The London Borough of Islington has been given a C3 grade, after the Regulator of Social Housing found serious failings when inspecting the council.
RSH found that the London Borough of Islington
- Does not have an accurate understanding of tenants’ homes – with most surveys carried out over 10 years ago without a formal Housing Health and Safety Rating System assessment – and cannot provide assurance that they meet the Decent Homes Standard
- Gave limited assurance on the accuracy of health and safety compliance data
- Had over 1,000 overdue lift remedial actions, which the council reported did not pose critical safety risks and did not require the lifts to be closed.
The council demonstrated that it treats tenants with fairness and respect, and uses their insight to shape services. But further work is needed to strengthen and close gaps on the information it holds for its tenants.
The London Borough of Islington has been engaging constructively with RSH, understands the issues and is taking action to address them.
Two councils – the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council – were given C1 grades. This means they are delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards overall.
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has an accurate record of the condition of tenants’ homes, with a clear plan to complete all surveys by June 2026. 99% of homes meet the Decent Homes Standard and councillors have oversight of health and safety performance, with outcomes reported across the main areas of compliance.
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council also has an accurate understanding of most homes. To achieve a full understanding, it is actively focusing on homes that it has not been able to access. The council reported that 99% of homes meet the Decent Homes Standard, and it is taking all reasonable steps to comply with legal health and safety requirements. The council is responsible for a number of tall buildings, and all have an up-to-date fire risk assessment, with remedial work in progress and mitigations in place where needed.
Housing associations Housing 21 and Golden Lane Housing Limited received G1, V1 and C1 grades. As well as meeting the outcomes of the consumer standards, they also demonstrated that they are well run and meet RSH’s governance requirements, and have the financial capacity to deal with a range of adverse scenarios.
Salford City Council and Milton Keynes City Council received C2 grades, meaning there are some weaknesses and improvements are needed. Both have engaged constructively with RSH and demonstrated that they understand the issues and are already taking action to address them.
In addition, RSH added GreenSquareAccord to the gradings under review list. This is while RSH investigates matters which may indicate serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.
Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said
“All social landlords should aim for a C1 grade as the minimum standard. To do this they need to understand the condition of tenants’ homes and act on this to find and fix problems, and tackle the root cause. They also need to listen to tenants, treat them with fairness and respect, and use feedback to shape services. Landlords with a C1 grade still have room to improve, but they will have plans to deliver it.
“When we find weaknesses or serious failures through our inspections or referrals, we work with landlords to make sure they improve for the long term.”
Notes to editors
The full table of judgements is below
| Landlord | Landlord Type | Consumer grade | Consumer Grade Change | Consumer Grade Date | Governance Grade | Governance Grade Change | Governance Date | Viability Grade | Viability Grade Change | Viability Grade Date | Engagement Process |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Lane Housing Limited | Private Registered Provider | C1 | First grading | May 2026 | G1 | Assessed and unchanged | May 2026 | V1 | Assessed and unchanged | May 2026 | Inspection |
| Housing 21 | Private Registered Provider | C1 | Upgrade | May 2026 | G1 | Based on previous assessment | December 2025 | V1 | Based on previous assessment | December 2025 | Responsive Engagement |
| London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham | Local Authority | C1 | First grading | May 2026 | – | – | – | – | – | – | Inspection |
| London Borough of Islington | Local Authority | C3 | First grading | May 2026 | – | – | – | – | – | – | Inspection |
| Milton Keynes City Council | Local Authority | C2 | First grading | May 2026 | – | – | – | – | – | – | Inspection |
| Paradigm Housing Group Limited | Private Registered Provider | – | Not assessed yet | – | G1 | Interim Grading | May 2026 | V2 | Interim Grading | May 2026 | Responsive Engagement |
| Salford City Council | Local Authority | C2 | First grading | May 2026 | – | – | – | – | – | – | Inspection |
| Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council | Local Authority | C1 | First grading | May 2026 | – | – | – | – | – | – | Inspection |
- RSH has also published an interim regulatory judgement for SettleParadigm to confirm a governance grade of G1 and a financial viability grade of V2. Paradigm Housing Group Limited (Paradigm) merged with Settle Group on 27 October 2025, with Settle Group becoming a subsidiary of Paradigm. The new merged group trades as SettleParadigm.
- On 1 April 2024 RSH introduced revised 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.
- See responsive engagement, programmed inspections and consumer gradings for more information.
- 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 publishes gradings for consumer, governance and viability. Local authorities only receive consumer gradings. More information can be found on our How we approach regulatory judgements and gradings page.
- For media enquiries please contact [email protected] or [email protected]. For general enquiries email [email protected].