English regulator issues five C2 grades
The English regulator has handed C2 grades to five social landlords and the top C1 grades to three others.
Dacorum Borough Council’s The Forum building. The RSH found that Dacorum Borough Council has some gaps in its information, as more than 40 per cent of property records are not up to date (picture: Alamy)
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A C1 grading means that, overall, the landlord is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards.
Meanwhile, a C2 grading means that although the landlord is compliant with the standards, there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards, and it needs to make improvements.
In the latest batch of regulatory judgements from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), four councils were handed a C2 grade. These were Dacorum Borough Council, High Peak Borough Council, Melton Borough Council and North East Derbyshire District Council.
Private registered provider Cobalt Housing also received a C2 grade, and saw its viability rating drop from V1 to V2 while maintaining its G1 grade for governance.
Meanwhile, North Devon Homes, Saffron Housing Trust and Salix Homes all received the top C1 grades under the new consumer regulation, and retained their G1/V2 grades for governance and viability.
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C2 grades: Cobalt
The regulator said that Cobalt, which owns and manages around 6,000 general needs social homes, needs to improve in relation to outcomes under the Safety and Quality Standard.
The RSH said it found evidence of some weaknesses in the provision of the repairs and maintenance service to Cobalt’s tenants.
“Performance information, in combination with feedback and complaints from tenants, demonstrated that improvement is needed for Cobalt to evidence an effective, efficient and timely repairs and maintenance service,” the regulator said in its regulatory judgement.
“Cobalt is taking steps to manage repairs performance within the existing structure with plans for new arrangements to make the improvement Cobalt’s board has committed to. This will take time and through our ongoing engagement we will continue to seek assurance from Cobalt that progress is being made so that outcomes for tenants are improved.”
Cobalt’s viability grade was downgraded from V1 to V2. This was because the provider is increasing its investment in existing homes, while increasing its development programme, which means that the business plan will be funded by an increased level of debt and interest payments associated with that, the regulator said.
The RSH said: “As a result, the financial performance of the organisation will now be significantly reduced on an ongoing basis.
“In order to achieve the level of investment required, Cobalt has renegotiated its interest cover loan covenant to increase headroom, and we have been provided with evidence that its stress-testing demonstrates the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios.”
Dacorum Borough Council
In giving a C2 grade to Dacorum Borough Council, which owns and manages more than 10,000 homes, the RSH found that the local authority has some weaknesses, with improvement needed. These are specifically in relation to outcomes in the Safety and Quality Standard and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, the judgement said.
The regulator found that the council has some gaps in its information, as more than 40 per cent of property records are not up to date. It said that the council showed that work is under way to address this issue, with a “clear programme in place and sufficient resource” to carry out the necessary works.
Dacorum Borough Council also has “a number of homes” that are failing to meet the Decent Homes Standard. The regulator said that its inspection and engagement with the council and its tenants demonstrated that action is needed to ensure the landlord is delivering an effective, efficient and timely repairs and maintenance service.
The judgement added that Dacorum Borough Council has low levels of satisfaction with repairs but that the council recognises that it needs to improve in this area and is taking steps to address this weakness, with plans in place to improve tenant satisfaction.
North East Derbyshire District Council
The regulator gave a C2 grade to North East Derbyshire District Council, which owns around 7,500 social homes, after finding that it has some weaknesses in relation to outcomes in the Safety and Quality Standard.
The council does not currently have records at an individual property level of the condition of all its homes.
However, the regulator said that the landlord has provided evidence of its plans to ensure that it delivers this outcome and is monitoring the delivery of its ongoing stock condition survey programme.
The local authority also has a number of homes that are failing to meet the Decent Homes Standard and it has demonstrated that it has “sufficient resource” to carry out the necessary works, the regulator said.
High Peak Borough Council
Elsewhere, High Peak Borough Council, which owns and manages around 3,800 social homes, must improve specifically in relation to outcomes in the Safety and Quality Standard and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, the RSH found.
For example, a number of its homes are failing the Decent Homes Standard, and the provider has “limited meaningful opportunities” for its tenants to influence and scrutinise its strategies, policies and services, according to the C2 judgement.
Melton Borough Council
In addition, the regulator said that Melton Borough Council, which owns around 1,780 social homes, has some weaknesses related to its outcomes on the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.
“Melton BC demonstrates a commitment to treating tenants with fairness and respect,” the RSH said as it set out its C2 judgement on the provider.
“We identified that there is scope for it to develop a more reciprocal approach to engagement, supported by improved collection and use of tenant information, which will strengthen Melton BC’s ability to demonstrate outcomes for tenants.”
