Social housing regulator slams borough council over “unacceptable” breadth and scale of failings

A C4 grade means there are “very serious failings and fundamental changes are needed”.

During an inspection of Gosport, RSH found more than 900 overdue fire safety remedial actions (some overdue since 2012), over 300 overdue electrical safety checks and over 100 category 2 electrical safety remedial actions, some of which have been outstanding for up to seven years. 

The RSH also uncovered:

• a lack of accurate and up to date information on tenants’ homes, with a 20% sample of stock condition surveys last carried out in 2012
• no use of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to assess potential hazards in tenants’ homes
• no planned improvement programme in place since 2023
• serious failings in the council’s understanding of the diverse needs of its tenants
• a lack of assurance on the handling of complaints by its repairs contractor
• serious failings in how it works to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents.

The Regulator said: “While Gosport BC has demonstrated a willingness to resolve these issues, RSH found limited evidence that it fully understands the scale and breadth of the issues due to poor monitoring, and limited evidence that it has the capability to effectively address them.”

Gosport is just the fifth local authority to receive a C4 grade, after Arun District Council, Castle Point Borough Council, the London Borough of Newham and Tandridge District Council.

Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said: “The breadth and scale of the failings we identified at Gosport Borough Council are unacceptable and we will be engaging intensively with them as things are put right as soon as possible for tenants.

“Our inspection programme continues to root out issues and drive landlords to improve homes and services for tenants.”

A spokesperson for the local authority said: "Gosport Borough Council takes the regulator’s judgement extremely seriously. Our tenants deserve safe, well-maintained homes and high-quality services, and we are fully committed to taking necessary action.

“We continue to work constructively with the Regulator of Social Housing and improvements to the housing service are already being delivered, with 85% of tenants who took a council survey reporting that they are satisfied with the overall service provided.

“We recognise the need to further strengthen how we engage tenants in shaping the housing service, and we have engaged the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) to provide expert advice on how this can be improved."

Gosport told Local Government Lawyer that it is committed to making fundamental changes, admitting that its housing service faces long-standing issues.

“We are working closely with both the regulator and our residents to develop and implement a comprehensive improvement plan,” it said.

The council lists its priorities as:

• updating and improving the accuracy of information on the condition of tenants’ homes
• completing overdue safety checks and remedial actions, with clear timescales and regular reporting
• strengthening tenant engagement, ensuring residents have meaningful opportunities to influence services and hold the council to account
• improving transparency and communication, so tenants are kept informed about progress and what they can expect
• working in partnership with local agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and ensure neighbourhoods are safe and well-managed.

Harry Rodd