{"id":41042,"date":"2023-02-07T01:05:03","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T06:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/blog\/social-housing-regulations\/"},"modified":"2024-02-22T09:05:06","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T14:05:06","slug":"social-housing-regulations","status":"publish","type":"blog_posts","link":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/social-housing-regulations\/","title":{"rendered":"Social housing regulations"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":41043,"template":"","resource_tax_market":[186,190],"resource_tax_dept":[198,201],"resource_tax_type":[164],"resource_tax_region":[],"resource_tax_outcomes":[205,207],"resource_tax_topic":[],"resource_tax_products":[191],"resource_tax_solutions":[211,214],"resource_tax_services":[],"class_list":["post-41042","blog_posts","type-blog_posts","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_tax_market-local-government-uk","resource_tax_market-housing-uk","resource_tax_dept-engagement-community-outreach-uk","resource_tax_dept-transformation-uk","resource_tax_type-blogs-uk","resource_tax_outcomes-foster-community-engagement-uk","resource_tax_outcomes-improve-service-delivery-uk","resource_tax_products-engagementhq-uk","resource_tax_solutions-digital-self-service-uk","resource_tax_solutions-engagement-uk"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Social housing regulations | Granicus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To create impactful change, we need to do more than listen to tenants\u2019 concerns - we need to inspire action. 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Learn about proposed changes to the sector.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/social-housing-regulations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Granicus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/granicusco\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-22T14:05:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog-header-social-housing.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"590\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Granicus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/social-housing-regulations\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/social-housing-regulations\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Granicus Marketing\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/86d618ccb52051e285962f72626e8881\"},\"headline\":\"Social housing regulations\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-07T06:05:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-22T14:05:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/social-housing-regulations\/\"},\"wordCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/social-housing-regulations\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog-header-social-housing.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/social-housing-regulations\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/social-housing-regulations\/\",\"name\":\"Social housing regulations | Granicus\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/social-housing-regulations\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/social-housing-regulations\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog-header-social-housing.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-07T06:05:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-22T14:05:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"To create impactful change, we need to do more than listen to tenants\u2019 concerns - we need to inspire action. 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This is why new suggested laws protecting tenants have been welcomed &#8211; earlier this year a white paper was released <a href=\"https:\/\/bills.parliament.uk\/bills\/3177\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">outlining Social Housing Regulation Bill<\/a>, putting forward a host of potential reforms to the regulation of the sector.<\/p>\n<p>Amongst this new legislation is the improvement of transparency. Housing associations will now be subject to a Freedom of Information-style information-sharing process &#8211; requiring social landlords to give tenants information relating to their accommodation, facilities, or services.<\/p>\n<p>The Housing Ombudsman was also granted new powers \u2013 which included the ability to refer more cases to the regulator and to issue complaint-handling orders against poorly performing landlords \u2013 in September 2020.<\/p>\n<p>The purpose of a complaint-handling failure order is to ensure that a landlord\u2019s complaint-handling process is accessible and consistent, and that it enables the timely progression of complaints for residents, as set out in the Housing Ombudsman\u2019s complaint-handling code.<\/p>\n<p>To put it simply, social housing landlords and Housing associations now need to &#8211; and have a responsibility to &#8211; evidence that they have not only listened to their tenants\u2019 concerns, but actively engaged with them to share further information or next steps.<\/p>\n<p>There is still a duty of care that remains beyond this. What does it really take to truly be open and transparent and listen to the lived experiences of your tenants? And how can you translate this into action to create meaningful impactful change that will improve safety?<\/p>\n<h2>Creating transparency and promoting engagement<\/h2>\n<p>This marks a significant shift for Landlords. While many would argue that they have already have processes in place for listening to tenant feedback, more can always be done to improve transparency of requests. whether that\u2019s to the enquirer or to other tenants, and what exactly has been done to address issues.