London council self-refers to regulator as more than 2,000 homes not ‘decent’

The council said that there have been “persistent issues” with some buildings and that many of its homes are more than 50 years old. It is committed to £321m of investment in its stock over the next five years, the council said. 

It comes after the authority took back responsibility for the properties from its ALMO Lewisham Homes in October this year. Lewisham Homes had been operating since 2007. 

In total the council is now responsible for around 19,000 properties, which includes leasehold homes.

Its statement on its social housing portfolio said: “Having reviewed housing services, we have established that although many of the homes we manage are in good condition, some are not.”

The council added: “We are specifically asking the regulator to examine whether we are providing Decent Homes, running an efficient repairs service, and completing fire safety actions within acceptable timescales.”

At its current rate of progress, the council said that by 2027 around 31 per cent of the homes would not meet the Decent Homes Standard. 

As a result, the authority said it is currently reviewing its 2024-25 capital programme to ensure it brings “all possible homes” up to the standard.

The council said it was also aware that its repairs service is “too often difficult to access” and that many residents are unhappy with service levels. 

“We are determined to make improvements and tackle these issues,” the council’s statement said.

It reported that between April and October this year, only 31 per cent of repairs were completed on time, against a target of 90 per cent.

Just over half (56 per cent) of non-emergency repairs were completed in time against a target of 85 per cent, the council said. 

“We are working to urgently address this and have set up a transformation board to address long-standing issues and support our staff with the processes they need to help them do their jobs,” the statement said. 

The council is currently recruiting for a head of repairs, with the full-time role offering an annual salary of up to £81,411. 

A Regulator of Social Housing spokesperson told Social Housing: “We confirm that we have received a self-referral from Lewisham Council and we are following this up in line with our normal processes.”

In February, the council revealed that it had a “serious budget gap” which it blamed on “years of government underfunding and the shock of COVID-19”.