London borough latest to receive “serious failings” grade after self-referral to Regulator of Social Housing

The London Borough of Brent has failed to meet the outcomes in the consumer standards and has been given a C3 grading from the Regulator of Social Housing after referring itself over the quality and accuracy of its fire safety data.

The council found that evidence of having completed actions as a result of fire risk assessments was not available in all instances and that some measures had not been completed at all. 

RSH’s engagement with the council also found:

• data for fire safety, smoke and carbon monoxide safety, asbestos management and water safety could not be reconciled;
• concerns about the data validation process that took place prior to Brent implementing a new asset management system;
• although Brent is reporting that it has 95% of its stock condition data, almost half of its homes have not had a recorded survey.

Brent is the 26th council, and the 30th housing provider in general, to receive a subpar C3 or C4 grade from the Regulator.

Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said: “Accurate, up-to-date data is fundamental to landlords delivering safe, decent homes for tenants. LB Brent has engaged positively with us since their self-referral and we will continue to work closely with them as they put things right for tenants."

Cllr Fleur Donnelly-Jackson, Cabinet Member for Housing and Resident Services, said: “We take our responsibilities as a landlord very seriously and the council accepts that we have let tenants down in the areas outlined by the Regulator and for this we apologise unreservedly. In this instance, we have fallen short of our responsibilities as a landlord and failed to meet the expectations of our tenants.

“The council is determined to improve the quality of council homes. We have made real progress in recent months – from launching a new damp and mould squad to action days where teams blitz through repairs that are needed on council estates - but we know there is still much more to do."

She added: "We will continue to work proactively, positively and in an open and transparent way with our residents and with the Regulator to fix the issues identified. Council tenants are at the heart of this improvement work through the new Housing Management Advisory Board. By listening to their experiences and ideas, we can make better decisions and build a housing service that residents can trust.”

In the same round of gradings, Metropolitan Housing Trust received a C2 grade and Mosscare St Vincent's Housing Group was upgraded from C2 to C1 following responsive engagement.

Harry Rodd