South Coast council becomes seventh local authority to secure top grade from Regulator for Social Housing

RSH said BCP is making effective use of its systems to identify and address potential issues and areas for improvement.

This is the first time the Regulator has issued a consumer grade for BCP, which becomes the seventh local authority to receive the highest grade.

Cheshire Peaks & Plains Housing Trust also received a C1 grade in the latest round of investigations, while the City of Wolverhampton Council and St Albans City and District Council both received C2 gradings.

Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement, said: “While it is encouraging to see more landlords achieve C1 gradings as our regulation drives improvements across the sector, there is nevertheless no room for complacency – even for those landlords that receive the highest grades. We will continue to root out issues through our inspections, stability checks and other regulatory tools. 

“Social landlords are facing intensifying risks so good governance remains more important than ever. Weaknesses in governance can undermine a landlord’s ability  to maintain financial viability or to provide good homes and services to tenants. 

“We will continue to engage constructively with these landlords where there are issues to ensure things are put right promptly.”

Cllr Kieron Wilson, BCP Council’s Cabinet Member responsible for housing and regulatory services, said: “Our priority is to provide quality homes for our residents – not simply bricks and mortar. We are incredibly proud of this grading outcome, especially in the context that only six other councils have achieved a C1. Which is testament to the hard-working team we have at BCP Homes who are genuinely passionate and work so hard every day to make sure our tenants receive a high level of service.

“We are always striving to be a council and landlord who listens, learns and improves. Residents’ voices are at the heart of everything we do, and tenants have worked proactively with us to help shape the housing management services we provide today.

“This is of course a huge achievement; however, this should be seen as a very important milestone on a journey to deliver even more for our residents. We always want to go further and provide the best service we possibly can.”

Harry Rodd