Tenant Services Authority

The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) is the new regulator for affordable housing.  It was launched on 1 December 2008, having taken over the regulatory powers of the Housing Corporation. Initially the TSA only covers tenants of housing associations, but in April 2010, it will also be responsible for regulating the landlord functions of all local authorities and Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs).

The TSA aims to:

Improve standards of service delivery for tenants.       

They set standards for those landlord services that tenants care about the most such as repairs and maintenance. Their framework protects tenants if their landlord performs poorly. Landlords that involve their tenants to deliver good services and have sound governance and finances will experience much less regulation, leaving them freer to innovate and benefit from the TSA's de-regulatory approach. The TSA will encourage those in the middle to improve by requiring open and transparent reporting of their performance and by enabling them over time to compare themselves against other landlords.

Support decent homes and neighbourhoods

The TSA willl ensure all homes meet the Decent Homes Standard (subject to funding being available for local authority stock). They are proposing standards on anti-social behaviour (ASB) and management of the neighbourhood because they know that the safety and security of places matters to tenants.

Promote effective tenant involvement and empowerment

The TSA's latest survey showed that only 1 in 2 tenants are satisfied with opportunities for involvement and only 1 in 6 tenants feel their landlord takes a lot of notice of their views. They want to work with landlords and tenants – they call this co-regulation. To make it really work for tenants, the TSA standards place involvement and empowerment at their core with local standards, improved accountability, public reporting and tenant scrutiny.

Ensure providers are well run and deliver value for money

The TSA knows that great service delivery starts with effective governance and sound financial viability. Their standard on value for money requires landlords to be open about how they prioritise spend (on new supply, existing stock, community work) and how they constantly strive to improve.

Promote and protect public and private investment

The TSA want to maintain the confidence of private sector lenders and investors to finance improvements in neighbourhoods and the building of more homes. Private sector investors look to the TSA, as an independent regulator, to safeguard their interests through their regulation of the governance and financial viability of housing associations. A modern risk-based regulatory framework makes access to private finance cheaper than it would otherwise be. The TSA estimate that this benefit is worth about £250 per year per home – a benefit that helps reduce the cost of affordable housing to the taxpayer and to tenants.

Encourage and support a supply of well-managed social housing

The TSA know how important it is for potential tenants and those living in overcrowded homes that providers play a key role in increasing the supply of affordable homes. Their value for money standard will help promote a more efficient sector and their allocations standard will help to ensure that the process will be fair and flexible.

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