Posted 28.05.14
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has opened its statutory consultation on changes to the Regulatory Framework.
The consultation follows the HCA's discussion document last year, which asked for views on how regulation can help protect social housing assets and maintain the credit worthiness of the sector in a more complex and risky operating environment.
The HCA is now consulting on changes to its Framework that will enable the Regulator to deliver its statutory objectives more effectively, while maintaining the confidence of investors, tenants and other key stakeholders in the sector.
The HCA is consulting on a range of proposals designed to ensure that housing providers are managing the risks to social housing assets and their ongoing compliance with its standards:
Changes to the Governance and Financial Viability Standard (G&FV)
Focus on risk management and mitigation, including the requirement for providers to have undertaken robust stress testing of the business plan and to have a comprehensive register of their assets and liabilities.
In addition, the Regulator will expect providers to ensure that they have the appropriate skills to manage their risks and to certify annually their compliance with the standards.
Where providers' businesses are ultimately controlled by a non-registered organisation, then the Regulator will be seeking additional assurances about the security of the social housing assets.
Code of practice
As well as changes to the G&FV Standard, the Regulator is proposing to introduce an associated code of practice that will amplify and expand on the standard to help providers understand the concerns of the Regulator.
Disposals regime
The Regulator is planning on changing its consents regime.to protect the public value in social housing assets as they move between the not for profit and for profit sectors.
Details of the proposed changes and the rationale are in the statutory consultation document, which is available to download from the HCA consultation page - click here.
The consultation is subject to a statutory 12 week consultation period that will close on Tuesday 19 August.
