The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has published its latest monthly survey on how housing providers are managing some of the challenges they face as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

In the seventh of a series of temporary surveys, providers were asked to submit responses covering the period up to and including 31 October by 6 November.

All submitted data is from before the introduction of the new ‘second lockdown’ restrictions in England.

Response rates

The response rate this time round was 94%.

Despite increased infection rates and the introduction of tiered lockdowns in parts of England, providers’ responses showed that the delivery of services remained stable in October.

The number of providers that had completed all or most gas safety, fire compliance, asbestos, electrical, legionella, and lift checks was similar to the previous two months, and across the sector, gas safety compliance is reported to be broadly back to pre-Coronavirus levels.

Trends in survey responses since April (as % of total submissions):

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Most care and support providers reported that staffing was at normal levels, but some have started to report pressures due to higher levels of staff absence.

The RSH says these providers have reported that they have contingency plans in place and are continuing to maintain safe staffing levels.

Some care and support providers are planning to revert back to practices adopted for the first lockdown, such as the closure of communal areas or remote delivery of services where appropriate.

Providers’ returns more generally noted the additional pressures that staff absence or contractor capacity have had on delivery of repairs.

However, the RSH says they have not reported material backlogs and appear to have appropriate mitigations in place, including procuring additional staffing resource.

Many providers had anticipated constraints arising from increased infection rates and further restrictions.

The vast majority of providers reported that they are continuing to deliver all responsive repairs and have no intentions of reducing service delivery. Some are anticipating delays in planned works due to residents self-isolating.

The RSH said that access issues were a “significant” factor in operational challenges in the first lockdown, and that providers continued to report small numbers of access issues where vulnerable tenants are shielding.

Providers reported that they are aware the second lockdown is likely to lead to renewed concerns among tenants about letting workers into their homes.

“Overall, providers reported confidence that they have appropriate systems and processes in place to manage the operational impacts of a second national lockdown,” the RSH said.

Next steps

During 2020, the RSH says providers have responded effectively to the challenges presented by the pandemic, and that over the last three months their operational performance has been stable.

However, the RSH says it will still need to “understand” operational performance on a regular basis in early 2021, but that it would likely reduce the frequency of survey returns to a bi-monthly basis.

The RSH will review the future role of the Coronavirus operational response surveys (CORS) again in March 2021.

The submission dates for the next three CORS are as follows:

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Survey background

The RSH asked private registered providers with 1,000 or more homes, local authority social housing landlords, and those providers with fewer than 1,000 homes which have a high proportion of supported accommodation to respond to the survey.

The information in the report is based on the RSH’s initial analysis of registered providers’ survey responses.

The survey asks providers to answer a single multiple-choice question on each of five key areas. For each area, it also asks them to identify any key constraints, risks, and mitigating actions and the scale of any backlog – and how this has changed since the previous survey.

The Regulator of Social Housing regulates private registered providers of social housing to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs.

Image: DimaSid/Shutterstock

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