Introduction
During 2023, we consulted on the future of social housing regulation in Scotland and we published our revised Regulatory Framework in February 2024. The new Regulatory Framework came into effect on 1 April 2024.
During our consultation on the revised Regulatory Framework, we had proposed to develop and introduce to the Annual Return on the Charter (ARC) specific indicators on tenant and resident safety. We also proposed to develop appropriate monitoring of the effectiveness of landlords’ approach to managing reports and instances of damp and mould. We also invited views on the continuing appropriateness of existing ARC indicators. We highlighted that we would bring forward revised indicators for the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH) when the Scottish Government’s EESSH Review Group had concluded its work.
There was general support from respondents for indicators on tenant and resident safety, although some noted that they did not feel they could comment until we gave more information on the specific indicators we were thinking of including. Some respondents highlighted that these matters are already included in the Scottish Housing Quality Standard or may be difficult to define and operate effectively. There was a strong view, especially amongst landlords, that indicators on damp and mould will need to be carefully developed and defined – a number suggested that we establish a cross-sector working group with appropriate experts to develop these. Respondents highlighted a number of existing indicators which they felt were of limited value.
Taking account of this feedback, and recognising that the Scottish Government’s EESSH Review Group has not concluded its work, we decided that there was merit in taking the time to undertake a comprehensive review of the ARC indicators involving relevant experts and people from the social housing sector.
We established two advisory groups, to work with us to consider all of the indicators in the ARC and advise us as we developed appropriate indicators for tenants and resident safety, damp and mould, and EESSH. We have also discussed this with our Tenant Advisors and Tenants Together Scotland. And we have engaged with a range of other stakeholders through a variety of events including conferences and forums facilitated by Tenants Information Service, Scotland’s Housing Network, SFHA, APSE Scotland, Scottish Housing Safety Network and our systemically important landlord forum.
As part of our consultation on the revised Regulatory Framework, we proposed to develop and introduce to the ARC specific indicators on tenant and resident safety. This included the development of indicators to monitor landlords’ effectiveness in responding to instances of damp and mould. The development of damp and mould indicators posed a challenge as this would be a brand new requirement for landlords.
We carried out additional research to strengthen our understanding of damp and mould. This included a review of 19 social landlords’ websites to understand their current approach to both preventing and tackling instances of damp and mould. We reviewed the information and educational materials provided to tenants and the damp and mould policies implemented by each organisation. We also looked at the information these landlords gathered on key performance indicators.
As part of this research, we examined the definitions of damp and mould utilised by social landlords across Scotland. We also had conversations with other relevant regulatory bodies, including the Regulator of Social Housing in England, to understand current practices in relation to damp and mould; and we met with industry experts regarding damp and mould to discuss our approach. We recognise this is a complex area for landlords and would appreciate feedback as part of the consultation around any challenges which landlords may experience in relation to this.
Thank you to everyone who has shared their views on this with us. This feedback has been invaluable and the indicators we are now consulting on have been shaped by this feedback. We have used the input from these discussions to develop a proposed set of indicators to include in a revised ARC which we are now consulting on.
In November 2023, the Scottish Government launched a consultation on a new Social Housing Net Zero Standard (SHNZS) to replace EESSH2. The Scottish Government has not yet published the outcomes from its consultation. Given this, our consultation does not include proposals for indicators on meeting the SHNZS. We will consult on relevant indicators once the SHNZS has been published.
We aim to confirm the revised ARC indicators by January 2025 with the new ARC being in place for collection year 2025/26. In the meantime, we will use the existing ARC for collection year 2024/25 and we will use the Annual Assurance Statements to require landlords to give us specific assurance on their compliance with their tenant and resident safety obligations, including their performance in dealing with instances of damp and mould.
Giving us your feedback
We welcome feedback on our proposals from organisations and individuals with an interest in our work. We will continue to meet with stakeholders during the consultation period to discuss our proposals further, as well as considering written responses. You can respond with feedback by Friday 8 November 2024.
We welcome general feedback on our proposals as well as answers to the specific questions we have raised. Please do not feel you have to answer every question unless you wish to do so. If you wish to respond on a question by question basis, you can find a form to use here. Otherwise please email or post your feedback to the address below. Please include your contact details in case we need to check anything with you.
To help make this a transparent process we intend to publish on our website the responses we receive, as we receive them. If you do not wish your response to be made public please let us know. If you are responding as an individual please let us know if you are happy for us to publish your name. You can send your feedback to us by email at: consultations@shr.gov.scot .You can send your feedback to us by post to: Scottish Housing Regulator, 5th floor, 220 High Street, Glasgow G4 0QW. If you have any queries please contact us on the above email address or by calling us on 0141 242 5642.
Annual Return on the Charter: Our proposals
Our discussions with various stakeholders, including the tenants we work with, highlighted there was general support for a number of the indicators we currently collected and that these indicators reflected what tenants considered to be important priorities for them. Stakeholders were also keen to understand the purpose and value of any additional or new indicators. In developing this consultation, we have been mindful of the volume of information we are asking landlords for and have tried to ensure that where there are additional information requests, these are reflected in our risk based approach to regulation.
We set out below a summary of the changes we are proposing to make to the ARC. A full list of the indicators and the changes being proposed are at Annex 1, and we provide a version of the Technical Guidance with our proposals shown in tracked changes at Annex 2. Within this, there are also some indicators where we have provided additional clarity on the definitions following a review of our published FAQs.
General indicators
There are some indicators which we do not routinely use in our regulatory assessment of social landlords’ performance. We are proposing to stop collecting the following indicators:
- Indicator 14: Tenancy offers refused during the year. We collect data from Indicator 30 on number lets and average time to re-let and therefore propose to remove indicator 14.
