Housing associations shouldn't wait on new regulations to raise standards: Emma Evans

It is expected to publish a final report in the coming months.

A companion review was tasked with examining building safety and fire regulations applying to high-rise buildings.

Its final report, issued in May 2018, highlighted failings at senior levels both during the construction process and once buildings were occupied, and called for a "radical rethink” of the entire regulatory system.

Subsequently, a new law - the Social Housing Regulation Act - received Royal Assent last year and has, in turn, led to a series of consultations about the detail of how it will take effect.

One has just closed and could have major repercussions for a social housing sector involving councils, private businesses and charities, and providing accommodation to six million people across the country.

It sought feedback on plans to make the sector more professional, requiring “relevant persons” to obtain a new Competence and Conduct Standard.

If those proposals are put into practice, some individuals currently working in the sector may have to retrain or gain extra qualifications to keep their jobs.

The plans outlined are intended to address wider problems than Grenfell, including the issues which lay behind the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in a mould-ridden Rochdale flat in 2020.

Launching the consultation, Housing Secretary Michael Gove said: “The government is committed to making sure that tenants have a safe place they can call home and that their rights are respected by landlords.

"The proposals should equip all social housing staff with the skills, knowledge and experience needed to provide tenants with a high quality, respectful service - helping to ensure that tragedies like the Grenfell fire and the death of Awaab Ishak never happen again.”

The consultation closed on April 5 and the uncertainty about what might ultimately happen is compounded by questions about whether they will survive a potential change of government in the forthcoming General Election.

I am of the opinion, however, that the pressure for change will not disappear, regardless of who is in power.

Much of my work in recent years has been spent advising housing associations on related issues such as compliance, training, legal audits and policy.

Many of them already know that strong, effective leadership means not simply waiting to be forced to act but being forward-thinking and making positive change for the safety of their tenants and the benefit of their organisations as soon as they can.

Emma Evans is a Regulatory Partner who specialises in Health and Safety at law firm Bexley Beaumont