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Social Housing White Paper expected in autumn with regulation focus
The long-awaited Social Housing White Paper is due to be published in the autumn with a focus on strengthening the powers of the regulator to intervene on consumer affairs, Inside Housing understands.
It is two years this week since the government published its Social Housing Green Paper, which it intended to “be the most substantial report of its kind for a generation” and trigger major reform of the sector.
But despite a consultation on its proposals closing in November 2018, the promised follow-up white paper has not yet been published.
Sources close to the process have told Inside Housing the document was completed shortly after Boris Johnson’s election victory last December and was set to be published in the spring, before being put on hold again due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Its publication has now been rescheduled for the autumn, and it is set to further flesh out proposals to give the Regulator of Social Housing powers to intervene in tenant services.
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The green paper floated the idea of axing the ‘serious detriment test’, which seriously limits the circumstances in which the regulator can currently intervene in consumer affairs.
It said housing providers could face ‘Ofsted-style’ inspections from the regulator under the new system.
“The conversations we’ve had with senior people suggest that it’s pretty much written and would have been published in spring were it not for COVID-19,” said Jenny Osbourne, chief executive of tenant engagement charity Tpas. “We’re very hopeful of it being published before Christmas.”
Melanie Rees, head of policy at the Chartered Institute of Housing, added: “The big announcement we are looking for is what’s going to happen with consumer regulation.”
She added: “What’s really important is that however they do it, it is adequately resourced. The Regulator of Social Housing is quite a tight set-up and if what they do is going to expand significantly, they need the tools to make it work.”
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Ensuring greater redress, better regulation and improving the quality of social housing for tenants is a priority for this government.
“We are going to deliver on a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide a transformative change for social housing tenants – our Social Housing White Paper is at an advanced stage and we have committed in parliament to publishing later this year.”