Unlike housing associations and for-profit providers, with more than 1,000 homes, councils do not receive ‘G’ or ‘V’ gradings because the regulator’s Governance and Financial Viability Standard does not apply to them.
Landlord responses
Cobalt Housing: G1/V2/C2
Claire Griffiths, chief executive of Cobalt Housing, said: “We are pleased to retain our G1 grading and meet the highest standards of governance, while the change to our viability grade reflects the significant investment we are making in our homes and communities.
“We welcome the new consumer standard rating as a positive change for the sector and were pleased to receive positive feedback in a number of areas including our customer voice strategy and our customer involvement methods.
“We are focused on working with tenants to improve our services, including our repairs, and will take on board all guidance from the regulator.”
Dacorum Borough Council: C2
A spokesperson from Dacorum Borough Council said: “This is a great result for our first regulatory judgement, especially given how recently the regulator introduced the inspection regime to local authorities.
“We are pleased that the regulator’s findings recognise that we have appropriate systems in place to ensure the health and safety of our tenants, and that outcomes across all areas of health and safety compliance are good.
“We are looking forward to working with the regulator, our tenants and partners to demonstrate how we have made changes in the areas where the need for improvement has been highlighted, together with continuing to develop and enhance the housing service overall.”
High Peak Borough Council: C2
Anthony McKeown, leader of High Peak Borough Council, said: “This is a fantastic result for our first grading, especially given how recently the regulator introduced the inspection regime to councils.
“It’s reassuring that the investments we have been making to improve the quality and safety of homes, together with the improvements to our repairs service through the creation of Alliance Norse, has been recognised by the regulator.
“We are looking forward to working with the regulator, our tenants and partners to demonstrate how we have made changes in areas where further improvements have been highlighted, along with continuing to improve and develop the service overall.”
Melton Borough Council: C2
Pip Allnatt, leader of Melton Borough Council, said: “We are pleased with the outcome of this process, and that our commitment to housing improvement and the hard work from members and officers over a number of years has been recognised through this regulatory judgement.
“We recognise that there is more work to be done and reassuringly we were already working on the improvement areas identified prior to the inspection commencing.
“With our strong track record of improvement, we are confident of further progress and remain fully committed to delivering the best possible outcomes for our tenants.”
North East Derbyshire District Council: C2
Lorraine Shaw, managing director of Rykneld Homes, North East Derbyshire District Council’s registered social housing provider, said: “The RSH grade and inspection report reflect the determination and dedication of our teams to ensure all of our tenants live in safe, decent homes and feel heard and supported.
“We are proud of our partnership with North East Derbyshire District Council and together we are working with the RSH on making the improvements suggested by inspectors – many of which we had already started prior to the inspection – to further demonstrate our commitment to customers.”
North Devon Homes: G1/V2/C1
Martyn Gimber, chief executive of North Devon Homes, said: “I am delighted that North Devon Homes has achieved such a great result under the new consumer regulations by the Regulator of Social Housing, with ratings of G1, V2 and C1. These represent a fantastic achievement for everyone at Team NDH.
“This inspection and grading acknowledge the many years we have invested in fostering meaningful customer engagement, embedding a customer culture, and empowering our customers to influence and shape the way we deliver our services.
“This recognition underscores our commitment to excellence and continuous improvement in all that we do.”
Saffron Housing Trust: G1/V2/C1
James Francis, chief executive of Saffron Housing Trust, said: “We are really pleased to have achieved these grades, which reflect our progress and plans to provide the best possible homes and services while maintaining the long-term financial health of the organisation.
“We also know that we need to maintain this high standard and in fact work even harder towards our mission that every tenant deserves the best possible home and service.
“We would like to thank everyone that has helped us achieve this milestone as we strive to continually improve on the services we deliver.”
Salix Homes: G1/V2/C1
Sue Sutton, chief executive of Salix Homes, said: “This is a really positive outcome for Salix Homes and we’re very proud to be amongst the first housing associations to have achieved the highest possible C1 grading under the new consumer standards, which reflects our ongoing commitment to putting customers at the heart of our organisation.
“This achievement is testament to the dedication and hard work of our workforce, board and customer committee. It also underpins our collective efforts to ensure that our homes are safe and well-maintained, our customers are listened to and respected, and that our services are responsive and effective.”
Ms Sutton added: “Retaining our G1 and V2 gradings also highlights our dedication to strong governance and financial stability. These gradings assure our customers, colleagues and stakeholders that we are managing our resources wisely and are well-positioned to continue providing high-quality homes and services.
“While we are proud of this recognition, we are not complacent. We’re committed to continuous improvement, and we will carry on learning from customer feedback to ensure we can keep delivering a housing service in Salford we’re all proud to be a part of.”
The other landlords were contacted for comment.
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