<\/p>\n<p>Andy Hulme, chief executive of Hyde Housing Association and G15 member <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehousing.co.uk\/news\/news\/london-estates-feel-knackered-because-we-dont-care-enough-says-g15-boss-78170\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said of the reforms<\/a>, \u201cThe problem is we are literally ticking the boxes,\u201d and questioned whether tenants feel or see that. \u201cSome of that is money and we\u2019ve got to find a solution to that. But some of it actually is that we don\u2019t care enough. There\u2019s not enough accountability, there\u2019s not a culture that drives brilliant outcomes\u201d He continued.<\/p>\n<p>Building <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.uk\/dictionary\/government-transparency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">transparency<\/a> can\u2019t be done overnight. It comes from the proof that you are addressing issues openly \u2013 not just behind closed doors, but that you&#8217;re also enabling tenants to openly have dialogue with each other as best as possible.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s likely to be tenants within social housing communities that aren&#8217;t aware of all the feedback processes that exist. For example, they may have received a survey in person, but they might not know about or be available to take part in a focus group to discuss actions.<\/p>\n<p>At that point their opinion has been lost forever. To create a more open culture, housing associations need to find a way to enable the opportunity for involvement anytime, anywhere.<\/p>\n<p>However, there is also an education element that needs to be done to make people aware of what processes exist and the platforms available for their voice to be heard.<\/p>\n<h2>Creating impactful change<\/h2>\n<p>The key to converting this process into trust is to facilitate behaviour change on all fronts. For example, without a centralised location for updates, a tenant might send 10 emails about a concern without knowing that steps are in place to address it. This can be frustrating for all involved.<\/p>\n<p>By having a transparent process where a person sends one message, it\u2019s actioned or addressed, and they can see that, you are encouraging a wider behaviour change and harnessing a process of trust.<\/p>\n<p>Take it if someone asks a question about fire safety and doesn\u2019t receive a response, they are likely to feel ignored, and will either continue to push until something happens or let it drop \u2013 both risking the feeling of being put off by that process.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, if they could see their question had been read and actively received some engagement such as resources being shared or some information on an upcoming inspection, they will feel valued.<\/p>\n<p>By quickly actioning these steps, the community begins to feel valued and looked after by the housing association who have their best interests at heart.<\/p>\n<h2>Solution<\/h2>\n<p>By implementing the right consultation process and encouraging tenants to understand it, you can take the first steps to open and transparent feedback, leading to clearer actions for addressing issues.<\/p>\n<p>Creating one place where everyone can come together and voice their concerns allows you not only have a clear record that feedback has been collected, but also evidence it\u2019s been engaged with. The benefit of this is that you can present to the tenants and governing bodies that you\u2019re acknowledging and actioning feedback appropriately.<\/p>\n<p>The right engagement platform will have an audit trail to track who has been commenting and feeding back or taking part in surveys. A platform such as Granicus\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.uk\/solution\/govdelivery\/engagementhq\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">EngagementHQ<\/a> creates this transparency between the Housing Associations and the tenants. This includes <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.uk\/blog\/engagementhq-online-community-engagement-tools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">eight different tools<\/a> to capture feedback.<\/p>\n<p>Ranging from the privacy of conducting a survey to hosting online forums which let your tenants know that you&#8217;re capturing that feedback openly, these tools provide a plethora of <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.uk\/dictionary\/community-engagement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">engagement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside this there is an essential awareness piece that needs to be done, and here should sit a <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.uk\/solution\/govdelivery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">communications tool<\/a> to create the targeted messaging, such as an email newsletter with details on how to access the platform, and the clarity on what is being done in response to feedback. There is now a big drive to engage with tenants and make sure that they are kept up to date, which can be achieved by building that transparency.<\/p>\n<p>We encourage our customers to have a robust signup form where they can identify key locations and further demographic information, enabling them to drive information or content to a specific block or housing area.<\/p>\n<p>This means that if something is only a challenge within that location, they&#8217;re not bombarding people with irrelevant content that could otherwise encourage people to disengage.<\/p>\n<h2>Moving forward<\/h2>\n<p>To create a fully end-to-end solution, it\u2019s important that your engagement platform and <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.uk\/dictionary\/digital-communications\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">communication<\/a> platform can fully integrate to allow data to be pulled from one place to the other. This creates an ultimate picture of the full process.