Submission: Review of the National Regulatory System for Community Housing

The Tenants’ Union believes the success of the social housing sector relies on being responsive to need and accountable to tenants who rely on it for secure affordable housing but also whose rent payments fund the system. The National Regulatory System’s contribution to better outcomes for tenants would be far easier to demonstrate if the Code required from community housing providers a higher level of transparency and direct accountability to tenants.

This would take two forms, both of which we suggest should be reflected in changes to the Code. The first of these is a new standard in relation to governance requiring a systematic approach to tenant voice in decision-making. The second relates to management transparency through publication of vital performance and practice data.