Regulator of Social Housing consults on tenant satisfaction measures

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

For press office contact details, see our Media enquiries page.

For general queries, please email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or call 0300 124 5225.

The closing date for consultation responses is 3 March 2022. Responses can be submitted

online, or by email or post to RSH.

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

TSMs would apply to registered providers of social housing.

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.

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.

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.