RSH Issues Regulatory Judgements for 18 Landlords
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has today published a range of judgements following inspections of social landlords and ongoing responsive work.
RSH has found serious issues with three councils, which have each failed to meet the outcomes in the consumer standards.
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets:
- Does not have an accurate understanding of tenants’ homes, with only 47% of individual property surveys carried out within the last five years
- Has thousands of homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard (23% of around 11,000 total homes).
- Has around 2,500 overdue fire safety actions, 1,400 overdue communal electrical safety actions and 750 overdue water safety actions.
Reading Borough Council:
- Failed to provide an effective and timely repairs service, with around 1,600 overdue repairs at the time of the inspection.
- Only surveyed half of its tenants’ homes over the past five years.
- Failed to provide meaningful opportunities for tenants to scrutinise its performance, and did not give all tenants access to a fair and effective complaints process.
Winchester City Council:
- Does not have up-to-date information about the majority of tenants’ homes, with its last stock condition survey completed more than 10 years ago.
- Is unable to provide assurance that it is completing required health and safety checks for all homes and communal areas – including those for fire, electrical and water safety.
- Has not been able to demonstrate that it provides all tenants with accessible information.
Each council has been given a C3 grade and they must make significant improvements. RSH will continue to engage intensively with them as they deliver their improvement plans and put things right for tenants.
Following a self-referral, RSH found that Mid Devon District Council had overcharged rent for over 1,200 tenants, and undercharged over 1,600. As a result it has failed to meet the outcomes of the rent standard. The council is continuing to investigate these issues and has advised RSH that it will confirm the refunds due to individual tenants.
RSH also continues its important work in checking that housing associations are well run and financially viable. This is reflected in judgements which reinforce the importance of good governance in managing strategic risks.
RSH found weaknesses in how the Community Housing Group and Richmond Housing Partnership are managing their strategic risks. Each landlord needs to improve their internal controls assurance so that consistent improvement is seen in outcomes for tenants. RSH has downgraded both landlords to a G2 grading for governance as a result.
RSH expects all housing associations and other private registered providers to have G1 governance grades. RSH continues to drive improvements in social landlords, with Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association and Watmos Community Housing upgraded to G1 following improvements in their governance.
Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said:
“We continue to take action on a wide range of issues when landlords fail to meet our standards.
“Our judgements show the importance of good governance in driving improvements for tenants and ensuring landlords are on top of their strategic risks. A clear theme is the need for accurate, up-to-date information about key risks – whether they are financial or relate to tenants’ health and safety.
“Through our regulation we will continue to support a sector that is well run and financially viable. This is the foundation for providing good-quality homes for tenants and building new homes for the future.”
RSH has also removed a previous regulatory notice for the London Borough of Croydon as the landlord has delivered the required improvements.
RSH has published 18 regulatory judgements in total today, following planned inspections and responsive engagement. The full details are provided in the table below along with links to each of the judgements.
Notes
Social landlordConsumer gradeGovernance gradeViability gradeProcess
Brentwood Borough Council C2–Inspection
Broadland Housing Association Limited C2G1V2Inspection
Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council C2–Inspection
Hastoe Housing Association Limited C2G1V2 (regrade from V1)Inspection
Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association Limited -G1 (upgrade from G2)V2 (based on previous assessment)Responsive engagement
London Borough of Tower Hamlets C3–Inspection
London Borough of Waltham Forest C2–Inspection
Mid Devon District Council —Responsive engagement (rent standard)
Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association Limited C1G1V2Inspection
Raven Housing Trust Limited C1G1V2Inspection
Reading Borough Council C3–Inspection
Richmond Housing Partnership Limited G2 (downgrade from G1)V1Responsive engagement
South Liverpool Homes Limited C1G1V1Inspection
St Mungo Community Housing Association C2G2V2Inspection
Teign Housing C2G1V2Inspection
The Community Housing Group C2G2 (downgrade from G1)V2Inspection
Watmos Community Homes C1G1 (upgrade from G2)V2Inspection
Winchester City Council C3–Responsive engagement
- RSH regulates housing associations and other private registered providers against its full set of standards. Councils are regulated against the consumer and rent standards only.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rsh-publishes-regulatory-judgements-for-18-social-landlords