The Regulator of Social Housing's (RSH) four new Consumer Standards for social housing landlords in England came into effect at the beginning of April 2024.
The standards aim to ensure that tenants have a voice in how their homes and services are managed, they are safe in their homes and that they are treated fairly and respectfully by their landlords.
We welcome the new Consumer Standards, as they aim to provide you with greater rights and protection and help us to improve the safety and quality of our housing and the service you receive overall.
What are the new Consumer Standards?
What do these new standards mean for our tenants?
These new standards give our tenants more rights and opportunities to influence how their homes and services are delivered. Our tenants can expect to:
- Be involved in scrutiny of BCH and have their voices heard through engagement activities. This includes being provided with information to support effective scrutiny of our performance in delivering landlord services.
- Receive clear and timely information about our performance, policies and procedures, and how they can access services, support and advice.
- Have access to a simple, fair and effective complaints process, and be able to escalate their complaints to the Housing Ombudsman if they are not satisfied with the outcome.
- Live in homes that are safe, comfortable, and fit for purpose, and have their repairs and maintenance requests dealt with promptly and efficiently.
- Enjoy a good quality of life in their neighbourhoods and communities, and benefit from our contribution to social, environmental and economic sustainability.
The standards also include the Tenant Satisfaction Measures, which is a set of measures set up to help the Regulator of Social Housing monitor how well a Social Landlord is performing. The measures are based on management data and the perceptions of our tenants.
The RSH will monitor and enforce these new standards, and will intervene if landlords fail to comply or pose a serious risk to tenants' interests. The RSH will also publish guidance and good practice examples to help landlords meet the standards and improve their services.
Under the new standards, BCH will:
- ensure tenants are safe in their homes
- listen to tenants’ complaints and respond promptly to put things right
- be accountable to tenants and treat them with fairness and respect
- know more about the condition of every home and the needs of the people who live in them
- collect and use data effectively across a range of areas, including repairs