We've today published our annual report and accounts for 2022/23.
The report highlights the work we did during 2022/23 to safeguard and promote the interests of tenants, people who are homeless, and others who use the services of social landlords.
During 2023/23, we focused our work on our priorities around giving tenants a strong voice, the quality and safety of homes, discharge of homelessness duties, and rent affordability and supporting landlords. We worked with stakeholders to provide landlords with advice on damp and mould and published thematic reviews on rents and homelessness.
We also published our National Report on the Charter and findings from our research with our National Panel of Tenants and Service Users. We completed our annual regulatory risk assessment of social landlords and published the outcome in engagement plans for each landlord.
Moving into 2023/24 social landlords are faced with cost inflation, higher interest rates, and increasing requirements on quality of homes. This is all combined with huge demand for support from tenants who are facing genuine financial hardship, and there is pressure to keep rents as affordable as possible. We are also seeing acute issues around homelessness, and temporary accommodation in particular. The year ahead is likely to remain unpredictable, volatile and difficult.
We recognise that the current context means that social landlords are likely to have to prioritise their attention and resources on the most critical and immediate issues, including tackling the acute problems in homelessness, alleviating fuel poverty and maintaining tenant safety. We are working with our stakeholders to understand what achievable priorities at a sustainable pace look like for social housing for the next year.
We will shortly consult on our future Regulatory Framework, building on the very useful initial informal discussion phase earlier this year. This work will shape our regulatory approach for the next five years, and it will very much take account of our engagement with all of our stakeholders.
George Walker
Chair
