Tenant voice and landlord self-assurance were the focus of the Regulator’s opening session at the Tenant Information Service (TIS) national conference in Cumbernauld earlier this month.

Lisa Peebles, Scottish Housing Regulator Board member, gave the conference’s opening address and spoke with tenants about the future of social housing regulation.

Lisa highlighted the Regulator’s on-going commitment to a strong tenant voice. She shared feedback from the early discussion phase of the regulatory framework review.

She said: “Many of our stakeholders stressed the importance of us continuing to promote a strong tenant voice and to support tenants with accessible and useful information about their landlord. We’re looking at how we can get good information in useful formats to as many people that want it as possible.”

Lisa explained the Regulator’s proposal that each landlord would confirm through an annual assurance statement that it meets regulatory standards and requirements. She posed some questions for delegates to consider: “One really important consideration for us is the role for tenants in the annual assurance process. How should landlords capture and use the tenant view in their assurance processes? What if tenants don’t recognise their landlord from the Annual Assurance Statement?”

The Regulator will continue its dialogue with tenants, landlords and stakeholders as it firms up proposals for consultation later in the year.

Lisa’s full speech is available here.