New Housing Administration regime
RSH welcomes new legislation for managing potential insolvency in the social housing sector.
The Regulator of Social Housing has welcomed the coming into force of the Housing Administration regime from today (5 July 2018).
The regime has been introduced under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 in response to concerns that the regulator’s existing moratorium provisions would not be suitable for managing insolvency in a larger or more complex provider of social housing. The legislation allows the Secretary of State or RSH with the consent of the SoS, to apply to Court to appoint a housing administrator in the event of a social housing provider becoming insolvent.
Fiona MacGregor, Executive Director of Regulation, said:
Commencement of housing administration strengthens the legal tools available to the regulator to protect the interests of tenants, investment secured on social housing assets and public investment in the sector. We are grateful to everyone involved in the process of developing these significant changes. What has not changed is our determination to avoid having to call upon the new regime.
As a regulator we will continue to proactively regulate providers’ governance and financial viability, ensure that we identify and manage any viability issues as they emerge, and intervene before any financial difficulties of a provider reach the insolvency stage. While the Housing Administration regime provides a vital safeguard, prevention remains the best cure.
Further information
The regulation of social housing is the responsibility of the Regulation Committee, a statutory committee of the Homes and Communities Agency. The organisation refers to itself as the Regulator of Social Housing in undertaking the functions of the Regulation Committee. Homes England is the trading name of the HCA’s non-regulation functions.
The regulator’s purpose is to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs. It does this by undertaking robust economic regulation focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer. It also sets consumer standards and may take action if these standards are breached and there is a significant risk of serious detriment to tenants or potential tenants.
For more information visit the RSH website.
Our About the Regulator of Social Housing page has contact details for media enquiries.
For general queries to RSH, please email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or call 0300 124 5225.