Government to ‘name and shame’ underperforming landlords as part of Social Housing Bill reforms

Among the changes put forward in the white paper was a plan to expand the role of the Regulator of Social Housing, creating a new arm aimed at monitoring consumer standards.

This will mean that for the first time since the Tenant Services Authority was scrapped in 2010, the regulator will measure the quality of landlords’ homes, repairs, complaint-handling and how they engage with tenants.

As part of the regulator’s new action, a social landlord with more than 1,000 homes will face inspections every four years to assess whether it is complying with the new standards.

The Social Housing Green Paper proposed the introduction of sector league tables that would rank providers. However, it appears now that the focus will be on the worst providers, with their names publicly listed.

It comes after the Housing Ombudsman, the watchdog that regulates social housing complaints and repairs, has begun proactively naming the landlords performing the worst on residents’ complaints, as well as issues such as damp and mould.

The government will also outline plans for a new residents’ panel that will regularly meet with government officials and feed in to sector reforms.

The new panel is expected to be made up of more than 200 social housing tenants and will regularly meet and advise the government on how the sector should operate.

Calls for a national tenant body have grown since the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the resulting inquiry into the fire. The inquiry has revealed that fire safety concerns raised by residents of the tower were repeatedly ignored by Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, which managed the tower.

Previously, the government has been criticised for sidelining plans for a national tenant voice two years after Grenfell, when the A Voice for Tenants steering group had to be disbanded after it failed to get support from the government.

Other changes expected in the Social Housing Regulation Bill include the scrapping of the ‘serious detriment test’, which currently sets a very high bar for the regulator to get involved in issues of housing quality.

The white paper also proposed ensuring that every landlord has a person responsible for health and safety, as well as consumer standards; a new scheme to make it easier for tenants to access information about their home and provider; and a requirement that landlords report on tenant satisfaction measures every year.

The steps towards reform will be welcomed by many tenant groups as well as the bereaved and survivors of the Grenfell fire, who view social housing reform as a key step in preventing a repeat of their experience.

Inside Housing reported in January that the Social Housing Regulation Bill would be made public in March.

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “No one should have to live in a sub-standard home. Our priority is to create a fairer social rented sector for everyone.

“We will introduce new legislation to improve the quality and regulation of social housing, give residents extra information to help hold their landlord to account and ensure that when residents make a complaint, landlords take quick and effective action to put things right.”