We recently attended the National Federation of Tenant Management Organisations conference on 20 June 2026. One of the headline speakers was Jonathan Walters, the newly appointed Chief Executive of the Regulator of Social Housing.

Whilst recent attention for private registered providers has shifted to the Economic Standards (with the Regulator releasing a call for evidence earlier this month), the focus at the conference remained on the Consumer Standards and where we stand two years on from their introduction.

The Regulator stated that 50% of local authority inspections have resulted in a C3 or C4 grading, but was also keen to highlight examples of improvement where authorities have engaged constructively with the regulatory process. Guildford Borough Council, for example, moved from a C3 consumer grading to C1 following responsive engagement and inspection in March 2026. This demonstrates that where failings are identified, a clear improvement plan, robust oversight and sustained commitment can lead to significantly better regulatory outcomes but also, and most importantly, improvements for residents.

Jonathan Walters emphasised that the Regulator is seeking greater consistency across the social housing sector and is committed to ensuring residents live in safe, decent and well-managed homes that meet the required standards. Achieving this requires providers to take a step back, be honest about their current position, identify any gaps, and take practical steps to address them.

The Regulator discussed a number of key themes for local authorities and TMOs: 

1. Data quality is fundamental: Authorities need a clear, accurate and up-to-date understanding of both their stock and their residents. Reliable data is the foundation for effective decision-making, prioritising investment, evidencing assurance and improving outcomes for residents and local communities.

2. Good governance remains critical: The Regulator’s inspection work suggests that frontline staff are often committed to doing the right thing. However, poor outcomes can arise where senior leadership is too far removed from day-to-day operations. Effective oversight, constructive challenge and appropriate support are therefore essential to enable the delivery of high-quality services to residents.

3. Culture matters: The Regulator does not expect providers to be perfect. However, it does expect organisations to have systems and a culture that identify issues early, escalate them appropriately and learn from them.  

4. Recognising patterns: The Regulator also emphasised that complaints, repair issues, health and safety concerns and tenant feedback should not be considered in isolation. TMOs were encouraged to actively look for patterns and use those insights to feedback to local authority landlords and drive wider service improvement.

Practical takeaways 

Although TMOs are not regulated directly by the Regulator of Social Housing, the local authority landlord remains accountable for meeting the Consumer Standards in respect of its housing stock. Understanding the regulatory framework not only helps TMOs understand what local authorities will require from them, but also ensures TMOs understand what they should expect from the authority.  

Open, practical dialogue about roles, responsibilities and evidence of compliance is therefore essential. This may involve revisiting modular management agreements and operational procedures to ensure there is clarity on allocation of responsibilities, how information is shared and how issues are escalated.  In the current regulatory environment, ambiguity is likely to create risk. Please do read our blog here, which discusses this further in the context of building safety. 

How we can help

These themes reflect much of the advice we are already providing to clients across the social housing sector. Our Governance, Social Business and Regulatory teams support registered providers (including local authorities) and TMOs in understanding the Regulator’s expectations, reviewing governance and assurance arrangements, responding when issues arise, and implementing practical improvement plans.

If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this post, please do get in touch.