Tenant Services Authority

Last updated

The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) was the operating name of the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords, [1] the former regulatory agency of registered providers of social housing in England.

Contents

On 1 December 2008 the TSA first took over the regulatory work of the Housing Corporation, inspecting housing associations and responding to concerns. [2] Its remit was then expanded to regulate local authority housing, ALMOs and housing cooperatives from April 2010, [3] almost 1,800 providers. [4]

The TSA closed after the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) took over responsibility for the regulation of social housing from 1 April 2012. [5]

Background

In 2007, Professor Martin Cave, Director of the Centre for Management under Regulation at University of Warwick, led the most comprehensive review of English housing regulation for 30 years. Reporting in June, the Cave Review recommended that a new regulator be set up, separating the regulation and investment responsibilities of the Housing Corporation. [6]

After consultation with the sector, Housing Minister Yvette Cooper announced the Government's decision and the name of the new regulator as "Office for Tenants and Social Landlords" on 15 October 2007. [7] Its operating name was subsequently announced as the Tenant Services Authority. [8]

The TSA was established by section 81 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. The same Act created the Homes and Communities Agency to take over the investment powers of the Housing Corporation. Both became operational on 1 December 2008. [9]

The equivalent powers in Scotland and Wales are held by the Scottish Housing Regulator and the Welsh Assembly Government. [3]

Management

The TSA's chief executive, Peter Marsh, was the former deputy chief executive of the Housing Corporation. [10] Most of the other directors were from outside the Corporation. [11]

Approach to regulation

The TSA had more extensive powers than its predecessor, [12] and emphasised its role as "a champion for tenants". [13] Throughout 2009 it undertook a "National Conversation" with residents and other interested parties on how it should exercise these powers.

In March 2010 the TSA published a new framework of six national standards which would apply to all social landlords in England. The standards were based on outcomes for tenants rather than processes. A new approach of "co-regulation" meant that landlords would work with tenants to regulate themselves. The TSA would end routine inspections of all providers. Where landlords were not meeting the standards, the TSA would hold discussions with them before using its powers of formal intervention. [4]

Closure

After the 2010 general election, the Conservative housing minister Grant Shapps indicated his intention to close the TSA. Its responsibilities for governance and financial regulation of housing associations passed to the HCA, but the Housing Ombudsman became the final point of appeal for tenants' complaints. [14]

In September 2010, the HCA was also included on a list of organisations being considered for closure. [15] However, Shapps announced in October that the TSA would be merged into the HCA. [16]

Legislative provisions for abolishing the TSA and the transferring of its functions were enacted as part of the Localism Act 2011. [17] These provisions were formally commenced on 1 April 2012. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public housing</span> Residential properties owned by a government

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, definitions of poverty, and other criteria for allocation vary within different contexts. Within the OECD, social housing represents an average of 7% of national housing stock (2020), ranging from ~34% in the Netherlands to less than 1% in Colombia.

The Housing Corporation was the non-departmental public body that funded new affordable housing and regulated housing associations in England. It was established by the Housing Act 1964. On 1 December 2008, its functions were transferred to two new organisations, the Homes and Communities Agency and the Tenant Services Authority. The Corporation was formally dissolved on 1 April 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial Services Authority</span> 2001–2013 UK quasi-judicial body

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 1985. Its board was appointed by the Treasury, although it operated independently of government. It was structured as a company limited by guarantee and was funded entirely by fees charged to the financial services industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Housing association</span> Organisations providing low-cost "social housing"

In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surplus is used to maintain existing housing and to help finance new homes and it cannot be used for personal benefit of directors or shareholders. Although independent, they are regulated by the state and commonly receive public funding. They are now the United Kingdom's major providers of new housing for rent, while many also run shared ownership schemes to help those who cannot afford to buy a home outright.

Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937, often called Section 8, as repeatedly amended, authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance to private landlords on behalf of low-income households in the United States. 68% of total rental assistance in the United States goes to seniors, children, and those with disabilities. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development manages Section 8 programs.

Equity sharing is another name for shared ownership or co-ownership. It takes one property, more than one owner, and blends them to maximize profit and tax deductions. Typically, the parties find a home and buy it together as co-owners, but sometimes they join to co-own a property one of them already owns. At the end of an agreed term, they buy one another out or sell the property and split the equity. In England, equity sharing and shared ownership are not the same thing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poplar HARCA</span>

Poplar HARCA is a housing association in London, England. It is the landlord of about 9,000 homes in the East London area, a quarter of which have been sold leasehold; the remainder are let on assured tenancies at subsidised rent levels.

Communities Scotland was an executive agency of the Scottish Government from 2001 to 2008. The Agency was responsible for housing, homelessness, communities and regeneration throughout Scotland.

Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) is a government agency that protects and promotes the interests of consumers and is based in the Australian state of Victoria. It is responsible for reviewing and advising the Victorian Government on consumer legislation and industry codes; advising and educating consumers, tenants, traders and landlords on their rights, responsibilities and changes to the law; registering and licensing businesses and occupations; conciliating disputes between consumers and traders, tenants and landlords; and enforcing and ensuring compliance with consumer laws. It is a business unit of the Department of Justice and Community Safety.

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive is the public housing authority for Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest social housing landlord, and the enforcing authority for those parts of housing orders that involve houses with multiple occupants, houses that are unfit, and housing conditions. The NIHE employed 2,865 persons as of 31 March 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Housing Finance Agency</span> U.S. federal agency

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is an independent federal agency in the United States created as the successor regulatory agency of the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB), the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development government-sponsored enterprise mission team, absorbing the powers and regulatory authority of both entities, with expanded legal and regulatory authority, including the ability to place government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) into receivership or conservatorship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anchor (housing association)</span>

Anchor was England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing, care and support to people over 55 years old up until November 2018 when Anchor merged with Hanover Housing Association to form Anchor Hanover Group, the largest provider of specialist housing and care for older people in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homes England</span> Public body that funds new affordable housing in England

Homes England is the non-departmental public body that funds new affordable housing in England. It was founded on 1 January 2018 to replace the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). HCA in turn was established by the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 as one of the successor bodies to the Housing Corporation, and became operational on 1 December 2008.

The National Tenant Voice (NTV) was a short-lived British government-funded organisation which was set up in early 2010 by Gordon Brown's Labour Government to ensure that Social Housing tenants had a say in shaping national policy on housing issues. The quango was abolished in July 2010 by the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government as part of its economic and governmental reforms.

The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) is an independent Non-Ministerial Department, directly accountable to the Scottish Parliament. The body was established on 1 April 2011 under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010. SHR is the successor to the previous Scottish Housing Regulator agency, which exercised Scottish Ministers' powers under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001.

Curo Group is a not-for-profit housing association based in Bath, England. Curo's operating area is the West of England, with the majority of its homes located in Bath and North East Somerset where it is the largest housing provider.

One Housing Group is a housing association based in London and the south east of the United Kingdom. They manage 16,000 homes and provide support to residents who needs special help, through their social care arm, One Support. As of 2015-16, they had an annual turnover of £255m and employed ~1800 staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarion Housing Group</span> British housing association

Clarion Housing Group is the largest housing association in the United Kingdom with 125,000 properties across more than 170 local authorities. Clarion Provides a home to over 350,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Affordable housing by country</span>

Affordable housing is housing that is deemed affordable to those with a median household income as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. A general rule is no more than 30% of gross monthly income should be spent on housing, to be considered affordable as the challenges of promoting affordable housing varies by location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which introduced new measures to improve the standards, safety and operation of social housing. The bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 8 June 2022 and received royal assent on 20 July 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Framework document for the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords (the Tenant Services Authority) Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ The Tenant Services Authority, Quick Guide at Inside Housing , 20 June 2008. Retrieved 2010-06-18
  3. 1 2 CIPFA, Housing Finance Manual, chapter 1. September 2009.
  4. 1 2 TSA makes final preparations for new era of social housing regulation Archived 29 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine , 24dash.com, 16 March 2010
  5. ↑ "Tenant Services Authority". Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  6. ↑ "Every Tenant Matters: A Review of Social housing Regulation by Professor Martin Cave". CLG. Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  7. ↑ "Next steps for new social housing watchdog". DCLG. 15 October 2007. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  8. ↑ Tenant Services Authority recruitment begins, AboutProperty.co.uk
  9. ↑ New agencies will face 'huge challenges', Inside Housing, 1 Dec 2008
  10. ↑ For tenants by tenants, says new TSA chief, Inside Housing, 4 July 2008
  11. ↑ TSA team plucked from outside the corporation. Inside Housing, 7 Nov 2008
  12. ↑ Our role Archived 13 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine on TSA website
  13. ↑ "TSA's corporate plan puts tenants first". press release. TSA. 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  14. ↑ Shapps to scrap Tenant Services Authority Archived 23 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine , Inside Housing, 18 June 2010, and interview Archived 19 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ Document leak shows HCA is 'under review' Archived 30 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine , Inside Housing, 24 September 2010
  16. ↑ "Tenant Services Authority to be abolished". Press notice. 14 October 2010. Archived from the original on 9 December 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  17. ↑ "Localism Act 2011: Section 178", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 15 November 2011, 2011 c. 20 (s. 178), retrieved 27 March 2024, Part 1 amends the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (regulation of social housing) so as to—(a) abolish the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords ("the Office")...
  18. ↑ "The Localism Act 2011 (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional, Transitory and Saving Provisions) Order 2012: Article 6", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1 March 2012, SI 2012/628 (art. 6), retrieved 27 March 2024
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.