Having a safe, decent home matters to everyone. The four million residents living in social housing stand to benefit from the most significant change to the regulation of social housing in a decade that came into effect at the beginning of April.

New powers to the Regulator of Social Housing enable them to drive up the standards in social housing and take action where necessary when landlords fail their residents.

It now means that landlords will be routinely inspected and held to account, making sure they provide their residents with quality homes and services.

The new rules now require landlords to:
• Have an accurate record on the condition of every home, based on checks of properties so landlords can understand any problems and take action.
• Set clear timelines for the completion of repairs, maintenance and planned improvements, communicating them clearly to tenants.
• Give tenants opportunities to influence and scrutinise their landlord’s services such as through meetings with tenant organisations.
• Provide tenants with information about their rights and how to make complaints.
• Publish the new tenant satisfaction measures to make it clear how tenants feel their landlord is performing and hold them to account.

Those who do not abide by these new rules face a range of potential sanctions, including appointing new management or unlimited fines.

Drive up the quality of social housing

This is just one of the measures the Government is taking to drive up the quality of social housing, following on from Awaab’s Law, which will introduce new requirements for landlords to fix hazards in social homes within fixed timeframes.

Another key aspect which the Government is also consulting on is new competence and conduct requirements, ensuring that social housing staff have the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver good quality services.

Respond to complaints effectively

Landlords are also now required by law to follow the requirements of the Housing Ombudsman Service’s Complaint Handling Code. Meaning all social landlords will now have to respond to complaints effectively and within set timescales.

Kwajo Tweneboa, Social Housing campaigner said: “I hope this change in legislation will now mean a more proactive stance in scrutinising providers. For a long time, Social Housing Providers have evaded accountability for providing substandard housing to many across the country.

“As someone who has experienced this first-hand, I hope this change in regulation will be enforced with maximum effect and put an end to the misery so many are going through. The recognition that a safe and decent home is a necessity to the lives of us all and isn’t exclusive to those living outside of social housing should – I hope, mean a new era for many millions across the UK.”