Have your say on the Consumer Standards

The Social Housing Regulation Act

The new law gives customers a stronger voice in the sector and makes sure our homes meet specific standards, changes include:

• strengthening the Regulator of Social Housing to oversee the sector and hold landlords to account
• additional Housing Ombudsman powers when investigating tenant complaints

There are also new requirements for housing associations like Thirteen to follow, including:

• news ways of reporting performance, as well as collecting and reporting information around new tenant satisfaction measures
• new consumer standards, which set out the level of service housing associations must provide for their tenants
• new time limits for addressing hazards identified in homes
• new qualification requirements for social housing managers

The new consumer standards sit alongside the Social Housing Regulation Act. They require landlords to be open with residents and treat them with fairness and respect so that they can access services, raise complaints when necessary, influence decision-making and hold their landlords to account. As part of this, landlords must consider tenants' diverse needs.

The Regulator of Social Housing has launched a 12-week consultation on four draft new standards to protect tenants and improve the services they receive, these are:

• The Safety and Quality Standard
• The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard
• The Neighbourhood and Community Standard
• The Tenancy Standard

The Government are keen to get views on the draft consumer standards from housing providers, residents and anyone with an interest in social housing. We encourage you to get involved and help shape the standards. Consultation closes on 17 October 2023, and the standards are expected to come into force from April 2024.

To have your say respond to the Consumer Standards consultation for the Regulator of Social Housing. 

Alternatively, you can give feedback at our consumer standards feedback sessions: 

• Wednesday 13 September, 9am -11am at Thirteen, Hudson Quay, Middlesbrough, TS2 1QG (booking preferred) 
• Saturday 23 September, 11am-1pm at Touchpoint store Middlesbrough, 52 Linthorpe Road, TS1 4AU (drop-in) 
• Tuesday 26 September, 11am-1pm at Touchpoint store Hull, 302 Marfleet Lane, HU9 5AQ (drop-in) 
• Wednesday 27 September, 6pm-7pm, online session (booking preferred) 
• Saturday 30 September, 11am-1pm at Touchpoint store Stockton, 145 High Street, TS18 1LX (drop-in) 

To book a place please call 0300 111 1000 and press option 5 or you can email Customer.Engagement@Thirteengroup.co.uk. 

If you’d prefer to share your feedback without attending an event, you can email it directly to Customer.Engagement@Thirteengroup.co.uk or call into one of our Touchpoint stores (locations listed above) and speak to our Hosts.