Shapp-ing up: the new TSA standards

01/07/10

Tim Crook The Pink Book
Implementing a number of its powers under the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008, in March 2010, the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) published the framework for regulation of the social housing sector. The Pink Book, or to give it its official title, The Regulatory Framework for Social Housing in England from April 2010 sets out the standards which all social housing providers will be expected to meet.

These standards came into effect from 1 April 2010 following a lengthy National Conversation and consultation process between the TSA, tenants and stakeholders throughout most of 2009. Whilst the Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, has announced that he plans to 'delete' the TSA, he has also said that he considers the co-regulatory framework published by the TSA to be 'great work' - he intends that it will remain beyond the existence of the TSA. Consequently the standards remain in force and all registered providers must ensure that they meet them.

So what do the standards mean for all social housing providers and what are they?

The six standards
The six standards issued by the TSA are:

tenant involvement and empowerment
home
tenancy
neighbourhood and community
value for money
governance and financial viability - this standard doesn't apply to local authorities.

Required outcomes and specific expectations
At the outset, the TSA has declared that its primary focus is on outcomes rather than processes. As a result, each of the six standards has a number of required outcomes and a separate list of specific expectations to be given effect.

Local offers and tenant involvement
In meeting three of these six standards, namely tenant involvement and empowerment, home and neighbourhood, and community standards, the TSA expects registered providers to consult with tenants on local priorities and agree local offers. The content of these local offers is to be agreed by providers in consultation with their tenants.

Registered providers will also be expected to understand and respond to the needs of their tenants. They will have to demonstrate how they have taken those needs into account across the seven equality strands of race, disability, sexual orientation, age, gender, religion or belief and gender identity.

Annual report
In a commitment to ensuring that compliance with the standards is transparent, the TSA requires all registered providers to publish an annual report by 1 October every year - there will be some flexibility on this requirement for providers with under 1,000 homes. The report must set out how providers are meeting the TSA standards and the local offers that they have agreed with their tenants.

The report should also set out the provider's offer to its tenants against the standards for the coming year. The TSA expects tenants to be fully involved in and engaged with publishing the annual report, and the report must set out how this involvement has been achieved.

Failure to meet one or more of the standards by a registered provider may result in inspection. The outcome of an inspection may be that no further action is taken or it may lead to the agreement of a self-improvement plan with the registered provider. In some cases, however, more formal intervention measures may have to be taken.

Given the planned 'deletion' of the TSA, it's uncertain which body will now undertake those intervention measures - although it is likely to be the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). More detail on the new role planned for the HCA is likely to emerge as the Decentralisation and Localism Bill proposed in the Queen's Speech takes shape. I shall keep you updated on that detail as soon as it is available.

Tim Crook
Principal Solicitor, housing law services
www.housinglawservices.co.uk