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Two landlords fail to meet consumer standards, while Yorkshire council gets top grade

News01 Nov 2024Michael Lloyd

Two landlords have become the latest providers to fail to meet the English regulator’s new consumer standards, while a Yorkshire council has become the first local authority to get the top grade.

Kate Dodsworth at the RSH said, “Without accurate information on homes, it is nearly impossible to… provide safe, decent places to live for tenants” (photography: Belinda Lawley)

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Two social landlords have received C3 grades while the regulator has given its first C1 rating to a local authority #UKhousing #SocialHousingFinance

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and Willow Tree Housing Partnership were both given a C3 grade by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).

The landlords have “failed to meet the new consumer standards” and will need to make “significant improvements”, the RSH said.

Willow Tree also received its first grades of G2/V2 since it was formed when South Western Housing Society and Tamar Housing Society merged on 31 March 2023.

In the latest batch of judgements, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council was also handed a C1 grade, making it the first local authority to receive the grade.

Elsewhere, Broadacres Housing Association was downgraded from G1 to G2. The landlord, which owns and manages around 6,900 homes in Yorkshire and County Durham, retained its V2 grade and received a C2 grade – its first rating under the new consumer regulation.

Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT), Lincolnshire Housing Partnership (LHP) and the Industrial Dwellings Society (IDS) all received C2 grades. JRHT and LHP retained their G2/V1 ratings, while IDS maintained its G2/V2 grades.

The regulator also said that JRHT has not yet addressed the issues in a regulatory notice from October last year relating to rent setting.

Kate Dodsworth, chief of regulatory engagement at the RSH, said: “Improving data management can help address the root cause of many of the issues we see. Without accurate, up-to-date information on homes, it is nearly impossible to deliver the outcomes of our standards and provide safe, decent places to live for tenants.

“Today’s judgements reflect the range of grades we are seeing across the spectrum in the early days of our new consumer remit. We are working intensively with each of the landlords where there are failings, as they put things right for their tenants.

“Even when a landlord has been awarded a C1 grading, there is always room for improvement.

“Our governance and financial viability standards remain as important as ever. Landlords need to keep a tight grip on identifying and mitigating risks to avoid problems now and later down the line.”

“Given the absence of up-to-date stock condition survey data and taking into account the limited sample of stock condition surveys undertaken to date, Sandwell MBC has been unable to provide evidence that it has a sufficient understanding of its homes to deliver the outcomes in the Safety and Quality Standard and we cannot be assured that Sandwell MBC is providing homes of decent quality to its tenants,” the regulatory judgement said.

On Willow Tree, the RSH’s judgement was in response to an inspection and also responsive engagement with the landlord when it made a self-referral in February on issues relating to rent-setting.

The regulator said the landlord, which manages around 1,500 homes across the South West of England, had up-to-date stock condition survey information in place for relatively few of its homes.

The scope of the surveys did not specifically provide assurance in relation to the Decent Homes Standard, the RSH said.

As a result, this represented a “serious failing” in delivering the required outcomes of the Safety and Quality Standard, the judgement said.

“The inspection also identified weaknesses in how information on damp and mould is reported to the board, with improvements required to facilitate more proactive identification and management of damp and mould issues,” the RSH said.

The regulator also found evidence of weaknesses in the provision of an effective, efficient and timely repairs service and evidence of weaknesses across several areas of the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.

These included tenants having limited information on service performance, which could impact the opportunities to hold their landlord to account, and the landlord not yet having sufficient information to understand the diverse needs of its tenants.

Willow Tree’s new G2/V2 grades and rent-setting failure

The RSH said there have been “serious failings” in how Willow Tree has delivered the outcomes of the Rent Standard.

According to the judgement, around 185 tenancies had been overcharged as a result of errors made in setting rents over a prolonged period.

“We have assurance that refunds have been made, calculated at £133,000 going back over the last six years, and corrected rent notices have been issued,” the regulator said.

On the G2 grade, the RSH said that it has assurance that Willow Tree has an appropriate business planning, risk and control framework in place.

However, it found evidence through the inspection that improvement is needed to increase the effectiveness of internal controls across a number of areas and to strengthen strategic oversight of risk.

“Willow Tree demonstrated that it has reviewed the extent to which it is delivering outcomes in regulatory standards and is taking action on the identified gaps,” the regulator said.

On the V2 grade the RSH said Willow Tree is increasing its investment into existing homes, including in relation to energy efficiency works, which is putting pressure on its financial performance.

“A key financial risk for Willow Tree is the potentially higher repairs costs that may arise once more robust stock condition information is in place,” the regulator said.

“There is also a risk posed by a reliance on sales income, including from the disposal of some of its existing homes, to maintain covenant compliance. These risks impact on Willow Tree’s capacity to respond to adverse events.”

First council to receive a C1 grade

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council has become the first local authority to receive a C1 grade.

“From the evidence and assurance gained during the inspection, we have concluded that overall, Barnsley MBC is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and is making effective use of its systems to identify and address potential issues and areas for improvement,” the RSH said.

Barnsley MBC had an accurate record of the condition of its homes through physical surveys and has plans in place for a process to keep this information up to date, according to the judgement.

In addition, the landlord had shown that it provides an effective, efficient and timely repairs service to tenants, the regulator said.

Governance downgrade

The RSH has downgraded 18,000-home Broadacres Housing Association from G1 to G2.

“Our judgement is that Broadacres meets our governance requirements, although improvement is needed to support continued compliance, specifically in relation to board oversight of risk and the quality of stress-testing,” the RSH said.

