Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) are non-profit organizations in the UK that provide affordable housing. They are registered with a non-departmental public body and can raise private funds and apply for grants to build new homes or invest in stocks. RSLs are responsible for almost all new homes built in England since the late 1980s. Each nation has its own umbrella organization representing RSLs.
A Registered Social Landlord (RSL) is a private sector non-profit organization that provides affordable housing to people from the United Kingdom (UK). These organizations can be real estate companies, trusts, corporations or cooperatives. Every registered social owner is registered with a non-departmental public body (NDPB) which sponsors and regulates the RSL. A non-departmental public body is a public organization that functions with relative autonomy, but is ultimately accountable to the government for its actions and policies.
In Northern Ireland, every registered social landlord is registered with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, in Scotland they register with Communities Scotland, in Wales they register with the Welsh Assembly and in England RSLs register with successors to the Housing Corporation. In 2008, the Housing Corporation was split into two separate bodies: the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) to handle regulation and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to handle financing and regeneration projects. A registered social owner can raise private funds and apply for grants to build new homes, do regeneration projects or invest in stocks. Grant applications go to a regional Housing Corporation office where different RSL offerings are evaluated against the needs of the community.
The British Parliament created the Housing Corporation in 1964 to manage English social housing providers. The Corporation used money primarily from the Approved Development Program (ADP) to fulfill its role as the primary provider of funds for public housing services. Almost since its inception, the Corporation has been responsible for developing the majority of new homes and allocating funds to meet regional housing strategies established by the Regional Housing Boards. Under the Housing Associations Act 1985, the Housing Corporation was also required to sponsor self-build companies. Housing associations have paid employees, while Housing Boards tend to have many volunteers, including community members, politicians and local organizations.
As the middle class expanded in the UK during the Industrial Revolution, there was a growing need for new homes. Volunteer organizations that became housing associations began springing up at this time to fill the growing need. Even greater control of the housing market was given to housing associations during the Thatcher era when many pubs were sold off at discount prices. The prevailing wind of privatization has also encouraged the transfer of public housing shares into the hands of private housing associations.
A registered social landlord has been responsible for nearly all new homes built in England since the late 1980s. Each nation has its own umbrella organization representing the hundreds of RSLs. In Northern Ireland, this organization is the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations (NIFHA), in Wales it is the Community Housing Cymru (CHC), in Scotland it is the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), and in England the National Housing Federation (NHF) represents smaller associations.
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