“The council referred itself to us when it found problems and is engaging with us constructively to put things right for tenants. “We will continue to scrutinise the council as it carries out this work” – Regulator of Social Housing
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Lewisham council are not meeting existing consumer standards on housing, says a Government regulator.
The Regulator of Social Housing’s announcement today (Wednesday) comes in the wake of the council taking back ‘in house’ more than 13,500 properties from Lewisham Homes last October.
In December the council made a ‘self-referral’ about itself to the Regulator.
The RSH investigation has concluded there were a range of issues with its homes and services. The Regulator says:
- Although the council have carried out fire risk assessments for all relevant blocks more than 5,000 fire safety actions were overdue.
- The council also had a significant number of overdue repairs. Between April and December 2023, nearly half of all repairs had not been completed on time.
- In addition, the council had not correctly assessed the severity of reports of damp and mould.
- The council have reported that more than 2,000 homes do not meet the Decent Homes Standard. It does not have complete data for its tenants’ homes and it is now carrying out a stock survey so it can better understand their condition.
Following RSH’s investigation, the council have put an action plan in place to address these issues, adds an RSH statement.
Lewisham council, in a (lengthy) separate press release which includes several questions and answers (and how to complain to the Regulator) say that in addition to having all fire risk assessments up to date, compliance with other key assessments is high:
- Gas safety checks: 99.9 per cent
- Asbestos surveys: 100 pc
- Legionella risk assessments: 100 pc
- Lift safety inspections: 92.4 pc
- Electrical safety certificates: 99.5 pc
- Communal electrical safety certificates: 100 pc
- Smoke detectors (annual check): 99.9 pc
Chief of regulatory engagement at RSH Kate Dodsworth says: “The council referred itself to us when it found problems and is engaging with us constructively to put things right for tenants. “We will continue to scrutinise the council as it carries out this work.
“All social landlords need to provide good-quality homes and services for their tenants, underpinned by robust data. “Lewisham council have failed to do this.”
The Lewisham council statement begins: “In December 2023, we took the decision to refer ourselves to the government’s Regulator of Social Housing for a potential breach of its consumer standards.
“We specifically asked the Regulator to examine whether we are providing decent homes, running an efficient repairs service, and completing fire safety actions within acceptable timescales.
“The Regulator has now reached its conclusions and published a Regulatory Notice, where it confirms our concerns and details its findings, along with recommendations for which areas are most urgent to address.
“The aim of bringing the management of housing back into the council is to improve it for residents by providing a more joined-up service, linking housing and other council services that residents rely on.
“We want to start this new era with openness and transparency so that our residents are aware of our challenges and what we are doing to overcome them.
“Having reviewed housing services, we established that although many of the homes we manage are in good condition, some are not. “We are also aware that our repairs service is too often difficult to access, and many of our residents are not satisfied with the level of service they receive.
“We accept the Housing Regulator’s findings and acknowledge our underperformance and ongoing challenges in some areas of the service.
“We have already made progress in some areas, which the Regulator recognises in its notice. “We will continue working with the Regulator until we have satisfied their concerns and achieved full compliance for our residents. “The regulator is not taking statutory action at this stage.”
Notes to editors
- This regulatory notice is published in relation to RSH’s existing consumer standards. From April 1st 2024, RSH will introduce new consumer standards that apply to all social landlords. It will inspect larger landlords, including councils and housing associations, to check they are meeting these standards. This is a result of the landmark Social Housing Regulation Act that gives RSH a wider remit and powers to hold landlords to account. More information is available in Reshaping consumer regulation: our new approach.
- RSH promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver more and better social homes. It does this by undertaking robust economic regulation focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer. It also sets consumer standards and may take action if the outcomes of the standards are not being delivered.
Sources:
The council are not meeting the required outcomes of RSH’s consumer standards. (news and communications.gov.uk)
The Regulator of Social Housing’s view of how well London Borough of Lewisham is meeting regulatory standards.
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