Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether consumer standards set by the Regulator for Social Housing apply to socially rented residential pitches on local authority (a) owned and (b) managed Gypsy and Traveller sites.

All registered providers of social housing, including local authorities, are required to deliver the outcomes of the consumer standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing (‘the regulator’).

The regulatory standards apply to social housing as defined by the Housing and Regeneration Act (2008). The Act defines low-cost rental accommodation as accommodation rented below market rate and made available to those whose needs may not be adequately served by the commercial market.

Socially rented residential homes on local authority owned or managed Gypsy and Traveller sites will be subject to the regulator’s consumer standards if they meet the definition of social housing under the Act.