Using technology to streamline housing’s compliance & regulatory demands
Housing Technology interviewed Asprey Solutions, FLS – Fast Lean Smart and NEC Software Solutions about the role of technology in helping housing providers deal with their ever-growing regulatory burden.
The fundamental role of IT
Rachel Ratty, sales and marketing director, Asprey Solutions, said, “The administrative burden of compliance weighs heavily on most housing providers, while the imperative for complete transparency in performance, at both operational and senior levels, has never been more critical.
“Without robust IT systems, managing this responsibility is simply unfeasible. Manual systems, including spreadsheets, won’t stand up to scrutiny. IT solutions offer a means to alleviate this burden, enhancing current processes by efficiently managing assessments and tracking any subsequent actions, measuring performance against relevant standards and regulations, automating labour-intensive data management tasks and ensuring proper evidential management.”
Trevor Hampton, director of housing solutions, NEC Software Solutions UK, said, “IT is absolutely fundamental to regulatory compliance because housing providers need to prove they are meeting standards. This requires a significant volume of detailed evidence so they can confidently demonstrate how they are providing a service in an organisation that might have 2,000 properties (or many more).
“What is the condition of the housing, how are they responding to repairs, and are the tenants being listened to? Answering these questions requires a huge volume of data that can’t be managed without IT and analytics.”
Problems with collecting data
Jeremy Squire, UK managing director, FLS – Fast Lean Smart, said, “Clean, consistent and accurate data is absolutely critical for regulatory compliance. Housing providers therefore need to demonstrate and prove to tenants how collecting their data within a GDPR-regulated environment, services will be enhanced.
“Thorough data-validation processes are needed to identify and fix any errors, inconsistencies or missing information. Validation checks may include verifying data against predefined rules, cross-referencing with existing records and confirming accuracy with relevant stakeholders. Complete data ensures that the entire process can be tracked and analysed effectively.”
Asprey’s Ratty said, “An extensive level of data is essential for effective operational management and meaningful performance measurement and reporting. However, the collection process can be expensive and often demands the involvement of external parties, particularly in specialised areas.
“These specialists might use their own data collection and management systems, operating independently of the client organisation or in some cases reporting ‘manually’. Consequently, this arrangement can result in delays in data provision, accuracy issues and pose significant challenges for ongoing data management, especially where streamlined and rationalised data is of paramount importance.”
NEC’s Hampton said, “Collecting data from so many different sources (including tenants, staff and contractors) in housing is a massive challenge. There can be multiple sources recording data on the same issue which can cause confusion. A tenant might log a repair over the phone but also give a visiting housing officer an update in person, so all contacts need to be recorded in the housing management system to deliver a true picture of what is going on.
“The unique circumstances pertaining to a specific tenant also need to be accurately reflected. This will include the structure of the property and details of whether the tenant is, say, a single elderly person with a disability. All this information contributes to how responses are prioritised and are vital to show the regulator that the right standard of service is being met.
“Furthermore, every housing provider needs a cultural ethos that emphasises the importance of collecting accurate data; it must be at the centre of everything a housing provider does.”
Difficulties reporting data
Asprey’s Ratty said, “In addition to the changing regulatory reporting requirements, the central challenge is the availability of the appropriate data. This becomes particularly difficult when numerous disparate systems or manual processes are used.
“Obtaining a current status report or detailed information at the requisite level of granularity can be very challenging and time-consuming under such circumstances. Moreover, without robust data validation mechanisms or automated audit trails, the reliability of any results is susceptible to scrutiny and doubt.”
NEC’s Hampton said, “It’s vital to verify data to ensure the reporting is correct. With so many different people entering data, mistakes can happen. Data can be double-checked via analytics in the housing management system so that errors can be flagged. For example, if there are missing fields in an electrical survey or contradictory reports on a repair, housing staff need to be alerted so they can investigate further.
“Getting a single view of the truth is crucial for compliance because the reporting data is used throughout the organisation to make decisions. Operationally, it will influence decisions on property checks and maintenance and then at board level it will affect, for example, whether some housing is deemed unsafe and needs disposing of.
“Timing is of the essence. Information needs to available in real-time so if a property is a health hazard, it is dealt with immediately. If the regulator turns up unannounced, real-time reporting allows you to provide an accurate picture of your housing stock and complaints in process.”
FLS’s Squire said, “The challenge for reporting data for regulatory compliance is ensuring a consistent approach for housing providers of all sizes, and because the government is consulting on a revised Decent Homes standard, technology is well placed to help with data reporting.
“Many larger housing providers are using advances in technology to develop predictive data models and tools to identify properties which are likely to require future repair or remediation works. Equally, smaller housing providers often have a good understanding of the condition of their properties and the needs of their tenants through more frequent, regular interactions with them.”
The hardest regulations from an IT perspective
Asprey’s Ratty said, “Each compliance area presents a unique set of challenges, ranging from the comprehensive hazards covered by HHSRS to the frequent LGSR assessments and the delicate task of handling refusals and no-access situations while maintaining compliance standards.
“The overarching challenge lies in ensuring robust support for the operational needs of each compliance area, including meticulous evidential management as a fundamental process. Striving for sensible automation while prioritising the validation of incoming data and evidence is crucial.
“Furthermore, achieving a comprehensive, real-time view of compliance across an organisation adds another layer of complexity. Flexibility is paramount, given the rapid pace of regulatory changes in the sector; any solution must be adaptable without requiring extensive redevelopment.”
