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Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023

Contents

Legal background

  1. The main legislation relevant to the regulation of social housing is:
    • the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008;
    • the Localism Act 2011;
    • the Housing and Planning Act 2016; and
    • the Legislative Reform (Regulator of Social Housing) (England) Order 2018.
  2. The main legislation relevant to the housing ombudsman scheme is section 51 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Housing Act 1996.
  3. The Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (HRA 2008) established the framework for the regulation of social housing. The HRA 2008 created the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and set out its objectives and powers. The HRA 2008 also created a new social housing regulator, the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords, and set out its objectives and powers.
  4. The HRA 2008 was later amended by the Localism Act 2011 in response to the Review of Social Housing 2010 (also known as the "Shapps Review"). The Review of Social Housing concluded that the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) (the operating name of the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords) should be abolished and its regulatory functions transferred to the HCA and vested in a statutory committee within the HCA. The Localism Act 2011 transferred the functions of the TSA to the HCA.
  5. The legislative framework established by the HRA 2008 was further amended by the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (HPA 2016) which reduced regulation of social housing and local authority influence over private registered providers. The HRA 2008 reduced regulation by, among other things, removing various requirements for the regulator’s consent of private registered provider activities and reducing the regulator’s powers to appoint managers or officers of private registered providers.
  6. In 2018, the Legislative Reform (Regulator of Social Housing) (England) Order 2018 made the regulator a standalone body separate from the HCA, in line with a recommendation from a Tailored Review of the HCA.

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