HCA to strengthen standard on tenant involvement

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has launched a consultation on proposed amendments to its Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard aimed at ensuring that providers carry out effective consultation with tenants when making major changes.

The decision to consult is connected to a number of deregulatory measures which come into force on 6 April under the Housing and Planning Act 2016. These mean that registered providers of social housing will no longer have to obtain the HCA’s consent to undertake disposals, restructures, and certain constitutional changes. As a consequence, the regulator is keen to strengthen the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard to ensure that providers carry out effective consultation with the tenants affected.Fiona MacGregor, HCA’s Executive Director of Regulation, said: “Whilst many providers carry out effective consultation with tenants we are strengthening our requirements in this area and are consulting on a specific revision to the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard.

“We are writing to all registered providers and look forward to hearing people’s views. Although the government’s de-regulatory measures from April will give greater freedoms to providers, these will need to be managed responsibly. Providers will still need to adhere to regulatory standards and take into account the potential impact on their reputation and that of the sector.”

The consultation will close at 5pm on 22 March 2017. Depending on the outcome of the consultation, an updated standard will be published in May.

The HCA is also publishing information to help providers understand how it will manage the transition to the new notifications and registrations requirements. These replace the consents regime. Information will be provided about how the regulator will approach applications in progress and any on-going restructures, including mergers.