NEC’s Hampton said, “The hardest regulation for properties is electrical compliance because the checks are extremely detailed and constantly changing. The EICR certificate requires a qualified electrician to do an awful lot of cross-checking of voltage and resistance calculations; the forms can take up to four hours to complete and mistakes can easily be made. The data needs interrogating in the housing management system because there’s often a high rejection rate. If a field is completed incorrectly or a calculation isn’t quite right then staff need to correct it. Quality control checks are therefore a good way to ensure contractors and staff are entering data accurately.
“The hardest regulation on the tenant side is satisfaction. When a tenant makes a complaint, it can often be ambiguous; are they upset about having to give access for a repair or are they frustrated by how long it’s taken to be addressed? Logging all contacts builds a complete picture of where the worst flashpoints of stress are for tenants. For example, it could be that many unrelated complaints are made at the weekend when antisocial behaviour is high and that’s the issue which needs tackling first.
“The processing of complaints can be complex because there are many ways problems can be logged. A tenant might verbally mention something to a housing officer but then also email and phone about the same problem with different details. All these routes need cross-checking so nothing gets missed, and if someone has complained multiple times this needs flagging as a high priority.”
Business & IT responsibility for compliance
Asprey’s Ratty said, “Ultimately, achieving effective regulatory compliance should be a collaborative effort. While the business bears the primary responsibility for compliance, its sensible management hinges on support from the IT team. This partnership is particularly crucial when acknowledging that IT solutions must cater to the intricate requirements of those overseeing the organisation’s most significant risk areas.”
NEC’s Hampton said, “IT and business teams are both equally responsible and there has to be a very tight relationship between them. IT must have the ability to collect the right data and analyse it correctly to give accurate reporting; the business must then have the right processes and governance to use the data reporting systems effectively. Furthermore, both teams need to work within a culture that puts tenants at the heart of the organisation.”
Typical pitfalls and bottlenecks
FLS’s Squire said, “As providers of maintenance and repair services, imprecise responsibility, poor communication and low levels of engagement between housing providers and their tenants are the main factors impacting satisfaction scores.
“Backlogs can escalate when housing providers are called on to rectify compliance matters. It’s therefore preferable to mitigate these risks with analytics matched with intelligent, predictive scheduling. Reactive management practices are known to generate costs through persistent calls to failed assets, increased pressure on planning and community teams and uninspired workforces.
“Robust governance and leadership are the key factors in managing compliance. And whether you’re monitoring the dates of compliance programmes, classifying properties or recording contractor competencies, data handling is fundamental to successful compliance.”
NEC’s Hampton said, “Achieving true regulatory compliance is a journey and providers need to take the long view. A common pitfall is thinking it can be done quickly with short-term fixes in isolation. It’s not something that can be ticked off the to-do list but needs to become part of the fabric of the organisation, with everyone constantly aspiring to do better.
“An IT strategy for regulatory compliance might take three to five years to implement and it will be constantly evolving. There may be many bottlenecks because all the parts of housing providers’ operations are constantly changing; this means continually adapting data collection processes and reporting to ensure standards are maintained at the highest level.”
Asprey’s Ratty said, “Housing providers continue to be heavily reliant on manual systems, stemming from either a resistance to change and a hesitance to adopt new solutions or the use of solutions that have yet to fully address the intricate business requirements.
“Compounded by the specialised nature of numerous compliance areas, siloed working environments often prevail, impeding clear communication and coordinated effort. This fragmentation also results in disparate sources of data for performance reporting, further complicating matters.”
Regulatory ‘quick wins’
NEC’s Hampton said, “The condition of housing can quickly be identified by surveying all the properties and finding out where the main problems are, so start collecting data on the condition of housing stock as soon as possible. Another goal which can bring quick rewards is to capture every contact with the tenant and follow it up. When you ensure complaints don’t get lost, you immediately start to improve tenant satisfaction.
“It should be remembered that compliance isn’t a quick-win process; the challenging path tends to be the right path and many in the sector are getting to grips with this cultural shift.”
Asprey’s Ratty said, “While a well-thought-out software solution can certainly help in standardising processes for data collection and reporting, automating compliance workflows, and fostering transparency across the organisation, there may be constraints in immediately migrating to a new purpose-built solution or expanding the functionality of a current one.
“The crux lies in comprehending the strengths and weaknesses inherent in current processes and data, and these can be assessed relatively quickly. This assessment paves the way for devising a comprehensive action plan spanning short-, medium- and long-term objectives.
“In the interim, most organisations already possess a wealth of data. By leveraging modern BI tools, housing providers can swiftly consolidate compliance-related information into one accessible location. However, it’s crucial that both business acumen and relevant BI expertise are intertwined to ensure relevance and adherence to ‘keep it simple, stupid’ principles otherwise there’s a risk of drowning in data without deriving meaningful insights.”
Standalone compliance software vs. alternative options
Asprey’s Ratty said, “The challenge with selecting from the array of available solutions lies in each solution’s specialisation. We believe that an effective, one-size-fits-all solution from a single supplier is elusive, despite numerous offerings being marketed as such in recent years. Our recommendation is to instead harness suitable and proven products for their respective core purposes, while ensuring seamless integration.”
NEC’s Hampton said, “The word ‘standalone’ horrifies me because to get a single view of the truth, there needs to be a connected set of evidence. Compliance needs to be integrated into the main IT system to understand exactly what is happening with both properties and tenants. The only exception is electrical compliance (for the verifications and checks) but beyond that, everything should be integrated.”
Housing Technology would like to thank Rachel Ratty (Asprey Solutions), Jeremy Squire (FLS – Fast Lean Smart) and Trevor Hampton (NEC Software Solutions) for their editorial contributions to this article.
