North Yorkshire Council refers itself to housing regulator

A council spokesperson said the authority "recognised that work needs to be done" to meet new standards brought in by the Social Housing (Regulations) Act 2023, which came into force on April 1. 

They said the council has referred itself to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) to "improve its compliancy as a landlord". 

The new social housing act includes new standards placing emphasis on decent homes, tenant safety, tenant engagement, transparency and a duty on landlords to highlight any areas of non-compliance to the regulator.

North Yorkshire Council is compliant in several areas of activity but "work needs to be done to meet all elements of the act", the spokesperson said.

Last year, social housing services from three former councils were brought together as part of local government reorganisation and the launch of the unitary North Yorkshire Council.

North Yorkshire Council headquarters in Northallerton (Image: Supplied)

North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director for community development, Nic Harne, said: "As the landlord for almost 8,500 homes, we welcome the changes it brings.  It provides us with a framework for improvement as we create a unified housing management service.

"We have already done a great deal of work to comply with the new legislation, including introducing a new a housing revenue account business plan.

"We have fully restructured the service and have improvement plans in place. The safety and quality of our homes is our priority, and we encourage any tenants with any concerns about their homes to contact us directly.

"We are committed to providing excellent services, being open and involving tenants in the journey of improvement we are on."