Regulator of Social Housing publishes first C4 grading for London Borough of Newham

Further, 40% of the London Borough of Newham’s 16,000 homes had not had an electrical condition test for more than 11 years. There’s a lack of evidence that the London Borough is meeting the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements for any of its homes.

In addition, there’s a lack of accurate information on stock quality, with 60% of the London Borough of Newham’s homes without a survey within the last five years. At least 20% of its homes do not meet the requirements of the Decent Homes Standard.

On top of that, inspectors noted circa 5,400 open repairs, nearly half of which were overdue. Tenant Satisfaction Measure surveys have not been completed on time and there are “very limited meaningful opportunities” for tenants to influence and scrutinise the landlord’s strategies, policies and services.

Although the London Borough of Newham has indicated a willingness to address these issues, the Borough has failed to refer itself over key issues, while the Regulator of Social Housing has not yet seen sufficient evidence to assure itself of the London Borough’s ability to put matters right.

Unacceptable risk

Kate Dodsworth, chief of regulatory engagement at the Regulator of Social Housing, said: “The breadth and scale of these failings, including very serious Health and Safety-related issues, pose an unacceptable risk to tenants’ well-being. Taking accountability is a critical part of the co-regulatory approach and it’s extremely concerning that, despite the gravity of these failings, the landlord failed to refer itself to us over key issues.”

Dodsworth added: “We are now engaging intensively with the London Borough of Newham as it works to resolve these issues. While we are not proposing to use our enforcement powers at this stage, the situation will be kept under review.”

The Regulator of Social Housing has awarded 35 consumer grades since its new proactive consumer regime began in April, including nine C1 grades (the highest grade), 13 C2 grades, 12 C3 grades (of which ten were self-referrals) and one at the C4 level (ie the lowest grade).

The Regulator of Social Housing is carrying out planned inspections of all large social landlords (those with over 1,000 homes) over a four-year cycle. It has started to publish the outcomes of these first inspections and will continue to do so over the coming months.