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Consumer regulation and TMOs
INNOVATION & IMPROVEMENT
Jon Slade
Director, Campbell Tickell
Jon Slade
Director, Campbell Tickell
Issue 76 | February 2025
Consumer regulation is bringing change to the small but important niche of housing services that is Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs)
The law enabling TMOs came into existence in 1994. Today there are over 200 TMOs. Most are small, all are volunteer led and many have only one paid worker. Almost all have a local authority as their landlord.
Lots of local authorities are working on achieving compliance with the Consumer Standards. Every local authority is responsible for compliance across ALL of their properties. Whether there is council stock managed by the council, an ALMO, a TMO or a third-party contractor, the regulator will deal with the council as the landlord.
It is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that every household receives services that are compliant with the Consumer Standards.
Fully compliant TMOs
Historically the relationships with TMOs have been managed in a low-key way, except when serious problems have emerged. But now every local authority needs to gain assurance that each of their small TMOs is fully compliant with the Consumer Standards. Size is of no importance here: each small TMO faces the same regulatory burden as Places for People with their 245,000 homes.
There will be a need for change amongst those managing TMOs and amongst those leading and working in them. More clienting, better clienting, more support for TMOs to enable them to understand the Consumer Standards and work through how they demonstrate compliance. It is the biggest change in the landlord/TMO relationship since TMOs first came in to being.
Simple frameworks
Local authorities will best serve their TMOs by setting up new, straightforward frameworks, by working closely with TMOs on implementation and by showing flexibility in who does what, for example councils may need to provide more services than is currently the case, to ensure compliance.
Finally, there will be merit too in thinking through how to dovetail TMO Consumer Standard compliance with work on the same issues across the rest of your stock.
CT work on all the issues raised, so if you are a TMO or a landlord responsible for a TMO do get in touch to talk through your challenges.