<\/p>\n<p>For many tenants, this is an incredibly emotive subject and understandably so. For years, many have felt ignored, or that time and money is more important than their safety. But by taking small steps towards a more open culture, we can begin the shift this perception.<\/p>\n","button":""}}]},"posts_slider_group":{"show_section":true,"posts_slider":[{"add_anchor":false,"anchor_name":"","background_color":"green","slider_subhead":"","slider_headline":"Discover More Blogs","slider_text":"","slider_type":"blog_posts","manual_resources":false,"slider_resource_tax":"recent","add_additional_filters":false,"department_filter":false,"market_filter":false,"outcome_filter":false,"product_filter":false,"region_filter":false,"solution_filter":false,"topic_filter":false,"slider_link":{"title":"View All Resources","url":"\/uk\/learning-center\/","target":""},"slider_link_icon":false}]},"centered_layout_builder_clone":{"flexible_page_builder_group":{"flexible_page_builder_fields":[{"acf_fc_layout":"wysiwyg","add_menu_anchor":false,"anchor_menu_text":"","wysiwyg_group":{"show_section":true,"alignment":"left","subhead":"","headline":"","wysiwyg":"<h2><em>To create impactful change, we need to do more than listen to tenants\u2019 concerns &#8211; we need to inspire action.<\/em><\/h2>\n<p>Everyone has the right to a safe home and if they are renting, the ability to feedback on any concerns that might affect this. This is why new suggested laws protecting tenants have been welcomed &#8211; earlier this year a white paper was released <a href=\"https:\/\/bills.parliament.uk\/bills\/3177\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">outlining Social Housing Regulation Bill<\/a>, putting forward a host of potential reforms to the regulation of the sector.<\/p>\n<p>Amongst this new legislation is the improvement of transparency. Housing associations will now be subject to a Freedom of Information-style information-sharing process &#8211; requiring social landlords to give tenants information relating to their accommodation, facilities, or services.<\/p>\n<p>The Housing Ombudsman was also granted new powers \u2013 which included the ability to refer more cases to the regulator and to issue complaint-handling orders against poorly performing landlords \u2013 in September 2020.<\/p>\n<p>The purpose of a complaint-handling failure order is to ensure that a landlord\u2019s complaint-handling process is accessible and consistent, and that it enables the timely progression of complaints for residents, as set out in the Housing Ombudsman\u2019s complaint-handling code.<\/p>\n<p>To put it simply, social housing landlords and Housing associations now need to &#8211; and have a responsibility to &#8211; evidence that they have not only listened to their tenants\u2019 concerns, but actively engaged with them to share further information or next steps.<\/p>\n<p>There is still a duty of care that remains beyond this. What does it really take to truly be open and transparent and listen to the lived experiences of your tenants? And how can you translate this into action to create meaningful impactful change that will improve safety?<\/p>\n<h2>Creating transparency and promoting engagement<\/h2>\n<p>This marks a significant shift for Landlords. While many would argue that they have already have processes in place for listening to tenant feedback, more can always be done to improve transparency of requests. whether that\u2019s to the enquirer or to other tenants, and what exactly has been done to address issues.<\/p>\n<p>Andy Hulme, chief executive of Hyde Housing Association and G15 member <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehousing.co.uk\/news\/news\/london-estates-feel-knackered-because-we-dont-care-enough-says-g15-boss-78170\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said of the reforms<\/a>, \u201cThe problem is we are literally ticking the boxes,\u201d and questioned whether tenants feel or see that. \u201cSome of that is money and we\u2019ve got to find a solution to that. But some of it actually is that we don\u2019t care enough. There\u2019s not enough accountability, there\u2019s not a culture that drives brilliant outcomes\u201d He continued.<\/p>\n<p>Building <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.uk\/dictionary\/government-transparency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">transparency<\/a> can\u2019t be done overnight. It comes from the proof that you are addressing issues openly \u2013 not just behind closed doors, but that you&#8217;re also enabling tenants to openly have dialogue with each other as best as possible.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s likely to be tenants within social housing communities that aren&#8217;t aware of all the feedback processes that exist. For example, they may have received a survey in person, but they might not know about or be available to take part in a focus group to discuss actions.<\/p>\n<p>At that point their opinion has been lost forever. To create a more open culture, housing associations need to find a way to enable the opportunity for involvement anytime, anywhere.<\/p>\n<p>However, there is also an education element that needs to be done to make people aware of what processes exist and the platforms available for their voice to be heard.<\/p>\n<h2>Creating impactful change<\/h2>\n<p>The key to converting this process into trust is to facilitate behaviour change on all fronts. For example, without a centralised location for updates, a tenant might send 10 emails about a concern without knowing that steps are in place to address it. This can be frustrating for all involved.<\/p>\n<p>By having a transparent process where a person sends one message, it\u2019s actioned or addressed, and they can see that, you are encouraging a wider behaviour change and harnessing a process of trust.