Housing regulator exposes failings in 18 social landlords

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has unveiled a series of regulatory judgements, highlighting huge shortcomings in 18 social landlords.

Following rigorous inspections and ongoing monitoring, the findings highlight critical lapses in consumer standards, governance and financial management, affecting thousands of tenants.

Three local authorities – London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Reading Borough Council and Winchester City Council – have been flagged for serious deficiencies, each receiving a C3 grade, indicating urgent need for improvement.

When social landlords fail

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.”

She added: “Through our regulation we will continue to support a sector that is well run and financially viable.”

The councils affected

In Tower Hamlets, only 47% of properties have been surveyed in the past five years, leaving the council with inadequate knowledge of its housing stock. Approximately 23% of its 11,000 homes fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard. Moreover, the borough faces a backlog of 2,500 overdue fire safety measures, 1,400 communal electrical safety actions and 750 water safety tasks.

Reading Borough Council has struggled to deliver timely repairs, with 1,600 outstanding jobs at the time of inspection. Like Tower Hamlets, it has surveyed only half of its tenants’ homes in the last five years. The council also fell short in providing tenants with robust opportunities to review its performance or access a fair complaints process.

Winchester City Council‘s data on tenants’ homes is severely outdated, with its last comprehensive stock condition survey conducted over a decade ago. The council cannot confirm compliance with essential health and safety checks, including fire, electrical and water safety, and has failed to ensure tenants receive accessible information.

RSH says it will maintain close oversight as these councils implement improvement plans to address these failings and prioritise tenant welfare.

Other councils criticised

Following a self-referral, Mid Devon District Council admitted to significant rent miscalculations, overcharging 1,200 tenants and undercharging 1,600 others.

This breach of the rent standard has prompted an ongoing investigation, with the council committed to determining appropriate refunds for affected tenants.

The RSH also identified governance weaknesses in two housing associations: Community Housing Group and Richmond Housing Partnership.

Both organisations have been downgraded to a G2 governance rating due to inadequate management of strategic risks and insufficient internal controls.

Conversely, Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association and Watmos Community Housing have earned upgrades to a G1 governance rating, reflecting strengthened leadership and improved tenant services.