Tenant Services Authority

The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) (external link) and the Homes and Communities Agency (external link) were launched on Monday 1 December 2008. The establishment of these agencies marks a significant change within the sector and will benefit all those involved with housing and regeneration from the tenant through to the largest commercial developer.

The TSA is the new regulator for social housing, dedicated to raising the standard of housing services by putting tenants first. Taking over the Housing Corporation's responsibility for regulating housing associations and social landlords, the TSA will set high standards of management across these areas and, later, local authority social homes.

The TSA will:

champion tenant's needs and aspirations from housing
promote choice for tenants and providers
challenge providers to meet or exceed standards
shape standards, utilizing informal and formal consultations
adopt a co-regulatory and proportionate approach
be independent and cross-domain
work to create more choice about the way housing is managed and the landlords who provide it

The TSA plans to do this by:

putting tenants at the centre, and ensuring that landlords do the same
acting fairly, independently and decisively
encouraging excellence and focusing on real performance - both of the landlords it works with and the people it employs

In this way the TSA will be a catalyst for change, one which will improve the quality of life for millions of social tenants.

The Chair of the TSA is Anthony Mayer, former Chief Executive of the Greater London Authority. The Chief Executive is Peter Marsh, formerly Deputy Chief Executive of the Housing Corporation.

The TSA will consult with tenants and social landlords across the domain to develop the new standards framework for all social tenants, for implementation from the end of 2009 onwards.

Please visit the TSA website for more information.