At the start of December, it was the social housing sector that was in the spotlight as the Local Government, Housing and Planning committee considered evidence on the actions and efficacy of the Scottish Housing Regulator.
One of the outcomes of the work of this committee is an amendment to the Housing Bill tabled by Evelyn Tweed MSP that would direct appeals on SHR decisions to the First Tier Tribunal, providing an essential additional layer of regulation to the social housing sector, ensuring that decisions that have massive impacts on tenants and communities are thoroughly scrutinised.
If passed, it will add a further layer of protection and assurance for social housing sector, and whilst this is a welcome amendment that will deal with what has been an obvious omission in the social housing scheme of regulation, it will put further distance between social and private rented sector in terms of the oversight, and legal protections that they will be entitled to.
Private rented tenants who are unhappy with the services from their landlord can currently complain to their local authority or raise a claim with the First Tier Tribunal.
A quick and unscientific look through many local authority websites do not make clear how this process works, and whilst the tribunal has been designed to be accessible and free to use without need for legal counsel, it can nevertheless be a daunting prospect to engage in a legal process with the person who owns the place you call home.
Bridging the Gap: Learning from the Social Housing Sector
No landlord should be frightened by the collection and recording of complaints data, a great many of them will record very few interactions with their tenants and have nothing to worry about. Those that do would perhaps benefit from an additional layer of accountability that such a scheme would bring. The shared outcome would be a greater deal of transparency for tenants, which would serve to benefit the sector as a whole.
Many landlords and letting agents are starting this practice, joining communities of practice and sharing information and good practice, which can only serve to make the sector stronger, more resilient and silence some critics.
A few simple steps would help pave the way for a more harmonious approach to complaints in the sector; free access to complaints handling training for all private landlords based on the approach used in the letting agents qualification, adoption of standard complaints procedures as a pre-condition of private rental licensing, and creation of a nationwide complaints commissioner who can collect and publish data on complaints in the private rented sector, ensuring procedure is followed with powers to escalate to the tribunal on tenants behalf where unjustified failings have occurred.
Starting with a few small steps to raise the profile and value of complaints to landlords would help raise standards and repair reputational damage. It would not and should not be a costly exercise for private landlords, it might require some changes in working practices, but a great many private landlords are already doing this work – and just not getting the recognition for it.
