Regulator of Social Housing consults on tenant satisfaction measures
Consultation runs from 9 December 2021 to 3 March 2022.
The Regulator of Social Housing has launched a consultation today (9 December 2021) on tenant satisfaction measures. The proposed TSMs would provide data about social housing landlords’ performance and the quality of their services. This is intended to help tenants hold their landlord to account and help RSH in its future consumer regulation role, as part of implementing the package of changes to consumer regulation set out in the Social Housing White Paper.
TSMs will apply to all social housing landlords, including local authorities, housing associations and other registered social housing providers.
The consultation sets out 22 proposed TSMs for consultation across the five themes in the White Paper:
- keeping properties in good repair
- maintaining building safety
- effective complaints handling
- respectful and helpful tenant engagement, and
- responsible neighbourhood management.
They include both tenant perception measures, collected through landlords’ surveys of tenants, and landlord management information measures. The details of the draft measures have been shaped by early discussions with stakeholders, including tenants and landlords.
Alongside the proposed TSMs, and the detailed proposals for their collection and measurement, RSH has also published the draft text for the consumer standard which would require landlords to collect, publish and submit information about their performance against the TSMs.
RSH is now seeking views on its TSM proposals from landlords, tenants and anyone with an interest in social housing by 3 March 2022.
Fiona MacGregor, Chief Executive of RSH said:
Our proposed tenant satisfaction measures aim to give clear and comparable data about the quality of services tenants in social housing receive. We want them to be a valuable source of information for tenants, local communities, and landlords as well as forming part of the wider picture that informs our consumer regulation.
By consulting now, we can take into account the views of tenants, landlords and other stakeholders to refine the final measures and also allow time for local authorities, housing associations and other social housing providers to prepare for their implementation.
The TSM consultation is available on the RSH website.
Notes
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For press office contact details, see our Media enquiries page. For general queries, please email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or call 0300 124 5225.
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The closing date for consultation responses is 3 March 2022. Responses can be submitted online, or by email or post to RSH.
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RSH set out its initial thinking about how it will put in place the changes to consumer regulation described in the social housing white paper, including tenant satisfaction measures, in Reshaping consumer regulation: our principles and approach. Many of these changes can only be made when Parliament has passed legislation to change our objectives and legal powers
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TSMs would apply to registered providers of social housing.
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This consultation relates to the draft TSM Standard, TSMs and related requirements that the regulator is proposing to set, and the draft guidance that the regulator is proposing to publish. Alongside this, RSH has published a plain English summary of the consultation and proposed TSMs. It will make an easy read version of the summary available on its website shortly.
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Following the conclusion of this consultation, RSH intends to publish an Equality Impact Assessment and a Regulatory Impact Assessment alongside the final TSM documents. It is sharing drafts of these assessments as part of this consultation and welcomes comments on these.
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The Regulator of Social Housing promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs. Its role is defined in legislation to have an economic regulation objective relating to private registered providers, and a consumer regulation objective relating to both local authority providers and private registered providers. In line with current legislation, RSH regulates consumer standards reactively.