Kirklees and Kingston upon Thames councils have been handed a C3 consumer grade by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) after inspectors found serious failings in how well they know their own homes.
Kirklees holds up-to-date condition information for only around a quarter of its tenants' homes, according to the RSH’s fingings. There are also weaknesses in its approach to anti-social behaviour, tenant scrutiny and complaint response times.
The regulator also found that around 2,500 fire safety remedial actions are still outstanding, although the council has made progress on damp and mould.
At Kingston, accurate information was unavailable for most properties, with just 15% surveyed under a new stock condition programme, according to the RSH.
The council is meeting key health and safety requirements and has improved repairs performance, but RSH found gaps in oversight of remedial actions, communal repairs and complaints handling.
Both landlords are working with the regulator to address the issues identified.
Angela Holden, RSH Director of Regulatory Engagement, said the regulator expects ‘swift and effective action’ where it finds serious failings.
