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English regulator hands housing associations coronavirus compliance flexibility
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) will account for the impact of coronavirus on housing associations when making compliance judgements.
The English regulator has said it is operating as normal but will take account of circumstances related to the virus outbreak when assessing the associations’ performance against regulatory standards.
It said: “Registered providers are reminded that they are expected to communicate in a timely manner with the regulator on material issues that relate to non-compliance or potential non-compliance with the regulatory standards.
“As ever, our regulatory approach remains proportionate and we will take account of the circumstances, including those arising from the impact of coronavirus, in considering our response to non-compliance or potential non-compliance with the standards.”
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The update came on Wednesday (11 March), shortly after official government figures showed the number of people who had tested positive for the virus in the UK had reached 456. Six patients who tested positive have died.
Housing associations must meet the financial, governance and consumer regulatory standards stipulated by the RSH.
The RSH’s move follows that of the Scottish Housing Regulator, which announced last week that it would “take account” of the impact of coronavirus when it assesses landlords’ performance in their annual risk assessments.
Inside Housing has heard from several housing associations that are drawing up plans to deal with the outbreak.
The plans include appointing coronavirus leads in the executive teams, cancelling team meetings and drawing up business continuity plans to ensure essential services can be maintained during the outbreak.
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