More liberal assessment regime would focus on best performing RSLs
The best-performing housing associations in Wales could be allowed to inspect themselves under proposals from Welsh housing minister Edwina Hart.

The plans are part of a new regime, to be introduced next April, that will give registered social landlords more freedom and responsibility. Wales' 28 RSLs have been regulated and inspected by the civil service since the assembly was set up in 1999. There is no Welsh equivalent of the English regulatory body, the Housing Corporation.

The Welsh assembly is understood to feel that the sector has matured and will benefit from a "lighter touch".

John Bader, assembly director of housing, said the self-inspection system would move from concentrating on systems to emphasising delivery and looking at the RSL as a whole.

Deputy housing minister Peter Black said: "We are a smaller country and we know the associations; we have been working with them for a long time and therefore know their situations and what we should be looking for."

He added that the lighter tough would not mean laxity in dealing with RSL finances. "We are fully aware of how important it is to retain the confidence of mortgage lenders," he said.

Howard John, director of the Welsh Federation of Housing Associations, welcomed the move as "a sea-change in the relationship between associations and regulator, acknowledging that established associations are now relatively mature, and giving confidence in a more strategic approach based on risk assessment".

The proposals come just weeks after it was revealed that a number of English associations were considering a regime of self-inspection similar to the one used in the Netherlands.

But in an assembly debate on the proposals on Wednesday last week, members expressed concerns over a system that allowed associations greater autonomy, fearing it could lead to mismanagement that would add to the cost of bringing Welsh social housing up to a decent standard. The backlog of repairs to council housing in Wales already runs to £2bn (HT 7 February, page 13).

Assembly members also stressed that councils, who are responsible for setting strategy for the entire rented housing sector in Wales, should have sufficient representation on RSL boards.

The new system has similarities to the schools inspection system: it will publish a public report every five years; will not produce league tables; will use contractors to enable an increase in inspection activity, possibly including the Audit Commission; and will employ a lay inspector on each team for "mystery shopping" checks and to check on tenant satisfaction.

The idea of naming and shaming underperforming associations has also been rejected.

Source

Housing Today