The Regulator of Social Housing has today (Wednesday 17 December) issued a C4 consumer grading to Gosport Borough Council, meaning there are very serious failings and fundamental changes are needed.
During an inspection of the council, RSH found
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Over 900 overdue fire safety remedial actions, with some that have been overdue since 2012.
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Over 300 overdue electrical safety checks and over 100 category 2 electrical safety remedial actions, some of which have been outstanding for up to 7 years.
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A lack of accurate and up to date information on tenants’ homes, with a 20% sample of stock condition surveys last carried out in 2012. A third of its properties have no survey on record.
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It has not used the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to assess potential hazards in tenants’ homes.
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No planned improvement programme in place since 2023.
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Serious failings in the council’s understanding of the diverse needs of its tenants.
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A lack of assurance on the handling of complaints by its repairs contractor.
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Serious failings in how it works to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents.
While Gosport BC has demonstrated a willingness to resolve these issues, RSH found limited evidence that it fully understands the scale and breadth of the issues due to poor monitoring, and limited evidence that it has the capability to effectively address them.
Separately, Great Places had its consumer grading upgraded to C1, after it addressed weaknesses in its oversight of health and safety risks and improved its understanding of the condition of its homes.
Great Places also made changes to the way tenants can engage with the repairs service, having identified that this was a significant cause of complaints.
Sparrow Shared Ownership Limited received C1/G1/V1* gradings following an inspection.
Regulatory notices were removed for the Eldonian Community Based Housing Association , Haringey Council and the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, after RSH concluded that all three landlords had addressed the issues previously identified.
RSH also published annual stability check outcomes for 52 landlords.
Aster Group Limited, Castles & Coasts Housing Association Limited, Industrial Dwellings Society (1885) Limited and Soha Housing Limited were regraded from V1 to V2, while Prima Housing Group Limited was regraded from V2 to V1.
The rest retained their current governance and viability gradings.
Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said
“The breadth and scale of the failings we identified at Gosport Borough Council are unacceptable and we will be engaging intensively with them as things are put right as soon as possible for tenants.
“Our inspection programme continues to root out issues and drive landlords to improve homes and services for tenants.”
Notes to editors
Links to all the regulatory judgements published today are in the table below
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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.
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More information about RSH’s responsive engagement, programmed inspections and consumer gradings is also available on its website.
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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.
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We use an asterisk with a for-profit landlord’s grade (for example, G1, V1, C2*) to make it clear that the assessment refers to a landlord that is designated on the register as being for-profit.
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For general enquiries email [email protected]. For media enquiries please see our Media Enquiries page.