- Indicator 20: Total cost of adaptations completed in the year by source of funding. We collect data from Indicators 19 & 21 on the number of households waiting for adaptations and the average time to complete adaptations. Both of these will continue to provide information on the demand for and extent of adaptation work being carried out in the sector.
- Indicators 23 and 24: Homelessness referrals. Stakeholders told us that these indicators are confusing, onerous to collect and rarely used for benchmarking. We already collect the number of lets made by social landlords at Indicator C2, and are proposing expanding C2 where RSLs will report their lets to homeless households by local authority area. Local authorities’ performance in relation to homelessness is collected and published by the Scottish Government.
- C3: Number of lets during the reporting year split between general needs and supported housing. We collect data from Indicator C2 on the lets made by social landlords, broken down by source of let.
- C4: Abandoned homes. We collect data from Indicator 22 on court actions and evictions.
Question 1: Do you agree that we should stop collecting the above indicators?
We propose to amend the following indicators:
- Indicator 10: Reactive repairs completed right first time - Stakeholders told us there are too many recording anomalies across landlords, particularly in relation to what repairs and what timescales are and are not to be included. We are proposing to simplify this indicator by asking landlords to report, of the reactive repairs which were completed, how many were reported again.
- Indicator 15: Anti-social behaviour cases resolved - Stakeholders told us that the current definition means that the cases which were opened in the previous reporting year are not considered, so we are proposing to now include these. We are also proposing to reintroduce measuring whether cases were resolved against locally agreed targets. Stakeholders told us that this indicator does not allow for meaningful benchmarking, so we are proposing to also measure the number of anti-social behaviour cases per 100 homes.
- C2: Lets in the reporting year by source of let - We are proposing that RSLs report their lets to homeless households by local authority area. Stakeholders told us this was important to give an accurate picture as many RSLs house homeless applicants in multiple local authority areas.
Question 2: Do you agree that we should amend the above indicators as outlined?
We also propose to introduce the following indicators:
- Long term voids - We propose to re-introduce the previous ARC indicator ‘the number of self-contained properties void at the year end and of those, the number that have been void for more than six months’. This will allow us to collate a sector wide picture of empty properties.
Question 3: Do you agree that we should collect the additional indicators outlined above?
Tenant and resident safety
We propose to continue to collect the following:
- Indicator 11: How many times in the reporting year did you not meet your statutory obligations to complete a gas safety check within 12 months of a gas appliance being fitted or its last check? Stakeholders told us that this indicator is well established, clear and easy to understand.
We also propose to collect:
- Electrical Safety: How many times in the reporting year did you not meet the requirement to complete an electrical safety inspection (EICR) within five years of the last EICR? We are proposing introducing a new indicator to measure any incidences where landlords do not meet the requirement set out in the Tolerable Standard to carry out an EICR within five years of the last EICR. Landlords will be asked to provide a reason/s for any such incidences.
- Fire Safety: Number of homes that do not have ‘satisfactory equipment for detecting fire and giving warning in the event of fire or suspected fire’ installed at the year end. We are proposing introducing a new indicator to measure how many homes do not meet the requirement set out in the Tolerable Standard to install satisfactory smoke and heat alarms. Landlords will be asked to provide a reason/s for any such incidences.
Question 4: Do you agree that we should collect the above additional indicators?
We do not propose to collect specific indicators in relation to social landlord’s legal duties in relation to lift safety, fire risk assessments, asbestos and legionella. Landlords should consider their compliance with these duties through their ongoing assurance processes and notify us through their Annual Assurance Statement of any areas of non-compliance.
Question 5: Do you agree with our proposed approach in relation to the tenant and resident safety issues to be considered in the Annual Assurance Statements?
Issues of damp and mould continue to be an important area of concern for tenants. Most social homes in Scotland are of good quality, but where issues with damp and mould arise, it is important that they are dealt with effectively and quickly. Landlords will want to make sure they understand the prevalence of these issues across their stock and the reasons for this. The root cause of damp and mould can vary and in some cases can be complex. But regardless of the causes, mould spores can pose a danger to heath, especially for young children, older people or people with existing skin and respiratory conditions or weaker immune systems. So it is important that landlords have assurance that they are dealing with any reported cases of damp and mould quickly and effectively.
We therefore propose three new indicators on damp and mould:
- Average length of time taken to resolve cases of damp and/or mould;
- Percentage of resolved cases of damp and/or mould that were reopened; and
- Number of open cases of damp and/or mould at the year end.
This would mean landlords would report to us on the following:
- Number of cases of damp and/or mould that were resolved within the reporting year
- Number of resolved cases of damp and/or mould that were reopened (within 12 months)
- Total number of working days to resolve cases of damp and/or mould
- Number of open cases of damp and/or mould as at 31 March each year.
Question 6: Do you agree with the additional indicators we propose to collect in relation to damp and mould?
Question 7: Do you agree with the proposal to collect the “Average length of time taken to resolve cases of damp and/or mould” or would the “median” be more appropriate to measure the time to resolve cases of damp and/or mould?
Question 8: Are the new indicators we propose on damp and mould clearly defined?
Impact Assessments
We have considered the wider potential impacts that our proposals could have on tenants, people who are homeless, other service users and landlords as part of our wider review of our regulatory framework and have carried out an internal Equalities Impact Assessment which we will review at the conclusion of the consultation.
What happens next?
Once we have reflected on your feedback, we will publish final versions of the Charter indicators in a revised Technical Guidance and list of FAQs. We aim to publish these in January 2025, to allow social landlords to start collecting the data from 1 April 2025.
