July 2023 - update on government’s work to improve the quality of social housing
The government has a programme of reform to improve the quality of social housing. Each month, progress on our commitments is shared on these pages, as part of our commitment to respond to the tragic death of 2 year old Awaab Ishak.
Applies to England
The government is committed to improving the quality of social housing in England.
In response to the tragic death of 2-year-old Awaab Ishak, we are making vital changes to the sector to make sure that every tenant has a home that is decent, secure and safe.
We report our progress here each month.
Social Housing (Regulation) Act
The Social Housing (Regulation) Act received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023.
This landmark legislation strengthens powers to tackle failing social landlords and enables the Regulator to better support tenants living in unsafe homes.
The Regulator of Social Housing has now opened its consultation on changes to the consumer standards and encourages responses.
The Regulator also published its report on damp and mould in the social housing sector, following a survey of registered providers. The report found that most social landlords deal with damp and mould effectively, and most tenants live in homes that are largely hazard-free. However, as a number of providers did not provide an adequate response on their approach, the Regulator continues to engage with these landlords, and will consider whether further regulatory action is necessary.
Secretary of State’s speech on housing
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Rt. Hon Michael Gove MP, set out the government’s long-term plan for housing in a speech on Monday 24 July. He spoke about work to ensure every home is safe, decent and warm – including social homes.
He said:
Just last week our Social Housing Regulation Bill became law – and that requires social landlords to respond to serious hazards like damp and mould within new strict time limits.
And, of course, we will penalise those social landlords who fail to make homes decent – with new unlimited fines for failing landlords, and the removal of house-building subsidies where social landlords are not keeping their existing stock in good repair.
Awaab’s Law
We are preparing to publish our consultation on Awaab’s Law before the end of this year. This will consider what the timescales should be for social landlords to fix hazards, and how best to implement the legislation.
This will help us to set clear expectations for a minimum standard of decency for all rented homes so we can protect the health and wellbeing of tenants.
Making sure tenants’ voices are heard
Resident Panel
The Social Housing Resident Panel continues to play an invaluable role in shaping social housing policy. It brings together tenants from across England so they can directly share their views with government on how to improve the quality of homes.
In July, a focus group made up of some Panel representatives took a close look at the experiences of residents with disabilities. This is set to report back in early September.
Four Million Homes
Our Four Million Homes programme provides free information, guidance and training on residents’ rights.
It helps tenants to work with their landlords and make sure homes and neighbourhoods are well-maintained, clean and safe. This programme will run until March 2025.
In July, the programme completed two in-person training modules, both which are accredited by the Chartered Institute of Housing:
- Residents’ rights to engage and be heard
- Equality, diversity and inclusion.
These will be available online from the end of August.
For the Four Million Homes programme to truly reflect residents’ views and concerns, its Resident Sounding Board, made up of a broad mix of social housing residents, feeds back on the information, advice and guidance provided. See more information on getting involved in the Four Million Homes Resident Sounding Board.
Affordable Homes Programme regeneration funding
Grant funding provided through the government’s Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 can now be used to fund replacement homes, alongside new affordable homes, as part of wider estate regeneration plans.
This means that the housing and regeneration agency can better support its partners to replace outdated and unfit housing with a larger number of high-quality, energy efficient new affordable homes.
Grant funding for estate regeneration is available to partners looking to replace existing homes with new affordable homes and build additional new affordable homes.
English Housing Survey (EHS) 2021 – 2022
The English Housing Survey annual reports were published on 13 July. Amongst other key areas, these covered the social rented sector, tenant satisfaction and complaints, as well as housing quality and condition.
Looking ahead
Over the coming months, we will:
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Progress our review of the Decent Homes Standard and consult on updated standards to set minimum requirements homes must meet.
- Complete our review of existing guidance on the health impacts of damp and mould in homes. We aim to publish new guidance for the housing sector by the autumn.
- Launch a consultation on improving energy efficiency in social housing.
- Launch a consultation on Awaab’s Law.
- Publish the response to our consultation on electrical safety requirements.
- Launch a consultation on new “competence and conduct” standards for social housing staff, including qualifications requirements for senior housing managers.
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Launch a consultation, via the Housing Ombudsman Service, on changes to its complaints handling code.
- Hold free training and events for social housing residents over the summer and autumn, under our Four Million Homes programme. The next will be a webinar on Leaseholder Management on 30 August and attendance can be booked on Four Million Homes webinars.
Further information and resources
More details on our reforms can be found on the Social Housing Quality page.