Social housing regulatory function to be hived off from HCA

The Government has backed plans for the social housing regulatory function of the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) to become a separate public body.

The proposal was one of the key findings of a tailored review of the HCA.

According to the Department for Communities and Local Government, the review found that the agency was “well positioned to help achieve national housebuilding ambitions and play a vital role in creating a housing market that works for everyone.

“The Review concluded that the agency should continue in its current form as a public body with a renewed and revitalised purpose of supporting housebuilding and increasing the supply of available land.”

Hiving off the social housing regulatory function was described as an administrative change that would not affect the regulator’s powers or operations.

Housing and Planning Minister, Gavin Barwell MP, said: “We are determined to create a housing market that works for everyone and the Homes and Communities Agency and regulator will play an important role in delivering the homes this country needs.

“The agency will be vital for boosting housebuilding and speeding up the delivery of new homes so all can benefit from having somewhere safe and secure to live.

“And as a new standalone body the regulator will ensure the social housing sector continues to benefit from strong, independent governance.”

The Chairman of the HCA, Sir Edward Lister, said: “The Homes and Communities Agency has a strong track record of delivering the government’s housing targets but we know we need to do even more in future to ensure more people have the opportunity to own their own home.

“We therefore fully welcome the recommendations of the government’s review. We are already implementing a number of changes to our operating model to help speed up delivery and promote new approaches to housebuilding.

“We will set out how we intend to play a more active role in the delivery of the government’s increased housing ambitions in the coming months.”

Julian Ashby, Chair of the HCA Regulation Committee, said: “The HCA Regulation Committee welcomes the government’s continued commitment to having a strong and independent regulator for the social housing sector. The decision to separate the regulator from the HCA will strengthen our ability to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs.

“This change is to the organisational structure and governance of the regulator only and will not impact on our regulatory approach or day to day operations.”

A consultation has been launched on plans to use a Legislative Reform Order to establish the regulator as an independent body. Separately the regulator is also consulting on introducing fees for social housing regulation.

"These measures will ensure the regulator maintains the powers and resources to run an independent robust regulatory system," the DCLG insisted.