Sector Watchdog Changes Name To 'Regulator Of Social Housing'

The regulation arm of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has relaunched as the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH). It follows the Homes and Communities Agency’s investment functions being rebranded and relaunched as Homes England. In a letter to housing providers, Fiona MacGregor, executive director of regulation at the RSH, said a previous review of the HCA “concluded that the HCA’s function as the regulator of social housing should be separated from its investment functions, and established as a standalone body to reaffirm the government’s commitment to a strong, independent regulator with credibility within the sector”. Read the letter on the HCA website.

EHRC Makes Final Call For Evidence In Disabled Housing Inquiry

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has made a final call for evidence for its inquiry into housing for disabled people. The independent statutory body is carrying out the inquiry to discover whether current housing for disabled people is sufficient, and is soliciting evidence from disabled people as well as housing providers and staff working for housing providers. Questions cover the number of homes provided specifically for disabled people as well as asking those responding to the survey – whether they represent them officially or not – to rate their organisation’s ability to deal with the requirements of disabled people. Read more on Inside Housing.

Government Offers £7bn Affordable Homes Fund To Housing Providers

Housing providers can apply for a share of a £7bn fund to increase the supply of affordable homes, the government has announced. Housing associations, local authorities and private developers in England are able to bid for funding to build thousands of shared ownership, rent-to-buy and affordable rented homes in what the CLG described as a “dramatic expansion” of its housing programme. However, the £7bn figure is compiled from previous announcements. It is made up of £4.7bn in grants announced in April 2016, £1.4bn that was announced in the November 2016 autumn statement, and about £1bn that was allocated under a previous affordable homes programme. Read more on the Guardian website.

Social Housing Providers Warned Full Impact of Welfare Reform Yet To Come

The social housing sector is yet to feel the full impact of the Tory-led coalition's welfare reforms, a provider of assurance and advisory services has warned.  Baker Tilly's benchmarking survey of 70 housing providers found that the average level of rent arrears during 2013/14 was 3.29%, slightly down on the 3.90% anticipated in the same survey last year - but providers are predicting that rates will rise to 4.14% in 2015/16 once the wider roll-out of universal credit takes effect. Read more on 24dash.

Universal Credit 'Safeguards' Include Paying the Rent Itself

The DWP is stepping up its efforts to keep tenant arrears down under universal credit (UC) including, it seems, by paying the rent itself.  In recent months, the DWP has been working closely with housing providers and the NHF to ensure rent payments are safeguarded under the new benefits system, which is currently being rolled out across the country. But according to the Labour MP Frank Field these 'safeguards' have been taken one step further. Field claims he has seen official figures from the DWP that show the department is making payments direct to landlords for more than half the 70 participants in a 'pathfinder' pilot. Average rent arrears for those in the pilot are said to have doubled to £942. Field said the move was particularly worrying because the pilots have involved only single people and couples with relatively straightforward circumstances. Read more on 24dash.

Four Ways to Help Tenants Appeal against the Bedroom Tax

As the bedroom tax affects housing providers as well as their tenants, many social landlords have explored ways of helping their residents beat the bedroom tax. However the sector and its tenants may not be fully aware of the success of a number of court battles against the bedroom tax which have led to exemptions.  Here are some suggestions as to how landlords can help affected tenants.

1. Understand what could qualify for a bedroom tax exemption - It's important to understand what grounds have been successful in tenants being exempted from the bedroom tax.

2. Use support organisations - Know your local area's support organisations and use their expertise in helping with appeals because it can make a real difference.

3. Partner up - Try working with the third sector as landlords will not always be best placed to support a tenant through the process.

4. Keep your staff up to date - There is little point in your frontline staff informing tenants of their rights to appeal if your frontline staff  themselves are not kept in the loop. Read more on the Guardian website.

