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
Recommendations
5
Not Addressed
Para 30
To reduce the social housing sector’s reliance on outdated stock, we recommend that the Government...
Recommendation
To reduce the social housing sector’s reliance on outdated stock, we recommend that the Government introduce funding specifically for regeneration that does not require the delivery of net additional housing and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 …
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Government Response Summary
The response focuses on setting clear outcome-based expectations for registered providers and seeking assurance that they are achieving them, but it does not address the specific recommendations regarding funding for regeneration or amending the Affordable Homes Programme.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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6
Not Addressed
Para 31
To prevent the further erosion of the social housing stock, we urge the Government to...
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response Summary
The response focuses on setting clear outcome-based expectations for registered providers and seeking assurance that they are achieving them, but it does not address the specific recommendations regarding funding for regeneration or amending the Affordable Homes Programme.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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10
Para 41
We urge all providers of social housing to support tenants who, through no fault of...
Recommendation
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 …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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20
Para 82
We recommend that the Government establish the Social Housing Quality Resident Panel on a permanent...
Recommendation
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 …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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25
Not Addressed
We call on the Government to provide an update on the progress of its review...
Recommendation
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
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Government Response Summary
The response states that they look forward to continuing to work with tenants and other stakeholders as they develop a new proactive consumer regulation regime, but does not 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.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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29
We recommend that the Government legislate through the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to place a...
Recommendation
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 …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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34
Para 126
The Government must commit to ensuring social housing tenants get the same levels of compensation...
Recommendation
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 …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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42
Para 156
To ensure that the consumer regulatory regime does not continue to let down tenants whose...
Recommendation
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 …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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Conclusions (13)
3
Conclusion
Para 28
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 …
4
Conclusion
Para 29
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, …
11
Conclusion
Para 49
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, …
19
Conclusion
Para 81
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 …
24
Conclusion
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 …
28
Conclusion
Para 113
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 …
30
Conclusion
Para 117
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.
31
Conclusion
Para 118
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 …
35
Conclusion
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 …
36
Conclusion
Para 133
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 …
46
Conclusion
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 …
47
Conclusion
Para 185
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 …
51
Conclusion
Para 201
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 …