Social Housing Regulation

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 introduces a new approach to regulating social housing. The Act introduces proactive monitoring of landlord’s compliance with new consumer standards. This regulation will be carried out by the Regulator of Social Housing.

Whilst Colchester Borough Homes is responsible for the management and maintenance of Colchester City Council’s social housing, Colchester City Council remains the landlord and it is the council that is regulated by the RSH.

Our Governance and Audit Committee is the 'Landlord' Committee, and it receives quarterly updates on social landlord performance. You can view these reports online.

Full council receives assurance on adherence to the RSH’s requirements and expectations through the work of this committee.

The new standards commencing from April 2024 are:

• The Safety and Quality Standard – requires landlords to provide safe and good quality homes and landlord services to tenants.
• The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard – emphasises the importance of open communication, fairness, and respect between landlords and tenants.
• The Neighbourhood and Community Standard – landlords are expected to collaborate with other parties to create safe and well-maintained neighbourhoods where tenants feel secure in their homes.
• The Tenancy Standard – sets requirements for the fair allocation and letting of homes creating responsible tenancy practices.

The Regulator of Social Housing’s Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard requires all registered providers of social housing to collect and report annually on their performance using a core set of defined measures called the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs). The published TSMs and additional regulatory information are available on Colchester Borough Homes’ website https://cbhomes.org.uk/tenant-satisfaction-measures/

The Chief Executive of Colchester Borough Homes, Philip Sullivan has overall responsibility for compliance with the new standards and the health and safety lead for Colchester City Council in respect of the council’s homes is Geoff Beales, Strategic Housing and Assurance Manager.

If you have any concerns about the safety of your home, email info@cbhomes.org.uk.

The regulation also introduces inspections of local authority landlords. These inspections will focus on consumer issues and will be carried out by the Regulator of Social Housing who will focus on organisational issues. The Housing Ombudsman will continue to manage tenant complaints.

If you wish to make a complaint email complaints@cbhomes.org.uk.

You can find out more about Social Housing Regulation including TSMs, and the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code and Performance. Find out more about Social Housing Regulation