Last updated: 1st March 2024
Following the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2022 coming into force in 2023, the Regulator of Social Housing is introducing a new set of consumer standards from 1st April 2024. It is crucial that you know how these revised standards will impact your organisation and how you can demonstrate that you are ready to meet the standards.
Following the publication of the draft consumer standards and code of practice last summer, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) published a pack of information on 29th February 2024, including the new set of consumer standards, detail on how they will regulate, and a plan for conducting landlord inspections. These new standards and proactive regulator regime will be coming into force from April 2024, so you must be preparing now. To discover the key takeaways from the RSH's guidance documents, read our dedicated blog here.
The Director of Regulatory Engagement at the RSH joined our January webinar, which you can watch here, to discuss the consumer regulation changes. Here are the key takeaways the Regulator recommends you focus on to best prepare yourself for the upcoming changes, as well as headline lessons learnt from the pilot inspection programme.
Tenant engagement mechanisms
Are you confident that your tenant engagement mechanisms are working as you and your tenants want? It is important to evaluate the suitability and functionality of your tenant engagement mechanisms, ensuring that they align with both your organisational needs and the expectations of your tenants.
Systems and processes
Assess the functionality and robustness of your existing systems and processes. Problems are often caused when the system or process comes under stress and breaks down. Identify potential stress points and address them to prevent breakdowns, ensuring sustained functionality for the future.
Data utilisation
Understand your tenants and your housing stock through effective data management. Utilise data to make informed decisions about investments, service targeting, and service design to meet the evolving needs of your tenants.
Current consumer standards compliance
Before the revised consumer standards are published, you must consider whether your practices meet the consumer standards as they currently stand and assess your ability to evidence compliance across the various areas. Make use of the draft consumer standards as a tool to gauge your preparedness for the upcoming changes and gain insight into what is expected of you as a landlord.
Lessons learnt from pilot inspections
The Regulator’s pilot inspections focused on service outcome and accountability and offer crucial insights for landlords preparing for the regulatory changes.
• Evidence outcomes and compliance - It is not enough just having policies and procedures in place you also need to evidence outcomes and compliance across the full range of consumer standards.
• Effective governance structures – The pilot inspections highlighted the importance of governance structures in demonstrating outcomes. Governance failures were often the root cause of compliance problems, meaning it is essential for landlords to evaluate and strengthen their governance arrangements where needed.
• Good quality performance data - Ensure that reported information aligns with Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) data and across various Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), addressing any potential gaps or discrepancies.
• Hearing the voice of tenants - Landlords must have robust and effective mechanisms to engage with all tenants, ensuring their perspectives are considered at all levels within the organisation.
As the proactive consumer regulation regime approaches, landlords must embrace the lessons learnt from pilot studies and the recommendations provided by the Regulator. To find out more on how to prepare, hear expert insight from the Director of Regulatory Engagement at the RSH in our latest webinar ‘Consumer Regulation: Are you ready to meet the revised standards?’ on-demand now.
