Three landlords fail consumer standards for uncollected TSMs, fire safety issues and inaccurate stock data

Dave Blackwell, Castle Point council leader, said: “The council has accepted the findings of the regulator in the regulatory judgment, which have arisen from the delay in the submission of the TSM data in time for 2023/24.

“We would like to apologise to our residents for this error. The council will continue to work with its tenants, the Regulator and our partners to provide the best housing service possible."

North Yorkshire self-referred to the RSH after identifying a range of issues. These included a lack of accurate or up-to-date understanding of the condition of tenants’ homes.

In addition, the council reported that around half of its tenants’ homes do not have an up-to-date electrical condition report. This is because fire safety information is held across different systems, making it difficult to identify overdue and outstanding actions.

There was also a lack of information on water hygiene and asbestos. 

Nic Harne, corporate director for community development at North Yorkshire, said: “Our improvement plan gives us the chance to provide the best services and quality of housing for our residents, and a unified housing service for our tenants. 

“We have fully restructured the service and have improvement plans in place. The safety and quality of our homes is our priority, and we encourage any tenants with concerns about their homes to contact us directly.”

Warwick also self-referred after it found more than 1,600 overdue fire safety action that the RSH said “it must address promptly”.

The council can not evidence that it is meeting legal requirements for carbon monoxide safety and has not carried out a full stock condition survey since 2016.

Surveys have now restarted, but the council has identified inaccuracies in the new data. The RSH’s investigation found that the council did not have adequate systems in place to deliver an efficient repairs service for tenants, and it was not recording or responding to complaints effectively.

Helen Adkins, portfolio holder for housing and assets, said: “We are working at pace to improve systems and processes for the delivery and oversight of health and safety requirements and repairs. We have commissioned a full housing condition survey and will improve our complaints handling resources and processes. 

“Our priority is to ensure that risks to tenants are adequately managed and mitigated. I am confident that officers will continue to be proactive in driving through the necessary measures and processes to deliver the change required and reassure our customers that safety and property compliance is a core strategic priority for the council at the heart of our housing service.”

The regulator said that all three councils “are engaging constructively” to address the issues highlighted in these cases. 

Kate Dodsworth, chief of regulatory engagement at the RSH, said: “It is the responsibility of the landlord to take a proactive approach to providing safe and decent homes for tenants. Health and safety must be a top priority and keeping up-to-date, accurate data is a key part of this. 

“We are working constructively with all three local authorities as they put things right for their tenants. All landlords should refer themselves to us if they are not meeting the outcomes of our standards, rather than wait for an inspection. 

“This allows issues to be identified – and resolved – promptly. They must also ensure they collect TSMs, which gives tenants the information they need to scrutinise their landlord.”

It comes as an analysis by Housemark of the first grades for the consumer standards has found “significant challenges” in the social housing sector, including problems with record-keeping and safety compliance.