Regulator of Social Housing: can tenants complain?

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is the body that regulates social housing providers in England, councils and housing associations. You may have seen its name in discussions about housing standards. We look at what the RSH does, whether tenants can complain to it directly, and what role it plays in the wider system.

What is the Regulator of Social Housing?

The Regulator of Social Housing is a government body that sets and enforces standards for registered providers of social housing (housing associations, councils, and other bodies that provide social housing). It operates under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023.

The RSH's main focus is on the financial viability and governance of housing providers, ensuring they are well-run, financially sound, and deliver good quality housing.

The consumer standards

From April 2024, the RSH took on new consumer-facing responsibilities. It now sets and enforces consumer standards that registered providers must meet. These standards include:

• The Safety and Quality Standard: providers must ensure homes are safe and meet the Decent Homes Standard
• The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard: residents must be involved in decisions and be able to influence services
• The Neighbourhood and Community Standard: providers must contribute to safe neighbourhoods
• The Tenancy Standard: tenancies must be allocated and managed fairly

The RSH can inspect landlords and take regulatory action if they fail to meet these standards, including ordering improvement programmes or making information about failures public.

Can individual tenants complain to the RSH?

The RSH does not handle individual tenant complaints in the same way the Housing Ombudsman does. If you have a complaint about repairs, your landlord's behaviour, or service failures, the right route is the Housing Ombudsman, not the Regulator.

However, the RSH does have a "systemic" complaints process. If you believe there is a widespread, systemic failure by your landlord, not just a one-off problem affecting only you, but a pattern of behaviour affecting many tenants, you can report this to the RSH. The RSH may then investigate whether the landlord is meeting the consumer standards at an organisational level.

This is not a route for individual remedies (you cannot get your boiler fixed by complaining to the RSH). But it can prompt regulatory action that leads to broader change.

How to report to the RSH

The RSH has an online portal where you can submit a report about a registered provider. Your report should explain:

• The name of the landlord
• What the problem is and why you believe it is systemic or widespread
• Any evidence you have, including whether you have raised it with the landlord and the Housing Ombudsman

You do not need to have gone through the landlord's complaints process before contacting the RSH, though having done so and having evidence of the response (or non-response) strengthens your report.

What can the RSH do?

If the RSH finds a landlord is breaching a consumer standard, it can:

• Publish a regulatory notice finding the landlord is in breach
• Require the landlord to produce and implement a remediation plan
• Inspect the landlord's operations
• Use statutory powers including directions and management transfers in serious cases

The RSH has named and shamed several housing associations for consumer standard failures, and this public pressure has led to rapid changes in some cases.

What about private landlords?

The RSH only regulates registered social housing providers. It has no role in regulating private landlords. For private landlords, the routes for tenants are:

• The county court (for disrepair claims)
• The council's environmental health team
• The new Private Rented Sector Database (when operational)

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

If your social landlord has failed to fix serious disrepair, we can help you pursue a claim for compensation and repairs through the courts. Call us on 0800 030 4669.

No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 (legislation.gov.uk)

Related articles

• How to complain to the Housing Ombudsman, step by step
• Housing Ombudsman, maladministration, what it means
• What is the Decent Homes Standard?
• Stage 1 vs Stage 2 complaint, housing