Welfare Cut Could Push More People into Housing Crisis

The head of one of the UK’s largest affordable housing providers has said welfare cuts outlined in the Budget could see affordable housing become unaffordable to people on the lowest incomes. Mark Henderson, Home Group chief executive, claimed the welfare cap outlined by George Osborne could see increasing numbers of people struggle to keep a roof above their heads as housing benefit could fail to keep up with minimum increases in housing costs. Mr Osborne outlined a welfare cap of £119bn in 2015/16 which in future rises will be limited to whichever is the lower between the Consumer Price Index or a rise of 1%. With Government setting annual affordable rent increases at CPI +1% Mr Henderson fears those on the lowest incomes will see an ever widening gap in their incomes and the cost of their rent. Read more on the Home Group website.

HCA Opens Discussion on Fees for Regulation

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has published a discussion paper seeking views from providers, tenants, lenders and others on introducing a fee charging scheme for regulation. The move would bring social housing providers into line with organisations in other sectors where fee charging is common.  The Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 gave the Regulator the power to raise fees to cover the costs of its work. The Regulator is seeking views from the sector about switching from the current grant-in-aid arrangement, to a system where the Regulator recovers part or all of the cost of regulation through fees charged to Registered Providers. Read more on the HCA website.

Housing Bodies Gain ASB Powers

The Home Office has published a draft bill on tackling anti-social behaviour that will change the powers available to housing bodies.  The new range of measures are designed to give victims of crime and anti-social behaviour more of a say in how offenders are dealt with, and simplify the options that are available to the police and other bodies.  Key tools for housing providers will be an injunction for the prevention of nuisance, and a community protection notice. Download a copy of the draft bill from the Home Office website.

HACT and OCSI Launch New Housing Open Data Tool

Community Insight is a new online community mapping and reporting tool enabling housing providers to harness the power of Open Data.  Launched by HACT and OCSI (Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion), Community Insight provides vital information on the communities housing providers work in, and includes access to a wide range of data sets and indicators, including indices of deprivation, economic deprivation and child wellbeing, up to the minute data on unemployment and benefits, educational attainment, health and crime by neighbourhood.  Find out more on the Community Insight website.

Direct Payments Demonstration Projects Learning Network

The department for work and pensions (DWP) are currently running a number of direct payment demonstration projects with local authorities and housing providers to see how tenants manage their monthly payment of housing benefit and to seek to address any problems in communication that may arise. As part of this process CIH, together with DWP and the department for communities and local government (DCLG), is facilitating an online learning network to enable organisations to keep track of the demonstration projects, to share in their learning and to exchange information and views about implementing direct payments with other interested parties. The network will enable you to keep up to date with the lessons learnt by the demonstration projects. Regular learning reports are posted in the network's document library.  A discussion forum allows everyone to keep in touch with each other, to exchange experiences and ideas and find solutions to problems and webinars are also used to allow participants to hear from and speak directly to those involved in the demonstration projects online.  Find out how to join the network on the CIH website.

Just 42% of Housing Providers Know Employment Status of Tenants

Less than 30% of housing providers are engaged in the Government's £5bn Work Programme and only 42% know the employment status of their tenants or residents, a new report shows.  Analysis by The Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (CESI) and housing charity HACT shows that only 28% of housing providers are engaging in the Government's flagship back to work scheme, despite 88% of providers offering their own employment services.  The report found that housing providers had so far left the Work Programme alone because past experiences of subcontracting had put them off, or because they found prime Work Programme contractors’ requirements too broad or rigid for their organisation.  However, the report warned that "effective partnerships between housing and the Work Programme are a must". In 2011, 56 per cent of working age social residents were not working – more than 3.5 million people.  Download a copy of the report from the CESI website.

TSA Chief’s Letters to Providers

Claer Lloyd-Jones writes to the chief executives of housing providers to explain how the changes to social housing regulation will affect them. This latest letter covers three areas:
*the appointment of the Chair of the new Regulation Committee,
*progress on implementing the Localism Bill and a new regulatory framework, and
*what the TSA is doing to deliver its day-to-day regulatory business.
Download a copy of the letter from the TSA website.

Social Housing Sector Continues to Demonstrate Resilience

The latest figures from the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) demonstrate that housing providers have continued to display financial strength in a challenging economic environment. The figures, published today, also indicate that the regulated housing sector has retained the confidence of major lenders with new finance continuing to be attracted from both banks and the bond market. Read more on the TSA website.