Nearly a quarter of council’s homes fail Decent Homes Standard

According to its report, Lewisham Council received an overall satisfaction score of 55% from tenants, while satisfaction with its approach to complaints handling was 22%. 

Several circumstances can affect the scores, such as method collection and type of landlord – local authority or housing association – while urban landlords are likely to receive lower scores than their more rural counterparts.

The report comes after Lewisham Council was found to have failed to meet the RSH’s consumer standards because of fire safety actions.

The council self-referred to the English regulator in December 2023 after bringing its ALMO back under direct control as it had identified a failure to meet statutory health and safety requirements in some of its homes. 

The RSH then launched an investigation, which concluded there were a range of issues with the local authority’s homes and services.

At the time, Lewisham reported that more than 2,000 of its homes – or 17% – did not meet the DHS. However, the regulator said the council did not have complete data for its homes and was carrying out a stock survey so it could better understand the conditions.

Its annual report revealed a 7% increase on the figure to 24%. 

According to the Lewisham Council’s annual report: “We are carrying out a condition survey of all of our homes. As of the end of July 2024, we had surveyed 7,500 properties, over 50% of the total.”

The council said in a statement alongside the report that it shows a service “underperforming in a number of key areas”.

Will Cooper, cabinet member for better homes, neighbourhoods and homelessness at Lewisham Council, said: “It is an incredibly challenging time for the housing sector in Lewisham and across the country, with huge challenges when it comes to ensuring everyone has a safe and secure home. 

“Social housing is an integral part of making that a reality, I have never been more aware of our need to maintain our current council housing stock but invest in the new homes we so desperately need.

“Since referring ourselves to the regulator of social housing late last year when Lewisham Homes came back under control of the council, we have been as open and honest with residents as possible about the challenges we face and our path to making our services better. 

“This report is another step to show you the challenges, changes and where we still have a lot more work to do.”

In May, the regulator revealed that 39% of Birmingham City Council’s social homes do not meet the DHS.