The Audit Commission has given its broadest hint yet that it is to introduce star ratings for housing associations as well as councils
Roy Irwin, chief inspector of housing, was set to use his Wednesday afternoon session at the National Housing Federation annual conference to "give some feedback" on the commission's thinking.

Any changes will be part of the formal review being conducted by the commission after it assumed the dual role of inspector of council and housing association stock in April.

Speaking before his session, Irwin said: "The star rating system is something we're working on in the context of the review, so theoretically everything is up for grabs. Things we inherited from the Housing Corporation are not cast in concrete."

Councils are rated on a system of zero to three stars, with three being the best, alongside assessments of the likelihood of improvement. Registered social landlords, however, are still judged under the old Housing Corporation framework of "poor" to "excellent".

Irwin said: "Some of the comments that I have received from associations have been that it is difficult to aspire to be good within the current system."

Meanwhile, the corporation and commission have jointly issued a 13-page memorandum of understanding outlining their respective roles in regulation and inspection respectively.

  • Seven out of 10 councils were rated "good" or "excellent" by the commission in a regeneration report published on Thursday. It singled out Hartlepool, Sheffield and Durham for particular praise.

    The report collated the results of the 65 inspections conducted to date by the commission's inspectors.

    • Source

    Housing Today