Broxtowe Borough Council has failed to meet the outcomes in the consumer standards and has been given a C3 grading today (Wednesday 14 January) from the Regulator of Social Housing.
During an inspection of Broxtowe Borough Council, RSH found
- More than 3,000 overdue fire remedial actions.
- A lack of accurate and up to date information on tenants’ homes, including potential hazards.
- A lack of understanding of the diverse needs of all its tenants.
- Improvements were needed in its engagement with tenants.
Broxtowe BC has been engaging constructively and has demonstrated an understanding of the issues and a willingness to resolve them.
Manchester City Council received a C2 grading following an inspection, meaning there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed.
Manchester CC is implementing plans to address the weaknesses identified, including low tenant satisfaction with repairs and anti-social behaviour. Though it has achieved a good understanding of the condition of its homes and is dealing effectively with health and safety issues, there are some gaps in the information it holds for tenants.
RSH also published annual stability check outcomes for nine landlords. Following responsive engagement, Livin was regraded from V2 to V1, while Vico was regraded from V1 to V2. Together Housing was upgraded from C2 to C1.
The rest retained their previous governance and viability gradings.
Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said
“Our programme of inspections, which hits the halfway point of its four-year cycle in April, is continuing to identify gaps in landlords’ information on homes and tenants.
“Landlords can improve services for tenants by taking a proactive approach to tackling these gaps. Without accurate, up-to-date information, it is impossible to make the right decisions or demonstrate that homes are safe, warm and decent.”
Notes to editors
The full list of judgements published today is provided in the table below.
- On 1 April 2024 RSH introduced new consumer standards for social housing landlords, designed to drive long-term improvements in the sector. It also began a programme of landlord inspections. The changes are a result of the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and include stronger powers to hold landlords to account. More information about RSH’s approach is available in its document Reshaping Consumer Regulation.
- More information about RSH’s responsive engagement, programmed inspections and consumer gradings is also available on its website.
- RSH promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver more and better social homes. It does this by setting standards and carrying out robust regulation focusing on driving improvement in social landlords, including local authorities, and ensuring that housing associations are well-governed, financially viable and offer value for money. It takes appropriate action if the outcomes of the standards are not being delivered.
- RSH carries out stability checks on all housing associations, and other private registered providers, who own 1,000 homes or more. The stability checks are a yearly exercise. We look at the financial information PRPs have submitted to us (including their most recent business plan and annual accounts) and consider if there are any risks which might result in a change to their financial viability or governance gradings. The checks do not include local authorities because our Governance and Financial Viability Standard does not apply to them.
- RSH publishes gradings for consumer, governance and viability. Local authorities only receive consumer gradings.
| Grading | Description |
|---|---|
| C1 | Our judgement is that overall the landlord is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. The landlord has demonstrated that it identifies when issues occur and puts plans in place to remedy and minimise recurrence. |
| C2 | Our judgement is that there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed. |
| C3 | Our judgement is that there are serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed. |
| C4 | Our judgement is that there are very serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. The landlord must make fundamental changes so that improved outcomes are delivered. |
| Grading | Description |
|---|---|
| G1 | Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements. |
| G2 | Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements but needs to improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance. |
| G3 | Our judgement is that the landlord does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and in agreement with us the landlord is working to improve its position. |
| G4 | Our judgement is that the landlord does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern, and the landlord is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action. |
| Grading | Description |
|---|---|
| V1 | Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios. |
| V2 | Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance. |
| V3 | Our judgement is that the landlord does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and in agreement with us the landlord is working to improve its position. |
| V4 | Our judgement is that the landlord does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern, and the landlord is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action. |
For general enquiries email [email protected]. For media enquiries please see our Media Enquiries page.
