Five council landlords have been found to be missing standards set by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), and require significant improvements
East Suffolk Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Leicester City Council, North Kesteven District Council, and Redditch Borough Council have all been missing RSH standards.
The standards were introduced on 1 April 2024, and affect social-rent homes neighbourhood and community, safety, and quality standards, and also afford RSH to carry out inspections.
Missing RSH standards were found through regular inspections
Each council was investigated, with details of the results for each below.
Following responsive engagement with East Suffolk Council, RSH found:
• Around 50% of its homes do not meet the Decent Homes Standard.
• Resolution of hazards, and damp and mould cases had not been fully tracked.
Following its inspection, RSH found Ipswich Council:
• Had gaps in its data, including in relation to the assessment of hazards in tenants’ homes in line with the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), as required by the Decent Homes Standard.
• Lacked comprehensive data about the diverse needs of its tenants.
Following its inspection, RSH found Leicester City Council:
• Had not had an electrical safety test for around 70% of its homes.
• Had a lack of up-to-date information on the condition of most of its homes, with its last comprehensive stock condition survey undertaken in 2009, and those surveys did not include an assessment of HHSRS hazards in line with the Decent Homes Standard.
Following its inspection, RSH found North Kesteven District Council:
• Is not meeting its targets for routine repairs or voids service.
• Only a third of its homes had a HHSRS assessment in place as required by the Decent Homes Standard.
Following its inspection, RSH found Redditch Borough Council:
• Had around 2,900 overdue fire remedial actions, including around 800 high-risk actions that had been overdue for more than 12 months.
• Had almost 3,000 overdue repairs.
Upgrades to social housing
Back in March, the government announced an investment of £2bn into social housing, under the Plan for Change. The investment is intended to boost numbers of social homes, and can fund up to 18,000 new homes.
At the time, Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner, said: “Everyone deserves to have a safe and secure roof over their heads and a place to call their own, but the reality is that far too many people have been frozen out of homeownership or denied the chance to rent a home they can afford thanks to the housing crisis we’ve inherited.
“This investment will help us to build thousands more affordable homes to buy and rent and get working people and families into secure homes and onto the housing ladder. This is just the latest in delivering our Plan for Change mission to build 1.5m homes, and the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation.”
RSH inspections are intended to ensure that existing and new social housing stock is of a high enough quality for human living. On the councils that failed to adhere to the new standards, Kate Dodsworth, chief of regulatory engagement at RSH, said: “Our programme of proactive inspections, alongside our ongoing responsive engagement, continues to bring issues to light around health and safety, knowing your stock at an individual level, as well as understanding your tenants’ needs.
“These issues outlined in the judgements published today need to be addressed promptly and we are working intensively with each of the landlords as they put things right for their tenants.
“Separately, strong governance enables robust board oversight for private registered providers and supports their ability to assess and respond to challenges, make informed decisions and manage risks.”
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