The Housing Corporation issued a Resource Summary on the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), introduced by the Housing Act 2004, and coming into effect on 6 April 2006.
The HHSRS replaces the Fitness Standard set out in the 1985 Housing Act, and consequently replaces the first criterion in the Decent Home Standard with a requirement for properties to be free of serious ("Category 1") hazards. However, like the fitness standard, the HHSRS will be operated by local authority Environmental Health Officers.
In November 2005, the ODPM wrote to the Chief Executives of local authorities and housing associations with guidance about the implementation of the HHSRS. This document, the covering letter from the Housing Corporation, and the new Resource Summary are all available on the Housing Corporation website at www.housingcorp.gov.uk.
Key messages about the implementation of the HHSRS for housing associations are:
Alison Mathias, Policy Advisor for the Housing Corporation, commented: "Implementing the new HHSRS standard should not prove to be too resource-intensive for housing associations, and this new short resource summary should provide all the information required to manage this process cost-effectively. However, it is important that housing associations are aware of the new standards, and incorporate HHSRS into their next stock condition survey."
Kier Islington, the public-private partnership set up under a 10-year agreement in 2000 to look after council housing repair and maintenance throughout the North London Borough, has been granted more responsibilities for the next five years.
The joint venture company, set up by Islington Council and the Kier Group, was given the go-head to continue under a new framework following a comprehensive Best Value review by Homes for Islington (HFI), the arms-length management organisation which looks after the council's rented and leasehold housing stock.
Closer integration with Homes for Islington will be introduced to improve services for residents by streamlining quality control and repairs handling operations.
To further improve services for some 30,000 homes across the Borough, up to 60 managerial, technical, and administration staff from HFI will be based with Kier Islington under plans to reduce duplication and improve efficiency in areas such as records-keeping, job-processing, and inspections. Likewise, a small number of Kier personnel will be based with HFI to enhance performance monitoring and customer service.
The changes are set to start this Summer, involving around 20 HFI staff engaged on preparing empty properties for re-letting. The remainder, responsible for "live" repairs and maintenance for tenants, will be co-located by Spring 2007.
Kier and HFI have been working with the Housing Quality Network to develop new all-inclusive job-pricing mechanisms, based around average costs, for greater efficiency and simplicity. Under existing arrangements for sharing performance gains or losses, surpluses above a modest threshold are split 50-50 with Islington Council.