Housing Corporation unveils changes to maintain its future effectiveness
The Housing Corporation has this week unveiled plans to relaunch itself in the face of mounting criticism of the way it operates.

The corporation has told government it needs to change significantly if it is to "remain relevant and effective in the future".

The corporation proposals include:

  • a different regulatory framework for associations according to their size and diversity, with a focus on 'poor performers and undue risk' and an extension of the lighter regime for smaller associations
  • the power to publish regulatory reports
  • sector-wide checks on potential risks - including reviewing the RPI plus one regime in a low inflationary regime where viability is threatened
  • powers to refer a housing association's performance deficiency to the High Court or other sanctions
  • a new inspectorate within the corporation, with tenant and outside contractors involved in assessing performance
  • the rules on potential conflicts of interest on HA boards to be scrapped and replaced by new codes of ethics
  • extension of the planning frame for investment from three to five years
  • new contingency plans - including forced mergers and a review of its own guarantee powers - for associations which run into financial difficulties

Corporation chairman Baroness Dean, calling the proposals a "regulation revolution", said a radical package of simplification was needed to address valid criticisms.

In an exclusive interview with Housing Today, Dean said she sympathised with the view that the regulatory framework was now 'caught up in bureaucracy'.

The proposals, which are the corporation's response to its five-year review, follow criticism of the agency in responses to the review from the Chartered Institute of Housing, the National Housing Federation and the Local Government Association (Housing Today, 3 February).

But Dean, dismissing some of the sector's complaints as "gripes", said the corporation would not be moving from performance standards to Best Value in the short term. The agency says it is addressing whether to make Best Value a regulatory requirement in its review of performance standards.

But Dean said: "What housing associations don't want is to have to operate the two in tandem. That's unacceptable."

She also stressed the agency was confident about its future. "We're quite bullish," she said.

"I for one am not seeking to be popular in the sector," she added. "Tensions between the regulator and regulated are very healthy."

National Housing Federation chief executive Jim Coulter said: "We welcome the corporation's recognition that regulation needs a major overhaul. The proposals we submitted to government aim to produce effective regulation and an effective regulator."

Source

Housing Today