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Equity-linked housing association first ever to breach tenant standard
Equity-linked association Westmoreland Supported Housing breached the English regulator’s standard on empowering tenants for the first time, the regulator has confirmed.
A spokesperson for the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) told Inside Housing that it had never found a breach of the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard before.
In a notice published last month, the RSH censured Westmoreland, which provides housing mainly for adults with learning and physical disabilities, for breaching the Home Standard, the Tenancy Standard, and the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard.
Westmoreland was criticised for its handling of a set of evictions, understood to be from a number of homes in Gloucester owned by investment fund Henley Social Investments.
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According to the judgement, the association “failed to consult with tenants, failed to provide appropriate advice and assistance and failed to consider what would happen to tenants during and after the notice period”.
The judgement added that some tenants moved out of the homes and when the regulator asked Westmoreland what had happened to them, they “could not be traced”.
Until the judgement, many in the sector had believed that it was impossible to breach the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard because it requires the regulator to demonstrate serious detriment to tenants.
Peter Marsh, former chief executive of the English social housing regulator, told Inside Housing in 2017 that this was “a really, really high threshold”. He added: “Having a standard on a regulatory framework for which there is no circumstance [under] which you can see a breach – it has no meaning.”
Mr Marsh was speaking just a few months after the standard was strengthened by the regulator in response to the move to deregulate housing associations in April 2017.
In an interview with Inside Housing, Jonathan Walters, deputy director of strategy and performance at the RSH, said this change was key.
He explained: “There was already something in our standards about consulting with tenants if the landlord was going to change. But we included a requirement in the standard about engaging with your tenants and explaining the pros and cons of your landlord changing or anything happening with them and ensuring that providers listened to the feedback.
“There were lots of reasons for the regulatory notice on Westmoreland, but among other things it was the lack of communication with tenants about what was happening that ensured that Westmoreland was found in breach.”
A Westmoreland spokesperson said: “It is with regret that we find ourselves in this current position in relation to Gloucester and fully recognise that tenants should always be at the centre of any decisions we make. We have taken measures to address the issues relating to the standard.
“Tenants are now receiving support from a specialist supported housing service which we have commissioned, as well as from our housing officers. We are also providing additional support to tenants to ensure there is full consultation and support in relation to tenancy issues and any move-on plans.”
