Duration: 20 minutes
Platform: Microsoft Teams
Speaker: Hetal Ruparelia
The Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) is a policy statement for proposed new regulations on access to information by social housing tenants.
The consultation period ended in July 2024 and we are now awaiting the Government’s decision on when to activate existing legislation to bring the STAIRs requirements into effect. The requirements aim to ensure social housing providers are open with their tenants and will require social landlords to proactively publish certain types of information relating to the management of social housing.
Why Boards need to be thinking about it:
- Increased transparency and accountability – STAIRs will effectively result in social landlords providing more information than ever before, including information on governance and decision making, spending, and performance.
- Reputation and risk mitigation - Failing to comply with STAIRs could lead to reputational damage and legal or regulatory action (including action by the Ombudsman and Regulator). By proactively preparing for the changes, Boards can mitigate these risks.
- Potential operational impacts – Boards will need to consider how to implement the new requirements, including establishing processes for handling information requests, determining what information is accessible, and ensuring compliance with new standards. There is also a risk that the information may be used to pursue more legal action with possible impact and crossover with disrepair/fitness claims.
In this session we will cover:
- An explanation to STAIRs – This will explain what the requirements are likely to be and where they sit in the regulatory framework.
- Plan – We will set out our informed view as to what the next steps and time frame is likely to look like.
- Why Boards need to be thinking about this – This will help plan for possible changes and horizon-scan ahead of implementation.
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