2021 CEO letter re data collection - small providers
Published 16 March 2021
Applies to England
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10 March 2021
Dear Chief Executive
I wanted to write to you to let you know about the arrangements for data collection in the coming year. Timely and accurate data submission is a cornerstone of the co-regulatory settlement and we rely on the information you supply us to ensure proportionate and risk-based regulation. I would therefore be grateful if this letter can be passed onto the appropriate person within your organisation.
NROSH+ Data Collection 2021
From April 2021, we will be commencing our round of data collection from private registered providers (‘providers’) via the NROSH+ website. All providers registered with us (including those who own no stock), are required to complete and submit a Statistical Data Return to NROSH+ by 31 May 2021.
It is essential that the updated templates and guidance notes are reviewed before the completion of the surveys on NROSH+. Additionally, we remind you that it is your responsibility to correctly categorise and record stock accurately according to the latest applicable legislation and to ensure you understand and apply the rent rules correctly. We ask that you pay particular attention to the classification of units to ensure they align with the 2020 rent standard as this is the first year that the data submitted through the SDR will reflect this change.
Please submit your SDR return as early as possible within the survey period, allowing sufficient time to raise any questions you have regarding your submission. We aim to respond to all queries within five working days. Please note that queries made to us within five working days of a survey deadline may not receive a response until after the deadline has passed. This may result in submissions which do not meet the survey deadline. Extensions to the deadline will not be granted due to late queries.
As in previous years we will publish a list of all late or missing returns for 2021 when the SDR data is published in the Autumn. Failure to provide accurate and timely data may be reflected in our judgement of a provider’s compliance with the regulatory standards.
During the checking of submissions, we may contact some providers to discuss their data returns before signing them off for further analysis. Subsequently, we may contact a minority of providers where there are any regulatory issues arising from this analysis of the validated data.
A Disposal Notification Form is also available on the NROSH+ site for the collection of information about disposals made by providers. Providers are required to notify us about disposals it has made in line with the Direction on disposal notification. The Direction and supporting guidance sets out the details of what must be notified and the type of information that must be provided.
Organisational and contact details
The NROSH+ website requires your organisation to enter and maintain a suite of organisational and contact details. It is the responsibility of each individual provider to ensure that this contact information is kept updated and accurate throughout the year. This is important because we use this information to contact your organisation on regulatory matters. Please note that contact information cannot be updated between 1 April and mid-July except via your SDR return (please contact the enquiries team if you need to amend submitted data).
It is very important that the organisational and contact details in NROSH+ are kept accurate and up to date by your officers. If they are not:
(a) your organisation may not receive important information on statutory consultations and/ or regulatory requirements; and/ or
(b) correspondence (which may include information about the provider’s business or regulatory compliance) may be sent to the wrong individuals (who in some cases may no longer work for the provider).
We take our duties in relation to data protection seriously, but to do this we rely on providers updating their contact information in a timely fashion. Please see our privacy policy on the NROSH+ site for more details.
Please note that the SDR data collection is distinct from other returns you may be required to make, for example to the Housing Ombudsman or to the CORE survey funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
NROSH+ closure
In order to prepare for the 2021-22 survey period, the NROSH+ system will be offline from 6pm on Thursday 25 March until launch on Thursday 1 April. During this time, you will be unable to access the site and should make alternative provision to access documents and templates should you require these during this period. We will notify all users by email when NROSH+ launches for the 2021 collections.
If you have any queries, please refer to the guidance and FAQs on the NROSH+ website (from Wednesday 1 April 2021). If further assistance is required you can contact the referrals and regulatory enquiries team NROSHenquiries@rsh.gov.uk who will assist you with your query.
Yours faithfully,