England's social housing regulator to become separate public body

The "administrative" change, which was recommended by the government-backed Tailored Review, will be implemented by way of a legislative reform order, on which the government is consulting until 27 January 2017. If approved, the order would make the changes to the 2008 Housing and Regeneration Act necessary to separate the social housing regulator into its own non-departmental public body.

Housing law expert Tom Edwards of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, described the planned structural changes as "sensible".

"The separation of the regulatory function from the investments function of the HCA will ensure that there is a clear division of these functions, and ensure that no conflicts of interest can arise," he said. "The changes, we are told, will not result in any changes to the regulatory functions of the regulator and are sensible as they will allow the regulator of social housing to focus on its functions under the relevant statutory framework."

"The Tailored Review also contains a range of conclusions which the government will presumably be deciding whether to implement or not. These changes will be noteworthy, as they propose changes to the management and operation of the HCA. Further, there is likely to be greater focus on the HCA to dispose of public sector land, with the possibility of jointly agreed targets and responsibilities," he said.

The HCA currently holds a dual role, as the regulator of registered social housing providers in England and the national housing, land and regeneration agency.

The Tailored Review of the HCA ran between February and April of this year as part of a wider government programme to scrutinise the effectiveness and efficiency of public bodies. The review concluded that the agency was mostly working well, but recommended that it be given a "renewed and revitalised" focus of supporting housebuilding and increasing the supply of available land. Its social housing function should become a separate public body, in order to remove the potential for conflicts of interest.

The restructuring will be a purely "administrative" change, and will not affect the regulator's powers or day to day operations according to the government.

HCA chair Sir Edward Lister said that the agency was "already implementing a number of changes to our operating model to help speed up delivery and promote new approaches to housebuilding".

"We will set out how we intend to play a more active role in the delivery of the government's increased housing ambitions in the coming months," he said.

Separately, the HCA is consulting on the introduction of a regulatory fee regime for social housing providers. It has proposed a one-off registration fee of £2,500 per provider, then annual fees depending on size: a flat fee of £300 per year for smaller providers, with fewer than £1,000 homes; and a £5 per property per year fee for larger providers. The consultation closes on 9 January 2017 and the HCA intends to begin charging registration fees from April.