Energy efficiency in social housing: guidance for landlords - revised 2020

12 Regulation

12.1 The Scottish Social Housing Charter, issued under section 31 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010, sets the standards and outcomes that all social landlords should aim to achieve when performing their housing activities. A revised Charter was approved by the Scottish Parliament and came into effect from 1 April 2017.^[27]

12.2 Charter Outcome 4 (Quality of Housing) states:

Social landlords manage their businesses so that tenants' homes, as a minimum, meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) when they are allocated; are always clean, tidy and in a good state of repair; and also meet the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH) by 31 December 2020.

12.3 The Scottish Housing Regulator is responsible for monitoring landlord's performance against outcomes in the Charter, including compliance with the EESSH. Social landlords are required to collect robust data on their progress in delivering the EESSH and to provide the Regulator with proportionate annual information on compliance.

12.4 The Regulator will seek data from landlords in the Annual Return on the Charter. This will require landlords to provide the information summarised in Table 9.

12.4a The Regulator will consult in 2020 on indicators to inform the data sought from landlords on EESSH2 performance. Following confirmation of the indicators and publication of EESSH2 Guidance for Social Landlords, the Regulator will publish updated Technical Guidance to assist landlords in completing their return.

Table 9: Charter indicators for EESSH compliance ^[28]

12.5 To assist landlords in deciding who to approach if the need arises, the respective roles of Scottish Government and the Scottish Housing Regulator regarding the EESSH are set out below.

The Scottish Government's role is to:

A. Make a clear national policy framework for improving energy efficiency in social housing in Scotland.

B. Specify in guidance the minimum standard to be met, the timescale for achievement, the scope of the properties that are expected to meet the minimum standard, and the relevance of all aspects of that standard to social housing.

C. Subject to resources, answer any novel or contentious technical queries the public may have regarding the EESSH that guidance cannot answer.

The Scottish Housing Regulator's role is to:

A. Take account of Scottish Government guidance in its approach to regulating the EESSH.

B. Monitor and regularly report progress on EESSH compliance and non-compliance.

C. Seek further information and explanation on aspects of reported compliance, including on exemptions, if necessary.

D. Ensure that results of EESSH monitoring are taken into account in its regulatory assessment of landlords.

E. Ensure that the provision of EESSH data used for monitoring follows the published process and that landlords are aware that they must satisfy themselves that the data provided is correct.

F. As individual issues arise, consult with Scottish Government policy colleagues regarding aspects of the EESSH policy that are novel or contentious.