Four local authorities have turned to Propeller Powered to overhaul their housing safety compliance processes.

In partnership with specialist consultancy, Manifest, Propeller is providing its Compliance Rescue Service to help the councils meet regulatory standards, including more rigorous rules outlined in the Social Housing Regulation Act.

After receiving Royal Assent on 20 July 2023, the Act will see the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) carry out regular and stringent inspections of social landlords. Safety and transparency will be brought into sharp focus and the RSH given stronger powers to hold landlords to account.

Combining cloud-based software and strategic advice, the Compliance Rescue Service assesses and improves processes across all compliance areas, including damp and mould, and fire doors. Existing data, including latest inspection schedules and associated documentation, is assimilated for each property.

Using Propeller’s software, this information is fed into an interactive compliance dashboard, which digitally analyses data and instantly identifies any gaps such as overdue or missing safety checks. Details of future safety checks can also be automatically fed into the dashboard and compliance recorded.

Following training provided by Propeller, housing providers can quickly and easily update the dashboard and use this data for reporting to the Regulator. The number of checks being carried out, and the level of compliance across each area, can be viewed and monitored using this tool.

'Although many local authorities have got better at managing housing safety compliance in recent years, changes to regulation will create additional pressures,' said Dave Carr, managing director of Propeller. 'The proposed inspection regime, combined with new tenant satisfaction measures, will put compliance firmly under the microscope from April 2024, so all housing providers must get their house in order.

'By adopting our Compliance Rescue Service, housing providers can quickly collate existing data and create a robust, digital tool for monitoring and reporting housing safety inspections without disrupting their existing IT systems. Crucially, the dashboard also enables them to demonstrate to the RSH how they are proactively responding to any issues identified and progressing towards achieving compliance. Not only does this help to minimise reputational damage but the risk of potentially punitive measures from the Regulator.'

Peter Salisbury, director of Housing Consulting at Manifest, added: 'This is the time of greatest change on the housing sector for a generation and quite rightly, resident and building safety is front and centre of the agenda.

'Holding a single, transparent view of the status of regular compliance activities underpins good building safety management. The ability to use this data to support assurance activities and feed into safety cases is a critical requirement.

'We have worked on a number of successful projects with the Propeller team now. Having access to their implementation team means we can work with housing providers to identify "good" data, secure it onto the system, and get dashboards up and running quickly. This enables us to help clients understand the progress of their servicing and compliance programmes and use this information to help provide assurance on safety and compliance.'

The impact of the Compliance Rescue Service can be seen within as little as six months and is currently benefiting local authorities located across the UK.