George Walker

The new adjustments to its regulatory approach in response to the COVID-19 pandemic follow consultation with landlords, tenants, people who are homeless, other service users, and lenders.

In a statement published yesterday, the Regulator set out the temporary adjustments it will make this year to enable it to fulfil its statutory objective and to support landlords to plan and manage the impact of the pandemic.

The changes include allowing landlords more time to complete their Annual Assurance Statement by extending the deadline this year from October to November 2020.

The Regulator has also extended the deadline for landlords to report to their tenants and service users on their performance against the Scottish Social Housing Charter from October to December.

To support landlords with the changes, the Regulator has also published new advice for landlords on completing Annual Assurance Statements and Business Planning.

George Walker, the Regulator’s chair, said: “We’ve made these adjustments to enable us to continue to fulfil our statutory objective and support landlords through these unprecedented times.

“I hope the statement and guidance we have published today help give clarity for landlords, tenants and other service users about how we will regulate in the coming months.

“We will keep the position in this statement under review to respond to any significant developments in relation to the national response to the pandemic.

“I would like to thank all of our stakeholders for their contributions and engagement through the consultation on the changes we proposed. We will continue to work closely with landlords to understand the challenges being experienced by tenants, people who are homeless and other service users.”