Regulator sets out key learning in its first annual casework review
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has emphasised strong risk oversight as essential to keeping tenants safe in its first annual casework review.
The report sets out key themes and learning from the body’s regulation of social landlords over the past year to help providers deliver optimal outcomes for their customers.
It stressed that landlords should have an internal controls and assurance framework, where there is a thorough understanding of the roles and responsibilities of third parties. For example, on building safety where there is a group structure, a landlord must understand how risks flow between entities and gain assurance that these are being managed.
Private registered providers are also assessed on how effectively they handle risks associated with financial viability, such as development and sales and regeneration.
In order to hit risk management expectations, the regulator has urged landlords to keep up-to-date and comprehensive data across all aspects of their operations.
This will allow them to keep tenants safe in high-quality homes as well as manage risks associated with assets and liabilities.
Within the report, the regulator has shared case summaries to exemplify its learning points.
In 2022 Beyond Housing was downgraded to G2 and a regulatory notice was issued following a self-referral to the regulator as it had overcharged rent for a number of tenants over a significant period of time.
As the error was due to inaccurate record-keeping, Beyond strengthened is data and made improvements to its assets and liabilities register, which resulted in the registered provider receiving an upgraded governance grade of G1.
Landlords are also expected to demonstrate that they are achieving value for money for their customers by considering ways to maximise resources and deliver services efficiently.
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The review found that tenants’ views should be embedded into decision-making to achieve the best outcomes. The regulator said it is seeking assurance that opportunities for residents to share feedback are meaningful, with evidence of what has happened as a result.
The report states: “A key test about whether these arrangements are working is whether the tenant voice is a genuine part of a landlord’s decision making, and the extent to which tenants are able to influence what happens.
“It is important to make sure there is equitable opportunity for all tenants to be listened to and be able to demonstrate that governance arrangements facilitate genuine consideration of tenants’ views.”
Another key theme from the document is self-referral. The regulator encourages landlords to not wait until an inspection to self-refer, saying that the timeliness of the self-referral is important. It expects landlords to engage with the regulator as soon as they become aware of an issue, not after they have developed their approach to addressing them.
Fiona MacGregor, chief executive at RSH, said: “Landlords should carefully consider the insights from today’s report to see how they can improve their ways of working and outcomes for tenants.
“There are early signs that our new proactive approach is already making an impact. We will continue to hold landlords to account to make sure current and future tenants have a safe, decent place to live.”
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