Councils owning 1,000+ homes to begin paying fees for regulation as Regulator of Social Housing confirms start date for new fee regime

The new fee regime of the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), which will see social landlords pay for the full cost of their regulation, is to come into effect on 1 July 2024.

RSH confirmed the move after publishing the outcome of its consultation.

Claiming that the feedback was supportive of its overall approach, the regulator said the changes would ensure it has “the resources, skills and capacity to deliver its wider regulatory role”.

Key changes identified by RSH – in addition to recovery of the full cost of regulation – include the introduction of fees for councils owning more than 1,000 homes “to cover RSH’s more active regulation of them against the consumer standards, including the new inspection programme”.

There will also be new charges for organisations that apply to become registered providers, in place of the current approach where they pay after successfully registering.

RSH will continue to charge a flat annual fee to smaller private registered providers (those owning fewer than 1,000 homes).

It will charge larger social landlords, including local authorities, according to the number of homes they provide.

Fiona MacGregor, Chief Executive of RSH, said: “The changes to our fee principles will give us the resources we need to deliver our new regulatory role, which will help to drive long-term improvement in social landlords for the benefit of tenants.

“We are grateful for the feedback we received during the consultation, which we carefully considered in reaching the final outcome. We recognise the importance of providing value for money for fee payers and we will continue to focus on regulating in an effective and efficient way.”

The decision statement and associated documents are available on RSH’s website.