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London's Kingston upon Thames given C3 consumer grade over 'serious failings' in social housing
The Regulator of Social Housing published gradings today: the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in south-west London received a C3 grade for poor knowledge of its housing stock and weak complaints handling; the regulator will maintain intensive engagement.
Why it matters
A London borough has been formally judged to have serious failings in how it manages its social homes, a rating that affects thousands of tenants and will keep the regulator closely engaged until improvements are delivered.
The gradings
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) published regulatory judgements today (Oct 14), awarding C3 consumer grades — meaning serious failings requiring significant improvement — to the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in south-west London and Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council in West Yorkshire.
For Kingston upon Thames, the regulator found serious failings in the council's understanding of the condition of its homes: accurate, up-to-date information was unavailable for most properties, and only 15% of homes had been surveyed under a new stock condition programme. Weaknesses remain in oversight of remedial actions, communal repairs and complaints handling, and the council showed gaps in understanding tenants' diverse needs. The borough is meeting key health and safety legal requirements and has improved repairs performance.
Kirklees was found to hold up-to-date condition information for only around a quarter of tenants' homes, had a weak approach to tackling anti-social behaviour, and has around 2,500 outstanding fire safety remedial actions.
What happens next
Both landlords have recognised the issues and say they are taking action. The regulator said it will continue intensive engagement to seek assurance that improvements are delivered and risks to tenants are effectively managed.
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