Regulatory standards for landlords
Our regulatory standards set the outcomes that social landlords in England must deliver for tenants.
We set regulatory standards that define the outcomes that landlords must deliver using our powers under the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.
We expect all landlords to deliver the outcomes of our standards that apply to them. These include both the required outcomes and specific expectations we set within each standard.
Find out more about how we regulate the standards.
Consumer standards
The outcomes of the consumer standards apply to all landlords registered with us, including local authorities. They apply to the social housing that these landlords provide and the tenants living in those homes.
Social housing is defined in the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008:
- low cost rental accommodation (defined by section 69 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008) or
- low cost home ownership accommodation (defined by section 70 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008), or both.
An exception to this is that the Tenancy Standard does not apply to social housing where:
- those homes are let on intermediate rent terms; or
- it is low-cost home ownership and has not yet been staircased to 100% ownership
Where homes stop being social housing as set out at sections 73-76 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008, the consumer standards will no longer apply. This includes low-cost home ownership homes which are fully owned by the occupier, including shared ownership homes that have been staircased to 100%.
In the main, homes which are mobile do not meet the definition of social housing set out in the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.
Where registered providers are unsure about the status of any of their homes they should seek their own advice.
Economic standards
The Rent Standard applies to all landlords registered with us, including local authorities.
The Governance and Financial Viability Standard and Value for Money standard apply to housing associations and other private registered providers.
Updates to this page
Published 2 April 2024Last updated 10 July 2024 + show all updates
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Addition of information about mobile homes
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First published.