Housing and Regeneration Act 2008

The Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 as amended (HRA 2008) received royal assent on 28 July 2008, it was introduced in parts 3 or stages. Part 1 of the Act was brought into force on 2 September 2008, 26 November 2008, and 26 March 2009. Part 2 was commenced in full in two stages. The provisions abolishing the Housing Corporation and creation of the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords (the Tenant Services Authority) were commenced in December 2008. The remaining provisions, which established the reformed regulatory system, were commenced on or before 1 April 2010. Part 3 was commenced in several stages from September 2008 to April 2011.

Jointly the three parts (schedules 1- 8, schedules 9 and 16 and schedules 10 - 15) restructured many of the bodies related housing, including setting up the basis for a regulator for social housing, carried out by the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords. A summary of the changes summary is outlined below:

• established the Homes and Communities Agency
• abolished the Urban Regeneration Agency and the Commission for the New Towns
• established the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords as the regulator of social housing
• established a system of regulation for social housing
• abolished the Housing Corporation
• made provision for sustainability certificates, landlord and tenant matters, building regulations and mobile homes
• made further provisions for housing and related issues (mainly through Part 3)

The HRA 2008 also set out the statutory framework within which a regulator for social housing must operate. Establishing a framework enabling the regulator to register and regulate providers of social housing, known as ‘registered providers’. Only these registered providers are regulated. Note that the task of regulating social housing was outlined in the 2008 act but the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) was not itself established and given the task until sometime later.

The tragic Grenfell Tower fire occurred in 2017, and as a result the Government committed to changes to the consumer regulation of social housing to strengthen accountability of landlords for providing safe homes, quality services and treating residents with respect with proposals set-out in Green and White Papers. The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) itself was established on 1 January, 2018 with its powers being further expanded 20 of July 2023, via the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, which was as a result of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committees enquiry, looking into the regulation of social housing.

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