Four Kent councils hit with regulatory notices over safety issues

The RSH said that “no action was being taken to address unsatisfactory electrical installation condition reports, including the high-risk actions identified”, and that no action was being taken “to repair a significant number of faulty emergency lights”.

It also said that “little work [had] been undertaken to address a high number of legionella risk assessment recommendations”. And it found that lift faults had not been fixed for up to 18 months despite the lifts still being in use.

Stock-owning councils do not receive gradings from the RSH but must still comply with its consumer standards, including on health and safety matters.

The RSH wrote to all local authorities in May reminding them of their health and safety obligations after Arun and Gateshead councils breached the Home Standard.

Following an investigation, the RSH deemed the Kent councils to have breached the Home Standard on health and safety grounds, “taking into account the seriousness of the issues, and the duration for which tenants were potentially exposed to risk, and the number of tenants potentially affected”.

The RSH acknowledged that through EKH, the councils have put programmes in place to rectify the failings.

EKH was established in 2011 and is the only ALMO that manages homes on behalf of multiple councils.

An improvement plan for EKH prompted by concerns about its performance came into effect in April, and the councils are now considering the organisation’s future.

In a joint statement, Thanet, Dover, Canterbury and Folkestone & Hythe councils said: “When we discovered the extent of the health and safety compliance problems at EKH, we reported ourselves to the Regulator of Social Housing.

“We have co-operated fully with their investigation and kept them fully informed on the progress we have made. We will continue to do so.

“As each of these failings has emerged, our immediate priority has been the safety and welfare of those tenants affected and it continues to be so.

“We have taken direct action to work with EKH to put the problems right as quickly as possible and we are in the process of commissioning our own expert independent investigation into the issues.

“All four councils are exploring the future of EKH with a view to ensuring those living in our properties are kept safe and receive the best possible service.

“We appreciate the patience and understanding of our tenants and we are sorry for any extra worry the situation we have found ourselves in has caused.”

Deborah Upton, chief executive of EKH, said: “We would like to thank tenants for their patience and say sorry for any worries these issues have caused them.

“We are pleased to see that the auditors say they have seen evidence of significant improvements.

“Resident health and safety remains our top priority. The progress made reflects the efforts of EKH’s staff, and everyone is committed to completing the remaining work as quickly as possible.”

Update: at 12.07pm a comment from EKH was added to the story