Four local authorities have been criticised for failing to meet the Regulator of Social Housing’s (RSH) new consumer standards.

Following an investigation by the RSH, Bristol City Council failed to provide evidence that it is meeting carbon monoxide safety requirements for over 22,000 out of 26,700 homes.

Guildford Borough Council also has around 1,700 out of 5,200 homes without an up-to-date electrical condition report and it could not provide the RSH with evidence that it has completed around 1,300 fire safety actions.

The RSH also found that Sheffield City Council had around 10,000 outstanding repairs across its 38,500 homes and, between January and April 2024, more than 90% of disrepair cases were outstanding for extended periods.

Cambridge City Council has overcharged around 3,600 tenants as a result of rent-setting errors over a prolonged period, according to the RSH’s investigation. The overcharge is estimated to be around £3.2m.

The councils have each been given a C3 grading by the regulator, which means there are serious failings and they need to make significant improvements.

All of the landlords are working to address these issues, according to the RSH.

Kate Dodsworth, chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said: ‘Landlords must provide safe and decent homes for tenants, have an effective complaints process, and put things right when there are problems. The judgements we published today show that each of these landlords have issues which they need to address promptly.

‘All landlords need to make sure they deliver the outcomes in our standards and inform us when there are material issues. Our new approach to regulation, which started in April, gives us new tools to scrutinise landlords’ performance and, where there are issues, drive them to deliver long-term improvements for the benefit of tenants.’

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