The Regulator’s annual risk assessment is the main way it works to safeguard and promote the interests of tenants and service users.

It uses it to decide whether it needs any further information or assurance from landlords and where landlords may need to improve. 

The main risks it will focus on this year are:

• Service quality - The quality of services social landlords provide for tenants and service users
• Rent affordability - How landlords deliver rent affordability and value for money for tenants and service users
• Homelessness - How local authorities deliver services for people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, and how local authorities and RSLs provide settled accommodation and support people to sustain their tenancies
• Quality and maintenance of homes – How social landlords meet their duties to deliver good quality, well-maintained homes
• Tenant and resident safety – How landlords ensure that they are meeting their duties to keep tenants and residents safe
• Gypsy/Travellers - How landlords that provide Gypsy/Travellers sites ensure minimum site standards to meet the needs of residents
• Financial health of RSLs – How financially healthy RSLs are and how well they manage their money
• Good governance of RSLs – How well run RSLs are.

Helen Shaw, assistant director of regulation, said: “This year, for the first time in our annual risk assessment, we will take into account each landlord’s own view of its compliance with regulatory requirements, as set out in their annual assurance statements.

“The statements will help us ensure social landlords continue to deliver good quality homes and services for their tenants and other service users.    

“Tenant and resident safety, rent affordability and value for money all remain important priorities in our assessment of risk this year. We will continue to have a strong focus on how local authorities meet their duties to provide homes for people who need them and ensure people are not spending too long in temporary accommodation.  

“We will also focus on how social landlords deliver for Gypsy/Travellers and the need for landlords to meet the minimum standards for the people who use their sites.”

The summary of the risks and the reasons behind them are available here.