Lesley BarnardTenant Standards Manager

Tenants and landlords at the heart of change

Presentation to Councils with ALMOs Group - March 2010

Who are the TSA?

• We are the regulator of social housing in England

• We want to make things better for some eight million social housing tenants

• 16th March 2010 saw the publication of “The regulatory framework for social housing in England from April 2010”

Our relationship with local authorities • Focusing on stock holding local authorities

• All applicable local authority providers are registered from the 1st April without the need to apply.

• ALMOs that do not own stock will not be registered under the 2008 Act and hence will not be the legal entity responsible for meeting the standards (it will apply to the sponsoring local authority)

• Local authority engagement strategy

• TSA relationship between the LA and ALMO

National Conversation: Views of 27,000 tenants gathered

Discussion Document 325 written responses 399 responses from local conversations

Statutory Consultation We received 491 formal responses to the

consultation Responses came from across the sector –

including large and small RSLs, tenants and local authorities

Overall, positive endorsement for the standards –especially for co-regulation and for being outcome focused

Developing the Framework

CO REGULATION

LESS REDTAPE!

LANDLORDS EXPECTED TO MAKE THEMSELVES MORE ACCOUNTABLE& TO WORK MORE

CLOSELY WITHTHEIR TENANTS

Direct Regulation

Self Regulation

Building blocks for regulatory framework

The TSA Standards Standard Containing requirements

relating to:

1. Tenant Involvement and Empowerment

• Customer service, choice and complaints

• Involvement and empowerment

• Understanding and responding to diverse needs of tenants

2. Home • Repairs and Maintenance• Quality of Accommodation

3. Tenancy Agreement

• Allocations• Rent• Tenure

4. Neighbourhood and Community

• Anti-Social Behaviour• Neighbourhood Management• Local Area Cooperation

5. Value for Money • Value for Money

6. Governance and Financial Viability

• Governance• Financial Viability

The Neighbourhood and Community Standard

Neighbourhood Management

• Required outcomes:

Registered providers shall keep the neighbourhood and communal areas associated with the homes that they own clean and safe. They shall work in partnership with their tenants and other providers and public bodies where it is effective to do so.

• Specific expectations:

1.1 Registered providers shall consult with tenants in developing a published policy for maintaining and improving the neighbourhoods associated with their homes. This applies where the registered provider has a responsibility (either exclusively or in part) for the condition of that neighbourhood. The policy shall include any communal areas associated with the registered provider’s homes.

The Neighbourhood and Community Standard

Local Area Co-operation

• Required outcomes:

Registered providers shall co-operate with relevant partners to help promote social, environmental and economic wellbeing in the areas where they own properties.

• Specific expectations:

2.1 Registered providers, having taken account of their presence and impact within the areas where they own properties, shall:

• identify and publish the roles they are able to play within the areas where they have properties

• co-operate with Local Strategic Partnerships and strategic housing functions of local authorities where they are able to assist them in achieving their objectives

The Neighbourhood and Community Standard

Anti-social Behaviour

• Required outcomes:

Registered providers shall work in partnership with other public agencies to prevent and tackle anti-social behaviour in the neighbourhoods where they own homes.

• Specific expectations:

3.1 Registered providers shall publish a policy on how they work with relevant partners to prevent and tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) in areas where they own properties.

Continued on next slide…..

The Neighbourhood and Community Standard

Anti-social Behaviour cont…

3.2 In their work to prevent and address ASB, registered providers shall demonstrate:

• that tenants are made aware of their responsibilities and rights in relation to ASB

• strong leadership, commitment and accountability on preventing and tackling ASB that reflects a shared understanding of responsibilities with other local agencies

• a strong focus exists on preventative measures tailored towards the needs of tenants and their families

• prompt, appropriate and decisive action is taken to deal with ASB before it escalates, which focuses on resolving the problem having regard to the full range of tools and legal powers available

• all tenants and residents can easily report ASB, are kept informed about the status of their case where responsibility rests with the organisation and are appropriately signposted where it does not

• provision of support to victims and witnesses

The Neighbourhood and Community Standard

For each of the required outcomes:

• Registered providers shall set out in an annual report for tenants how they are meeting these obligations and how they intend to meet them in the future. The provider shall then meet the commitments it has made to its tenants.

Local Offers – Extract from Tenant Involvement & Empowerment Standard

Required Outcome:

Registered providers shall support co-regulation with their tenants by: consulting with their tenants and acting reasonably in providing them with opportunities to agree local offers for service delivery

Specific Expectation:

2.1 Registered providers shall consult with tenants on the desirability and scope of local offers in relation to services to meet the following TSA standards: Tenant Involvement and Empowerment, Home and Neighbourhood and Community. In providing opportunities for tenants to agree local offers by no later than 1 April 2011 they shall offer commitments on:

• local standards for performance • how performance will be monitored, reported

to and scrutinised by tenants• what happens if local offers are not met

(including procedures of redress)• arrangements for reviewing the local offers

on a periodic basis

Local Offers

• Central to co-regulatory philosophy

• Meaningful engagement with tenants

• 39 local standards pilots – evaluation in May 2010

• No prescription around ‘local’

• Publish plans no later than October 2010 for how deliver local standards will be delivered

• Local offers for service delivery in place by April 2011

What is local?

Geographic place – all or most providers sign up to deliver common standards, e.g. Halton, Bristol, Harvest

Standard set in one organisation – 19 pilots are developing local standards that apply just to their organisation

Standards for a specific group of tenants – for example older tenants at Your Homes Newcastle, Endeavour

Standard for a specific category of provider – standard for governance of co-ops CCH

Local offers – issues to consider

•How will you agree local offers; what do you think “local” is?

•How will you design and monitor your local offers?

•How will you report on local offers?

•How can tenants have a full role in monitoring local offers?

•How much can you achieve in a short space of time?

•How much of this are you already doing?

•Is your organisational culture right?

TSA Regulatory Framework including the TSA

Standards published 16th March

From 1 April 2010, we will regulate landlords' performance against the national standards

By 1st October 2010 all providers to publish report for tenants setting out:

How already meet or plan to meet the TSA StandardsGaps and improvements plannedhow they will assure or measure compliance with the standards in futurePlans for developing local offers

By April 2011, landlords should also have local offers of service delivery in place for some areas of work

What happens next?

Commissioning Inspections - Risk based approach

Where we believe a

provider is failing to meet one or more

of the standards

Engagement with provider

as part of normal course of regulatory

activity

Audit CommissionSN or Full Inspection

TSAContinue to monitor

performance/ improvement

Overview of Inspection Process

Carry out inspection

Post Inspection Follow Up

Scope & commission inspection

Explain to provider reasons for inspection

‘gate keeping’ of LA inspections

TSA/AC Review of Inspection and Key Lines of Enquiry

• Ensuring inspection methodology consistent with new regulatory framework and standards

• Joint consultation document to be published spring 2010

• April to October 2010 inspections based aspects of the KLoE which relate to new TSA standards

• New methodology in place by October 2010

• 2010-11 CLG Commissioned ALMO inspection programme for DH funding to continue under existing arrangements

Joint Working Between the TSA and the AC

• Memorandum of understanding between AC and TSA

• TSA to support the AC’s Comprehensive Area Assessment

• AC to support the TSA’s risk assessment of social provider

• Regular meetings at a regional and national level

Contact

Tenant Services Authority

www.tenantservicesauthority.org

0845 230 7000

Lesley Barnard, Tenant Standard Manager (North)

Tel: 07795121516

Email: Lesley.Barnard@tsa.gsx.gov.uk