<\/p>\n<p>Take it if someone asks a question about fire safety and doesn\u2019t receive a response, they are likely to feel ignored, and will either continue to push until something happens or let it drop \u2013 both risking the feeling of being put off by that process.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, if they could see their question had been read and actively received some engagement such as resources being shared or some information on an upcoming inspection, they will feel valued.<\/p>\n<p>By quickly actioning these steps, the community begins to feel valued and looked after by the housing association who have their best interests at heart.<\/p>\n<h2>Solution<\/h2>\n<p>By implementing the right consultation process and encouraging tenants to understand it, you can take the first steps to open and transparent feedback, leading to clearer actions for addressing issues.<\/p>\n<p>Creating one place where everyone can come together and voice their concerns allows you not only have a clear record that feedback has been collected, but also evidence it\u2019s been engaged with. The benefit of this is that you can present to the tenants and governing bodies that you\u2019re acknowledging and actioning feedback appropriately.<\/p>\n<p>The right engagement platform will have an audit trail to track who has been commenting and feeding back or taking part in surveys. A platform such as Granicus\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.uk\/solution\/govdelivery\/engagementhq\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">EngagementHQ<\/a> creates this transparency between the Housing Associations and the tenants. This includes <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.uk\/blog\/engagementhq-online-community-engagement-tools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">eight different tools<\/a> to capture feedback.<\/p>\n<p>Ranging from the privacy of conducting a survey to hosting online forums which let your tenants know that you&#8217;re capturing that feedback openly, these tools provide a plethora of <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.uk\/dictionary\/community-engagement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">engagement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside this there is an essential awareness piece that needs to be done, and here should sit a <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.uk\/solution\/govdelivery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">communications tool<\/a> to create the targeted messaging, such as an email newsletter with details on how to access the platform, and the clarity on what is being done in response to feedback. There is now a big drive to engage with tenants and make sure that they are kept up to date, which can be achieved by building that transparency.<\/p>\n<p>We encourage our customers to have a robust signup form where they can identify key locations and further demographic information, enabling them to drive information or content to a specific block or housing area.<\/p>\n<p>This means that if something is only a challenge within that location, they&#8217;re not bombarding people with irrelevant content that could otherwise encourage people to disengage.<\/p>\n<h2>Moving forward<\/h2>\n<p>To create a fully end-to-end solution, it\u2019s important that your engagement platform and <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.uk\/dictionary\/digital-communications\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">communication<\/a> platform can fully integrate to allow data to be pulled from one place to the other. This creates an ultimate picture of the full process.<\/p>\n<p>For many tenants, this is an incredibly emotive subject and understandably so. For years, many have felt ignored, or that time and money is more important than their safety. But by taking small steps towards a more open culture, we can begin the shift this perception.<\/p>\n","button":""}}]}},"post_slider_clone":{"posts_slider_group":{"show_section":true,"posts_slider":[{"add_anchor":false,"anchor_name":"","background_color":"green","slider_subhead":"","slider_headline":"Discover More Blogs","slider_text":"","slider_type":"blog_posts","manual_resources":false,"slider_resource_tax":"recent","add_additional_filters":false,"department_filter":false,"market_filter":false,"outcome_filter":false,"product_filter":false,"region_filter":false,"solution_filter":false,"topic_filter":false,"slider_link":{"title":"View All Resources","url":"\/uk\/learning-center\/","target":""},"slider_link_icon":false}]}},"call_to_action":{"hide_call_to_action":false,"color":"red","custom_cta":false,"custom_subhead":"","custom_headline":"","custom_description":"","custom_link":null,"custom_image":false}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_posts\/41042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog_posts"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_market","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_market?post=41042"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_dept","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_dept?post=41042"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_type?post=41042"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_region?post=41042"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_outcomes","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_outcomes?post=41042"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_topic?post=41042"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_products","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_products?post=41042"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_solutions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_solutions?post=41042"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_services?post=41042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}