Internal policies and procedures for housing organisations

Good governance is the keystone of an effective housing association and has been the focus of regulatory oversight for many years.

A major part of good governance includes having internal policies and procedures that ensure an appropriate system of controls and checks is in place. We recognise that for these policies and procedures to be effective in allowing organisations to achieve good governance, they need to be user-friendly, practical and clear.

We don’t believe in a “one-size-fits-all” approach and we will work with you, as a social housing provider, to prepare the internal policies and procedures that are suitable for your organisation.

How we can help you with our best practice pre-prepared policy toolkits

For a more cost-effective service, we have pre-prepared toolkits, which are being used by many social housing providers across the country.  These toolkits contain various best-practice  internal policies and procedures (together with board reports). By purchasing of one of these toolkits you would be able to adapt them in-house, as and when you require – for example:

• Legal compliance support;
• Probity policy;
• Charity investment policy; and
• Anti-bribery policy.

Supporting you with reviewing your existing policies

We can also work with housing associations to provide a full review and subsequent updates of existing policies, incorporating legal and best practice requirements, as well as providing appropriate training to board and committee members regarding key changes.

We bring our knowledge of the social-housing sector to bear to prepare documents that incorporate legal and regulatory requirements, best practice in the sector and practical issues that are likely to be relevant to your organisation. Our close links within the sector also mean that we can keep you informed of relevant upcoming developments and legal changes, as well as ensuring these are reflected within your new internal policies and procedures.

Please contact our team to find out how we could help you further.

Provisions within the Housing and Planning Act that remove the need for housing associations (“HAs”) to obtain consent from the Regulator to dispose of social housing (as well as to merge or enter new group structures) come into force on 6 April.

Such freedoms will allow HAs greater flexibility over how they use their assets and, potentially, how they structure their businesses. Our expert panel gathered to discuss the possible opportunities the deregulatory measures offer, together with the likely hurdles. Read the outcome of their discussion here.