Have your say about new consumer standards for social housing tenants | Tenant news

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is running a survey to find out what you, as a social housing tenant, think about its proposed set of four consumer standards and accompanying Code of Practice.

The Government is giving the RSH new powers to help improve the quality of housing and services for social housing tenants.

To help make this happen, the standards set out what is expected of social housing landlords, while a new Code of Practice gives examples of ways in which landlords should meet the standards.

Proposed standards

The RSH is proposing to introduce the four revised consumer standards from April 2024:

• Safety and Quality Standard – requires landlords to provide safe and good quality homes and landlord services to tenants.
   
• Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard – requires landlords to be open with tenants and treat them with fairness and respect so that tenants can access services, raise complaints, when necessary, influence decision making and hold their landlord to account.
   
• Neighbourhood and Community Standard – requires landlords to engage with other relevant parties so that tenants can live in safe and well-maintained neighbourhoods and feel safe in their homes.
   
• Tenancy Standard – sets requirements for the fair allocation and letting of homes and for how landlords manage and end tenancies.
   

Existing standards

The proposed standards will build on and replace the five existing consumer standards, which are the Home Standard, the Tenancy Standard, the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard, and the Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard.

Take the survey

If you’d like to contribute your views to the government consultation please ensure you read about the proposed standards and the code of practice before you take the survey, which closes on 17th October 2023.