On 29 February the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) published the final versions of the new consumer standards against which social landlords will be regulated from 1 April 2024, alongside further details of its planned approach to regulation, including inspections.
The full pack of published information includes:
- A document called ‘Reshaping consumer regulation‘ which summarises the key changes to RSH’s regulatory approach.
- The final consumer standards that landlords will be regulated against from 1 April 2024, along with the final decision statement and code of practice.
- A document called ‘Regulating the Standards‘ which explains how RSH will regulate, including its approach to inspections.
- The plan for undertaking landlord inspections. Landlords with more than 1000 social rented homes will be subject to programmed inspections at least every 4 years. The plan also sets out when RSH may carry out inspections which are not programmed.
The four consumer standards are:
- The Safety and Quality Standard which requires landlords to provide safe and good-quality homes for their tenants, along with good-quality landlord services.
- The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard which requires landlords to be open with tenants and treat them with fairness and respect so they can access services, raise concerns when necessary, influence decision making and hold their landlord to account.
- The Neighbourhood and Community Standard which requires landlords to engage with other relevant parties so that tenants can live in safe and well-maintained neighbourhoods and feel safe in their homes.
- The Tenancy Standard which sets requirements for the fair allocation and letting of homes, as well as requirements for how tenancies are managed by landlords.