombudsman to adopt a co-ordinated strategy...
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee that improved awareness of the complaints procedure is essential, and will work with the Regulator to support the consumer standards placing an obligation on social landlords to promote the Ombudsman; it encourages landlords to review the revised jurisdiction guidance published in October 2021 and would welcome the protocol being strengthened to reinforce this approach.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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