Regulator of Social Housing determines that London borough is failing to meet consumer standards
The London Borough of Lewisham is not meeting the required outcomes of the consumer standards, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has found.
The RSH investigated the council after a self-referral to the regulator at the beginning of the year and concluded that there were a range of issues with its homes and services.
In a regulatory notice published on 26 March 2024, the Regulator found that while Lewisham had carried out fire risk assessments for all relevant blocks, more than 5,000 fire safety actions were overdue alongside a significant number of overdue repairs.
Between April and December 2023, nearly half of all repairs had not been completed on time. In addition, the council had not correctly assessed the severity of damp and mould cases.
Additionally, Lewisham has reported that more than 2,000 homes in the borough do not meet the Decent Homes Standard.
The council does not have complete data for its tenants’ homes and it is now carrying out a stock survey so it can better understand their condition, according to RSH.
Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said: “All social landlords need to provide good-quality homes and services for their tenants, underpinned by robust data. Lewisham Council has failed to do this.
“The council referred itself to us when it found problems and is engaging with us constructively to put things right for tenants. We will continue to scrutinise the council as it carries out this work.”
Accepting the Regulator’s findings, Lewisham acknowledged its underperformance and ongoing challenges in some areas of the service.
The council said: “We have already made progress in some areas, which the Regulator recognises in its notice. We will continue working with the Regulator until we have satisfied their concerns and achieved full compliance for our residents. The regulator is not taking statutory action at this stage.”
The London borough added that since taking over from Lewisham Homes in October, it had already taken steps to improve services.
“There have been persistent issues with some of our buildings," it said. "Many of our homes were built over 50 years ago and need substantial investment at a time when local councils – and other housing providers – are facing serious financial challenges. Our capital programme commits to £321m of investment in the stock over five years. Alongside this, we are making major investments to modernise our systems for managing and storing information.”
Lewisham said another major commitment was a condition survey of its housing stock. “The survey will help us to build a more accurate picture of their condition to plan our investment. It began in February 2024 and is scheduled to be complete by December 2024. The last such survey was undertaken five years ago.”
Harry Rodd
