New Approach to Social Housing Inspection Announced

A new approach to social housing inspection has been announced by the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) following the conclusion of a consultation. The Regulator received overwhelmingly positive responses to the proposals and has therefore decided to implement the approach to inspections outlined in the consultation. The main features of the new approach to social housing inspection are:
• Inspections are no longer routine: The Regulator will only use its power in order to investigate where there is reason to believe a provider may be seriously failing TSA standards or regulatory requirements
• The TSA will draw up a bespoke brief to specify the scope of an inspection, so Audit Commission key lines of enquiry (KLOE) will no longer be used for housing services inspections
• This brief will require the inspectors to provide clear evidence of whether there has been a failure of a standard or regulatory requirement
• The TSA will decide the final judgment on the fact of a breach and whether the failure is serious
• Where failure is identified, in most cases the Regulator would expect to publish the inspection report, subject to any applicable exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act. The TSA’s published regulatory judgments will normally reflect the findings of an inspection commissioned by the TSA. Read more on the TSA website.