Social landlords to face unlimited fines and two-day notice inspections under new crackdown

The bill also proposes scrapping the ‘serious detriment test’. Currently the regulator is only unable to intervene in cases where it believes tenants are at risk of ‘serious detriment’. 

However, under the new measures, the regulator will be able to intervene on grounds of a breach or potential breach of consumer standards, whether or not tenants face serious detriment.

The biggest social housing providers will also face regular inspections, and Mr Gove will continue to name and shame landlords that have breached consumer standards, or where the Housing Ombudsman has found maladministration against them. 

In the past year, standards in the sector have come under increased scrutiny after a series of ITV News investigations uncovered extremely poor housing conditions, including severe damp and mould. 

Mr Gove said: “In 2022 it is disgraceful that anyone should live in damp, cold and unsafe homes, waiting months for repairs and being routinely ignored by their landlord. These new laws will end this injustice and ensure the regulator has strong new powers to take on rogue social landlords.”

A new 250-person residents’ panel will also be set up and members will meet every four months to share their experiences with ministers. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said it is giving tenants a “direct line” to government. Residents will also be able to rate their landlord under new tenant satisfaction measures. 

The bill will also mean landlords will need to have a named person who is responsible for health and safety.

And housing association tenants will be able to request information from their landlord, which will be similar to how the Freedom of Information Act works for council housing, DLUHC said.

Fiona MacGregor, chief executive of the Regulator of Social Housing, welcomed the Bill which she said will give the RSH powers "to deliver proactive consumer regulation".

She added: "It will also give us new tools to strengthen our economic regulation of an increasingly diverse sector.  

“We look forward to working with tenants, registered providers and other stakeholders to shape this new framework. We’re clear that, where change is needed, landlords shouldn’t wait for new legislation – they should act now before we assess them against the new consumer standards”.

On the timetable for the bill, it is understood that DLUHC expects it to get Royal Assent this parliamentary session, which ends in April 2023. 

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “Government data shows that on average social homes are better quality than other rented homes, however we have seen instances where social housing tenants have had to live in sub-standard properties, and this is not acceptable.

“We welcome the aims of this bill to give tenants greater powers and improve access to swift and fair redress.”

The proposed new laws come following a Social Housing Green Paper, published in 2018, and a white paper unveiled in November 2020. 

Alongside the bill, the government said it is also today launching a consultation on electrical safety standards in social housing.