The information provided to Broadacre’s board in the most recent stress-testing exercise did not include the “full selection of stresses or quantified mitigations required to give the board sufficient assurance”, the regulator said.

“We identified a level of error and inconsistency within the stress-testing and mitigation reporting to board that limited the board’s role in managing risk and gaining assurance that Broadacres can withstand a reasonable range of adverse scenarios,” the judgement said.

Comments from the landlords

Willow Tree Housing Partnership – C3/G2/V2

Donna Johnson, chief executive of Willow Tree, said: “Willow Tree welcomes the publication of its first regulatory judgement since a merger placed us into the larger landlord space. We have valued the forensic evaluation by the Regulator of Social Housing and benefitted from their expertise in evaluating our progress since the merger 12 months previously.

“We are reassured that the inspection did not highlight areas for improvement of which we are unaware and that the RSH noted the work already undertaken and action plans in progress.

“We are glad to note compliance with the governance and financial viability standards, albeit being mindful that the board needs to maintain clear oversight of the organisation.

“While we are pleased that our health and safety management meets all requirements, we are extremely disappointed that we are not meeting the service outcomes our tenants should expect overall.

“Willow Tree is committed to delivering our improvement action plan at pace and will be acting on all recommendations as a matter of priority to evidence improvement for our tenants.”

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council – C3

Vicki Smith, cabinet member for housing and sustainable development at Sandwell Council, said: “We accept the findings of the regulator. We are taking their findings very seriously and we are very sorry that we've fallen below the expected standards.

“We want to ensure all of our tenants live in good-quality, safe homes and we are committed to making improvements as quickly as possible.

“We provided information to the regulator earlier this year regarding our performance and have been engaging with them directly since.

“We're taking urgent action to address these findings and will continue working with the regulator until we have satisfied their concerns and achieved full compliance with the standards expected for our tenants.”

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council – C1

Councillor Robin Franklin, cabinet spokesperson for regeneration and culture at Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, said: “We’re incredibly proud that we have received such a positive result and are the first local authority to be graded a C1.

“This outcome gives us a really good sense of what is going well and reflects our dedication to improving housing services, providing safe and warm homes, and putting our tenants at the heart of everything we do.

“However, while we celebrate this milestone, we’re not complacent and we know there are still areas where we can and will improve, working with tenants and partners to get the best for Barnsley.”

Amanda Garrard, chief executive of Berneslai Homes, the arm’s-length management organisation which provides housing services on behalf of the council, said: “We welcomed the changes brought to housing regulation in recent years and we’re really encouraged by the outcome of the inspection here in Barnsley during a challenging time for the whole sector.

“It provides an opportunity to reflect on and feel proud about what’s working well, while also understanding our weaknesses and identifying those areas where we can do better to deliver the best service we can to customers.

“We’re determined to address the ongoing challenges of maintaining an older housing stock, including improvements to the repairs and maintenance service, as we understand the impact this has on customers. We’re committed to moving forward together with tenants, making sure that more and different voices are heard, helping to meet their evolving needs and shaping better services for everyone.”

Broadacres Housing Association – C2/G2/V2

Gail Teasdale, chief executive of Broadacres, said: “We welcome the findings and feedback from the regulator – this means we are compliant in all areas.

“We are pleased to have retained the compliant financial V2 grading, which recognised our ambitious development programme and investment in the energy efficiency of our existing homes.

“While we are disappointed by the G2 grading, we are committed to making the improvements identified to return us to G1 at the earliest opportunity.

“The inspection process for the new consumer standard recognised many of the positive outcomes we deliver for Broadacres customers, and in the coming months the board and dedicated colleagues will work with the regulator to make improvements in the areas identified to attain the C1 grade that our customers deserve.”

Industrial Dwellings Society – C2/G2/V2

Jonathan Gregory, chief executive of IDS, said: "The inspection was a comprehensive process, the outcomes of which give us an invaluable opportunity to further strengthen our operations and leadership to ensure that we meet the highest standards of governance and financial service delivery.

“For us, compliance is fantastic, but we know we can go further in some areas. We aim to give the best customer experience possible within our resources, and that will be our overriding ambition for the coming years, supported by a newly strengthened board and corporate strategic plan.”

Lincolnshire Housing Partnership – C2/G1/V2

Ceri Theobald, chief executive of Lincolnshire Housing Partnership, said: “Since joining LHP in September as the new chief executive, I have valued the opportunity to work with the Regulator of Social Housing on our latest inspection, resulting in G1, V2 and C2 ratings. This achievement reflects our commitment to excellent service delivery, our strong governance and robust financial management.

“We acknowledge the areas for improvement highlighted by the regulator, particularly in engaging our repairs service and increasing customer influence.

“We're dedicated to making these advancements collaboratively – hand in hand with colleagues and customers, and in partnership with the regulator.

“I’d also like to extend my gratitude to our dedicated colleagues and customers for their hard work and support as we strive to exceed expectations and achieve a C1 rating within the next two years.”

Anthony Read, chair of Lincolnshire Housing Partnership, said: “I’m pleased to confirm that Lincolnshire Housing Partnership is compliant with the regulator's standards which demonstrates our effective governance and strong commitment to responsible financial management, despite the challenging climate.

“This outcome reflects the dedication of our team and our commitment to customers. However, we are equally focused on where we must improve.

“We welcome the opportunity to enhance our repairs service, deepen customer influence, and ensure our data effectively informs service delivery. We’re committed to maintaining open communication with the regulator, and thankful for the insights provided by them, alongside our customers’ candid feedback, both of which are invaluable as we continue towards achieving a C1 rating in the future.”

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