Evaluating the impact of consumer regulation reforms in social housing
An independent, theory-based impact evaluation of the Regulator of Social Housing's consumer regulation reforms, assessing their contribution to better outcomes for tenants across England's social housing sector
What is the issue?
Photo by Rob/Adobe Stock
England's social housing sector is large and diverse, with around 1,580 registered providers and around four million households relying on it for a safe and decent home. Following long-standing concerns about the safety and quality of social housing, the government legislated the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 to strengthen how the sector is regulated.
From April 2024, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) introduced a set of consumer regulation reforms designed to strengthen landlords' accountability for providing safe, good-quality homes and services, and for treating tenants with fairness and respect. The reforms include revised consumer standards, a new programme of programmed inspections of large social landlords, the publication of regulatory judgements and grades, and strengthened enforcement powers. Because the reforms are wide-ranging, interact with other changes in the sector, and are likely to affect different providers and tenants in different ways, robust evaluation is essential to build a clear picture of their impact.
How are we helping?
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) commissioned a consortium led by RAND Europe, with Shared Intelligence and the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (CCHPR), to deliver an independent, theory-based impact evaluation of its Consumer Regulation Reforms. The impact evaluation will assess whether – and how – the reforms are improving outcomes for tenants, and what works, for whom, and in which contexts.
Running from April 2026 to March 2028, the study takes a phased, mixed-methods approach combining qualitative research (interviews, focus groups and case study deep dives) with targeted quantitative analysis of existing sector data. Our framework integrates contribution analysis and realist evaluation to understand causal pathways and explain variation across providers and tenant groups, supporting iterative learning over the course of the evaluation and informing the Regulator’s future strategy.
