Our response to the call for evidence on the regulation of social housing

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee (LUHC) call for evidence on ‘The Regulation of Social Housing’ sought views on quality of social housing, the effectiveness of the regulatory regime and the proposals in the Social Housing White Paper. 

Housing associations are committed to providing safe, quality homes for all residents and we welcomed this inquiry as an opportunity to look again, with the committee, residents, the government and others at what more we could be doing to achieve this.

We worked with our members to develop a sector submission to the call for evidence. In our submission we highlight that the vast majority of social homes are affordable, good quality and secure. However, while housing associations strive to put residents at the heart of decision making and get things right for every resident, we know that this is not always the case and there is room for improvement.

We support the proposals in the Social Housing White Paper for stronger consumer regulation and transparency, and support the government’s intention to update the Decent Homes Standard, and to regulate for improved energy efficiency standards and the decarbonisation of social homes.

Our response highlights that housing associations are having to make difficult decisions about how to balance funding vital investment. Housing associations must consider building safety, quality and energy efficiency of existing homes, the quality of services to residents, and building new social homes to meet housing need. 

We also recommend the return of dedicated funding for the regeneration of existing homes, and a long term national plan on housing for people on low incomes. We are clear that we urgently need to deliver new social homes, replace old ones, and improve others to the quality and energy efficiency residents rightly expect.