Governance and Regulation

Around half of our properties are regulated by the Social Housing Regulator for England and are provided through our wholly owned, not for profit registered providers – Plexus and Omega Housing.

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Our activities in this area are overseen by our Board which consists of executive and non-executive members. The Board is responsible for the overall strategic direction and governance of the company, including the determination of key policies and the monitoring of compliance with both policies and performance targets.

As a registered provider, we are obliged to demonstrate that we meet the following regulatory standards. We also adhere to the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code, which aligns with the Consumer Standards.

Consumer Standards

The consumer standards below apply to all RPs (Registered Providers).

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Tenancy, Influence and Accountability

This requires RPs to:

• Treat tenants with fairness and respect at all times.
• Take action to deliver fair and equitable outcomes for tenants.
• Take tenants views into account in decision making, to communicate and engage with tenants effectively.
• Provide information so tenants can use services, understand what tenants can expect from us and to hold us to account.
• Collect and provide information to support effective scrutiny by tenants of our performance in delivering services.
• Ensure complaints are addressed fairly, effectively and promptly.

Safety and Quality

This requires RPs to:

• Have an up to date understanding of the condition of our homes.
• Ensure tenants homes meet the standard set our in the Government's Decent Homes guidance and continue to maintain their homes to this standard.
• Take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and communal areas for which we are responsible.
• Provide an effective, efficient and timely repairs, maintenance and planned improvements service for the homes and communal areas for which we are responsible.

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Tenancy

This requires RPs to:

• Allocate homes in a fair and transparent and way, that takes the needs of tenants into account.
• Support tenants to maintain their tenancy and to avoid unnecessary evictions.
• Offer tenancies which meets the needs of households, sustainability of the community and efficient use of our housing stock as well as meeting all statutory and legal requirements.
• Support tenants living in eligible housing to mutually exchange their homes.

It also requires that when deciding the types of tenancies to grant, RPs consider:

• the purpose of the accommodation
• the needs of individual households
• the sustainability of the community
• the efficient use of housing stock.

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Neighbourhood and Community

This requires RPs to:

• Consult and work co-operatively with tenants and relevant organisation to take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of shared spaces.
• Co-operate with relevant partners to help promote social, environmental and economic wellbeing in their areas.
• Work in partnership with other public agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour.
• Work co-operatively with other agencies tackling domestic abuse and enable tenants to access appropriate advice and support.

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Economic standards

The economic standards below only apply to PRPSHs (Private Registered Provider of Social Housing), i.e. not to local authorities.

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Governance and Financial Viability

This requires that PRPSHs shall:

• ensure effective governance arrangements that deliver their aims, objectives and intended outcomes for tenants and potential tenants in an effective, transparent and accountable manner, and to manage their resources effectively to ensure their viability is maintained
• adhere to all relevant legislation
• comply with their governing documents and all regulatory requirements
• be accountable to tenants, the social housing regulator and relevant stakeholders
• safeguard taxpayers' interests and the reputation of the sector
• have an effective risk management and internal controls assurance framework
• manage their resources effectively to ensure viability.

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Value for Money

This requires PRPSHs to:

• clearly articulate their strategic objectives
• have an approach, agreed by their board to achieving value for money
• articulate a strategy for delivering homes that meet a range of needs
• optimise economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

PRPSHs must set out in public annual self-assessment reports how they are meeting their obligations and how they intend to meet them in the future.

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Rent

This requires that PRPSHs shall charge rents in accordance with the objectives of the regulatory framework for social housing in England from April 2015. It applies only to social housing tenants with household income of less than £60,000 in the previous financial year.

The Rent Standard mandates that from April 2015, rents in PRPSH properties should, with limited exceptions, increase in each of the following ten years, by no more than CPI (consumer price index) plus 1 per cent. The figure permitted increase from April 2012 to March 2014 was RPI (retail price index) plus 0.5 per cent plus £2 a week.

Where a property is let on 'affordable rent' terms, the directions are slightly different. PRPSHs can set a rent (inclusive of service charges) at up to 80% of the full market rent at the start of a tenancy or when a new tenancy is signed. It can then be increased by CPI plus 1%.

Note that from March 2016 to April 2020, this standard is superseded by the requirement in the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 that social rents are cut by 1% per year. See PRPSH rents.