Tandridge becomes latest council to be issued lowest possible grade by housing regulator

During an inspection, the Regulator found that the council:

had more than 1,000 overdue fire risk assessment remedial actions
had nearly 400 homes without an electrical safety condition check
does not hold records from when stock condition surveys were last undertaken in 2016
had significant issues with the quality and accuracy of the repairs performance information
does not have an accurate understanding of the diverse needs of its tenants and could not evidence that its services are accessible
could not provide sufficient evidence that it was working to deter and tackle hate incidents in its neighbourhoods.

According to RSH, the council has been “engaging constructively” and self-referred the electrical safety issue to the regulator before the inspection.

RSH said: “[The council] has made progress in addressing the outstanding checks, but further work is required by Tandridge DC to ensure that it holds accurate information.”

On 1 April 2024, RSH introduced new consumer standards for social housing landlords, designed to drive long-term improvements in the sector. The changes are a result of the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and include stronger powers to hold landlords to account.

Over a four-year cycle, RSH is carrying out planned inspections of all large social landlords (those with 1,000 homes or more).

Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said: “We cannot accept tenants’ safety and wellbeing being put at risk and we will be engaging intensively with the council as it puts things right.

“We expect the council to urgently develop a comprehensive improvement plan that recognises the scale and breadth of the issues, and that drives fundamental change across all the areas identified. This should be shared with tenants.

“Landlords must continue to self-refer if they find a material issue.”

In a statement, the council said it accepted the grading issued by the Regulator, and that it has already taken the following actions:

setting up an improvement team to develop and deliver an improvement plan
reviewing compliance, systems and data and commissioning support to make improvements
commissioning a stock condition survey
taking a more proactive approach to responsive repairs
reviewing performance indicators and tenant satisfaction measures
commissioning an independent assessment of contractors’ work
identifying more training and development for staff
improving complaint handling
increasing tenant engagement.

Cllr Jeremy Pursehouse, Chairman of the Housing Committee at Tandridge District Council, said: “We are disappointed to have been given this grading, but accept the findings. We identified some areas for improvement before the inspection, but are developing a more detailed improvement plan. Our housing service is already working hard to deliver the actions and I continue to have the utmost faith in our officers.

“I would like to reassure our tenants their safety and the quality of their home is our priority and we will be working hard to ensure we have the right policies and procedures in place.”

The other councils to be given a C4 grading are Arun District Council, the London Borough of Newham and Castle Point Borough Council.

Lottie Winson