HCA Investigates More Complaints in New Approach

The English social housing regulator has changed its procedures to ensure consumer complaints against landlords are not incorrectly dismissed. The HCA is investigating a greater proportion of complaints it receives following the change. The HCA’s consumer regulation review reveals it received 589 complaints in 2014/15, and judged 238 of these – 40% – to be worthy of referral to its specialist ‘consumer regulation panel’ for further investigation. This compares to 20% of 509 complaints it received in 2013/14 being referred. The regulator last year changed its practices to ensure that if there is any doubt at all about whether a complaint should be probed, it is referred to the panel. Read the review on the HCA website.

HCA Sets Out Its New Approach to Consumer Regulation

The HCA has published its Consumer Regulation Review 2012/13, which sets out its experience of the new consumer regulation regime for social housing, which came into effect in April 2012. The HCA still sets consumer standards covering a range of issues including the quality of accommodation, tenant empowerment and tenancy arrangements. Landlords are expected to meet these standards, but under the new system the Regulator does not have powers to monitor compliance. It does have intervention powers but, it can only use them following breach of a standard and when that breach has caused, or could cause, serious detriment to tenants. The report sets out the Regulator’s approach and considers case studies and lessons learned. Download a copy from the HCA website.