RSH to review feedback as CIH expresses “surprise” at proposal to incorporate requirements into revised Transparency, Influence and Accountability standard
The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has raised concerns about the way the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is proposing to implement new Competence and Conduct requirements.
A consultation on changes to the RSH’s consumer standards closed last night. The RSH is proposing to incorporate new competence and conduct requirements – which will mandate qualifications for social housing managers – into a revised Transparency, Influence and Accountability (TIA) Standard.
This is instead of including the requirements in a standalone standard as expected by the CIH and others.
In its submission to the consultation, CIH said: “We are concerned that the inclusion of competence and conduct into the existing TI&A standard signals a downgrading of the importance of the requirements and risks them not being taken as seriously by registered providers and the RSH as they should be. “
Gavin Smart, chief executive of the CIH, writing for Housing Today this morning, said the institute was surprised at the move and said it would be a “missed opportunity given the sector-wide focus on competence and conduct over recent years.”
He said the CIH expects the regulator “to confirm that these requirements retain the same legal and regulatory weight, reinforcing their centrality to high-performing organisations and regulatory compliance”.
An RSH spokesperson said the insight from the CIH will help it “to shape the final approach.”
He added: “Social landlords need to meet all the requirements in our consumer standards. We will publish more information about the competence and conduct requirements later in the year after we have reviewed all the feedback.”
In its consultation response, the National Housing Federation said it agreed the that the RSH’s proposals are an “accurate reflection of the direction to the regulator”. It added that it welcomed the consultation paper’s emphasis on “residents being given meaningful opportunities to influence and scrutinise the development of written policy and decisions relating to the adoption or development of an organisational code of conduct.”
Competence and conduct requirements at-a-glance
Under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act the regulator must set a standard that mean social landlords in England must:
- Ensure senior housing managers and senior housing executives hold (or are working towards) an approved housing management qualification and take steps to ensure that service providers’ relevant managers do likewise. Senior housing managers must hold a Level 4 qualification in housing management, executives must hold a Level 5 qualification.
- Ensure staff competence — all relevant staff must have the skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviours needed to deliver good quality housing services
- Hold contractors to account — providers must take steps to ensure staff employed by their service providers also meet these competence and conduct requirements
- Adopt a written policy — setting out how they will support learning and development, appraise performance, and address poor performance across their workforce
- Embed a code of conduct — adopt or develop a code for relevant staff, ensure it is understood and applied across the organisation, and keep it current
- Enable tenant influence — give tenants meaningful opportunities to shape and scrutinise both the competence policy and the code of conduct, and make these accessible, up to date, and fit for purpose
The Competence and Conduct Standard comes into force in October 2026. Providers managing more than 1,000 homes will have three years to ensure relevant managers are qualified or working towards a qualification, while smaller landlords will have four years.
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