The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has published its Corporate Plan 2021 – 2024. The RSH has set its strategic objectives for the period as:
- deliver effective regulation which helps to maintain stakeholder confidence
- support the sector’s capacity to deliver safe, sustainable and affordable homes
- implement reforms outlined in the Social Housing White Paper (SHWP)
- promote a shared understanding of changes in the social housing sector, and horizon scan so that the RSH can foresee emerging risks and
- continue to develop the RSH, its framework and approach in line with the sector’s risk profile and forthcoming changes in the RSH’s objectives and remit.
The RSH’s strategic objectives will be underpinned by its existing corporate priorities:
- ensure it has an appropriate understanding of sector-level risks
- deliver proportionate, assurance-based co-regulation focused on risk
- ensure it is forward thinking and responsive to changes in the external operating environment and
- ensure it is an efficient and effective organisation.
In taking forward the proposals in the SHWP, the RSH confirms its commitment to effective economic regulation and commits to working with tenants, landlords and other stakeholders to implement the changes to the consumer regulation framework.
The RSH recognises that the proposed changes, which it describes as ambitious, will take time to implement, not least because many of the proposals will require legislative change. In the meantime, the RSH is encouraging landlords to respond to the vision and expectations on transparency, accountability and tenant engagement set out in the SHWP now.
In its Corporate Plan the RSH commits to:
- consult on new tenant satisfaction measures
- once legislation has been passed, consult on new consumer standards and develop its operational approach and
- develop a new consumer regulation function.
The RSH reiterates that the current co-regulatory settlement will apply to future consumer regulation arrangements, stating that it will “seek assurance that Boards and Councillors have sufficient oversight of compliance with our standards”.