28 September 2007
Short-notice inspections are to be introduced for housing associations after landlords backed an Audit Commission scheme for cutting red tape.
Twelve registered social landlords have volunteered to take part in a pilot, due to start next month, where they will receive just five working days' notice of an inspection.
Visits will last three days, compared with up to two weeks for regular inspections.
A move towards short-notice inspections, which already occur in education and social care, was recommended last year by the Elton review into RSL regulation. At present associations know up to six months beforehand if they are to be visited by inspectors.
Roy Irwin, the commission's chief inspector of housing, said the audit body wanted to remove part of the burden that RSLs impose on themselves ahead of visits. 'If you're preparing for an inspection, it's like trying to pass an exam without learning the topic,' he told Public Finance.
About 50 housing associations receive full-length inspections each year. The short-notice versions, which will run alongside the regular programme, will focus on RSLs with a 'fair' or one-star, rating.
During the six month pilot, it will be up to landlords to publish the commission's report on their performance.
John Bryant, policy leader at the National Housing Federation, said the federation was fully behind the pilot but wanted to study the results before coming to a decision about short-notice inspections.
'They will probably give a fairer picture and mean that organisations are not tempted to put vast efforts into inspections,' he added.
PFsep2007