Unitary council self-refers to housing regulator following post-launch review
North Yorkshire Council has self-referred to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) after a review undertaken after the unitary’s establishment found that work needs to be done to meet all elements of the Social Housing (Regulations) Act 2023.
The 2023 Act came into force on 1 April this year and brought with it new regulatory standards.
North Yorkshire said: “The act’s new and updated requirements include more frequent surveys both inside and outside of properties, annual tenant satisfaction surveys and consideration of tenants’ diverse needs and vulnerabilities.”
The council acknowledged that while it is compliant in several areas of activity, more needs to be done to meet the requirements of the legislation.
The unitary came into existence on 1 April 2023, taking on responsibility for social housing services from three of its predecessor authorities.
Nic Harne, North Yorkshire’s Corporate director for community development, said: “This new Act provides the chance to provide the best services and quality of housing for our residents.
“As the landlord for almost 8,500 homes, we welcome the changes it brings. It provides us with a framework for improvement as we create a unified housing management service.
“We have already done a great deal of work to comply with the new legislation, including introducing a new a Housing Revenue Account Business Plan. This provides both funding to undertake improvements to homes as well as the chance to bring in future improvements in the way we work.”
Harne added: “We have fully restructured the service and have improvement plans in place. The safety and quality of our homes is our priority, and we encourage any tenants with any concerns about their homes to contact us directly.
“We are committed to providing excellent services, being open and involving tenants in the journey of improvement we are on.”
North Yorkshire said that in referring itself to the RSH and sharing its draft improvement framework, the local authority was demonstrating transparency. It has asked the regulator to provide guidance for more improvements.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities hailed the 1 April 2024 launch by the RSH of the new consumer regulation regime as a “significant milestone” in its programme to improve the quality of social housing.
In a March 2024 update, it said the reforms were “the most significant change to the regulation of social housing in a decade”.
Harry Rodd
