Canterbury City Council has been handed a C3 grading from the Regulator of Social Housing for failing to meet consumer standards.
An inspection of the council by the RHS found serious failings in its completion of health and safety remedial works, and gaps in the data it holds on its homes, with just 27.5% of homes surveyed so far.
The report also found no current adaptations policy in place to meet tenants’ needs, with a number of adaptations works incomplete.
The RSH flagged that the council had weaknesses in the reporting and monitoring of anti-social behaviour, while the report also found delays in responding to tenants’ complaints and in the oversight of complaints made directly to contractors by tenants.
The RSH also published regulatory judgements for Cambridge City Council and Trident Housing Association, after both landlords addressed previous issues relating to the rent standard.
Cambridge CC has put arrangements in place to refund impacted tenants, following a judgement from July 2024. It has strengthened its approach to rent setting, acting on third-party advice as well as undertaking internal audits to ensure that its data is accurate.
Following a judgement from December 2024, Trident has also begun to refund affected tenants and has strengthened its internal controls and assurance to its board to prevent recurrence.
Trident was also upgraded to G1, meaning the landlord now meets the RSH’s governance requirements. Its viability grading remained unchanged at V2.
Cambridge and Trident, alongside Lewes and Eastbourne councils, all received C2 gradings following planned inspections, meaning there are some weaknesses in their delivery of the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed.
Angela Holden, director of regulatory engagement at the Regulator of Social Housing at RSH, said: “We will continue to engage with Canterbury City Council as it works to address these issues, including taking steps to mitigate risks to tenants as it delivers its improvement plan.”
“As we approach the halfway mark of our new inspection programme, we will continue to hold landlords to account, ensuring they are meeting the outcomes of our standards and providing safe, decent homes for tenants.”
Source: Showhouse
