Greater London Authority Chief Executive Anthony Mayer is to leave the Authority this September to become the first Chair of the new social housing regulator, the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords (Oftenant).
Mr Mayer’s new role was announced yesterday by Housing Minister Caroline Flint today and will see him take responsibility for overseeing the development and implementation of the new regulator.
The regulator is being created by the Housing and Regeneration Bill currently before Parliament and will initially cover only housing associations and their tenants. Ministers have said they intend to increase it’s scope to cover local authority landlords and tenants within two years of it being set up.
Announcing Mr Mayer’s appointment Ms Flint said he would “bring a wealth of experience to the the role with an excellent track record in social housing, local government and the financial sector.”
“The regulator will ensure that all social house tenants are well protected and enjoy a good standard of service from their landlords, with powers to impose penalties on those who are not maintaining high standards. ”
Mr Mayer said he was “delighted to be rejoining the social housing sector and taking this exciting and challenging position.”
Greater London Authority figures have paid tribute to Mayer’s work at City Hall. Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “I wish Anthony all the best with his new ventures, and would like to thank him for making the new team feel so welcome here.”
London Assembly Chair Jennette Arnold said Mr Mayer “has played a unique role in re-establishing London’s city government for which we all owe him a huge debt.”
“The smooth handover of power from Ken Livingstone to Boris Johnson demonstrated the tremendous work Anthony and his team have done behind the scenes to build a professional organisation that can respond to the change in political landscape. Anthony will be sorely missed but we know he will bring a wealth of expertise and talent to his new role as first Chair of the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords.”
The Chief Executive of the Greater London Authority is jointly appointed by the Mayor and Assembly.
