23 February 2007
Private lenders are opposing moves by housing associations to introduce self-regulation and give new scrutiny powers to tenants.
The National Housing Federation, in its submission to Professor Martin Cave's review of regulation, called for the boards of registered social landlords to be given responsibility for governance.
It said the performance of RSLs would be audited by tenants and other customers to ensure they were complying with codes of conduct on governance, customer service and accountability produced by the federation.
David Orr, NHF chief executive, said landlords were being held back by an outdated regulation system: 'What we are proposing will give housing associations the freedom to deliver better neighbourhoods and empower tenants to hold them to account.'
But the Council of Mortgage Lenders said the existing system of regulation saves the sector between £200m and £400m per year, as RSLs generally pay lower interest rates than commercial borrowers.
In its submission to Cave, it added that regulation must reflect risk from a lender perspective.
PFfeb2007
