Peter Marsh maps out TSA launch plans in letter to chief executives » Housing » 24dash.com

Peter Marsh, CEO Designate of the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) has written to Chief Executives of local authorities and housing associations throughout England, to introduce the social housing regulator in advance of the launch of the new body at the beginning of December 2008.

In his letter, Peter Marsh (pictured centre) writes: "I expect the TSA to become fully operational on 1 December 2008 and I look forward to working in partnership with you to create a tenant-focused regulatory framework which will drive up the standard of service to tenants in social housing, promote greater choice in the provision of those services and ensure we have well-governed and viable housing providers.

"My starting point for TSA is that housing changes lives – and good quality housing changes lives for the better. We have a significant challenge facing us.

"From what I have seen across the housing sectors – RSL and local authority - I believe the difference between the best and the worst is both unacceptable and unexplainable.

"In short, three million of the four million tenants in England deserve a better deal. I want to work with you to make that difference.

"On 17 October, the first Board members of TSA were appointed by Government, and the inaugural Board meeting was held on 22 October. With the Board, and the TSA Set-up Team, I have been preparing the plan of work necessary to establish the new regulatory framework enabled by the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.

"Both the Chairman of the TSA, Anthony Mayer, and I are clear that our priorities for the next 18 months are to:

• Develop a new regulator with a tenant-focused culture – establishing a standards framework that will drive up the performance of landlords who between them manage some four million homes.
• Maintain a high degree of vigilance and scrutiny over the financial health of the housing association sector to ensure that it is taking effective action to cope with the consequences of the current economic environment.
• Begin to shape how the affordable housing market operates, with more
  information and choice given to tenants and their boards.

"The first of these will be the focus of an extensive national conversation with tenants and with affordable housing providers about how the TSA’s new regulatory system can be developed in a way that reflects their priorities.

"We will be holding a series of regional events, as well as using our new website and enabling discussions with tenant groups and neighbours up and down the country from Cornwall to Cumbria.

"This process will begin early in 2009, leading up to a formal statutory consultation during the late summer.

"We will be writing to you separately to seek your co-operation on how you can enable your tenants to take part in the national conversation. We are also planning a number of specific events for landlords early in 2009 which we will publicise in due course.

"We intend from the outset to manage this conversation on the basis that the Government has set out its intention to consult on and implement the necessary secondary legislation to include local authority landlords within the TSA’s regulatory responsibility.

"We are very pleased that there is a wide consensus of support for our role in driving up the standards of service for all tenants of affordable homes – irrespective of whether they are a housing association, local authority or ALMO tenant.

"We want to speak to a wide range of housing association and local authority tenants as well as to housing associations, local authority landlords and ALMOs as part of our consultation processes.

"We have already kicked this off with a face to face survey of 30,000 tenants in England – tenants across the domain and tenants in both homes for social rent and shared ownership.

"Our intention is that by the end of 2009, we will have concluded this consultative process and put in place the new regulatory system for housing providers, with local authority landlords following soon after in April 2010.

"During this period, the TSA will continue to regulate housing associations under the same statutory powers and using the same systems as the Housing Corporation does at present. We expect to make some changes to our approach under those transferred powers, to indicate the direction of travel towards a more transparent and tenant-focused regulatory system.

"However, the staff and board members of housing associations in particular will need to continue to transact business under the current statutory regime which will transfer from the Housing Corporation to the TSA and underpin our regulatory actions until the 2008 Act powers are turned on in late 2009.

"I will write again ahead of the launch date of the TSA with more detailed advice on the administrative arrangements for regulation business during this transitional period.

"We will be making this information as widely available as we can through a range of means, but your assistance in ensuring that your staff are advised of these changes would be most welcome.

"If you have any comments or questions, please do contact us at info@tsa.gsx.gov.uk.

Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Peter Marsh
Chief Executive