HCA Calls On Social Housing Providers to Be More 'Open and Transparent'

The HCA has called on social housing providers to be more open and transparent about potential problems they face as it does not have the powers to intervene apart from in the most serious cases. The HCA said registered providers were expected to make the regulator aware "in a timely way" of likely breaches of the consumer standards. It used a recent gas safety case involving Liverpool-based Your Housing Group as an example of where a "whistle-blower" had raised concerns with the regulator rather than the landlord. In its Consumer Regulation Review, the HCA said: "The case highlights an important sector-wide issue about openness. As we do not proactively collect information relating to the consumer standards, we are most likely to become aware of issues via referrals.” Download a copy of the Review from the HCA website.