By Alistair McIntosh, HQN CEO

With the latest batch of inspection reports the tide has turned for councils. Now we have more C1 and C2 councils than C3 and C4. Here’s the latest table:

Hearty congratulations to the four – yes, four – landlords that scored C1. HQN has worked with all of them at various points on inspection.

The Stockport report reads like a shopping list of RSH-endorsed good practice. If you want a template of how to run housing, look up their report. For a long time, this has been an excellent service. But as we know only too well in housing, things do go wrong.

Just before their inspection Stockport self-referred on fire safety. That’s when we learnt what the RSH really means by the second part of the C1 rating. It says “the landlord has demonstrated that it identifies when issues occur and puts plans in place to remedy and minimise recurrence”.  Stockport certainly demonstrated self-awareness and speed in acting to resolve the issue. The council and its ALMO proved their mettle to receive a well-deserved C1. And good work by the RSH team; shows the benefit of having inspectors with hands on experience.

Hammersmith and Fulham’s C1 is a remarkable turnaround. A few years ago the service was heavily criticised by the ombudsman. Now, after a thorough inspection by the RSH, the borough gets top marks. The staff have worked tirelessly to improve things. Everyone at the borough should be proud of what they’ve achieved. Well done.

Then we come onto the C1 for Golden Lane. They provide homes for autistic people and people with a learning disability. If only every housing association that ran support services was as good as this one. A few years ago, I went to their annual conference. I was blown away by the residents, board and staff. Sounds like the RSH felt the same. Again, well done to the RSH for taking the time to really get to know the association and make the judgment.

Housing 21 got C2 last year; now they’re on C1. This is a masterclass in keeping going with a sound improvement plan. It’s great to see these upgrades coming through. Like the famous story of Robert the Bruce watching a spider spinning a web, try and try again and you will get there. Milton Keynes and Salford are on C2. There were a lot of positives in each report – so they can rise to C1.

Islington will be disappointed to score C3. They just didn’t survey nearly enough homes. And that cost them dearly. But they are on with it now and the RSH praised many other aspects of the service, such as an improving repairs service and the impact of engagement. It won’t be long before Islington climbs the rankings. One of my friends is an Islington tenant and he says the repairs service is night and day better than it used to be. I’ll put him on the number 24 bus to meet the RSH inspectors!

Let’s pick up a couple of learning points from this week.

The inspectors get a lot out of meeting your tenants. So, give them the opportunity to do so. The RSH wants honest feedback not anything stage managed. And we need to be clear on the impact of engagement.

Everyone says inspection is about governance. That’s true. But it’s also highly technical. A key test of governance is how you report on the complexities of safety to boards and councils. Inspectors read your papers and turn up with lots of in-depth questions. You must know the provenance of all performance data and why you believe it can be relied upon. Look how often internal audit and third-party assurance gets mentioned.

Inspectors like honesty. Self-awareness is a big deal. But it’s only half the battle. What are you doing to put matters right?

And my final point: if you get the highest rating it doesn’t mean you’re perfect in the eyes of tenants. Landlords with C1 still need major investment in existing and new homes. Can the government stop squabbling for five minutes and sort this out?! With the best will in the world, you’re going to see flaws at C1 landlords. That’s why the RSH is demanding “continuous improvement” from all of us.

Here are my edited highlights on the inspection reports.

C1s

Stockport MBC – managed by Stockport Homes (ALMO)

  • Accurate and up-to-date understanding of most homes including assessments against Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
  • Uses this to inform investment programme
  • Actively targeting homes where it has been unable to gain access
  • 99% compliance with Decent Homes Standard – costed plans to get to 100%
  • 99% of emergency repairs and 97% of non-emergency repairs on time
  • New system will enable tenants to report and track repairs in real time
  • Proactive on damp and mould meets all timescales
  • “All reasonable steps” being taken on health and safety
  • Managing safety in 25 tall blocks –up-to-date FRAs – resident engagement strategy in place
  • Approach to ASB “strengthened through tenancy scrutiny”
  • “Stockport MBC has reviewed its allocations policy to increase its flexibility to make direct lettings to support homelessness reduction”
  • Dedicated service to help tenants move into more suitably sized properties
  • 93% of tenants felt they were treated fairly and with respect (TSMs)
  • Tailoring services to take account of, eg, age, disability, language and cultural barriers
  • Tenant feedback used to improve repairs and complaints
  • Complaints dealt with “fairly, promptly and effectively” – learning from complaints is captured and shared with residents
  • Good collaboration between the council and the ALMO with “regular oversight” of service delivery.

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

  • “Councillors and tenants have oversight of health and safety performance”
  • Accurate stock condition surveys, including HHSRS assessments – will get to 100% by June 2006
  • “Behind Every Door” compliance visits to spot and tackle hazards
  • “Effective, efficient and timely repairs service”
  • Learning from complaints to improve repairs and “support continuous improvement”
  • “Effective use of tools and legal powers” – homes returned via court orders
  • “Positive culture” towards tenants among councillors and officers
  • “Responsiveness to tenants feedback” – “co-produced repairs contractors customer charter”
  • Tailoring service around tenants’ diverse needs
  • Tenants “shaping decisions and improvements … in ASB, repairs and complaints”
  • “Root cause analysis of complaints” drives improvements.

Golden Lane Housing

  • “Good understanding of condition of its homes”
  • Strong on decency and energy efficiency
  • Strong on safety
  • “Effective, efficient and timely repairs service” – uses tenant information to tailor services
  • “Treats tenants with fairness and respect”
  • “Wide range of opportunities for tenants to provide scrutiny and feedback”
  • “Board and tenants receive reports on complaint handling” – leads to improvements
  • “High levels of tenant satisfaction”
  • “Views of tenants influenced how it delivers services and improves outcomes”!

Housing 21 (upgrade from C2 May 2025)

  • “Through our subsequent responsive engagement…we have gained assurance that Housing 21 has made improvements to the level of reporting to its board on tracking the completion of remedial actions”
  • “Accurate and up-to-date data” on homes via stock condition surveys – plus annual visits to residents in their homes covering “wellbeing” and “internal condition” of homes
  • “We gained assurance that Housing 21 has completed its work…to strengthen the board’s assurance and improve the timeliness of information about its homes”
  • “We gained evidence-based assurance that Housing 21 has improved reporting to the board on the timeliness and effectiveness of its repairs service”
  • RSH noted concerns about ASB – an “end to end review” has taken place in consultation with tenants
  • RSH saw improvements to reporting on learning from complaints and tenant scrutiny.

Note: it can be hard to follow the RSH upgrade reports. They refer to actions from the original inspection as well as later engagement. So, it’s helpful that the chair of Housing 21 says that they key changes are “an improved reporting framework, how performance information is shared with residents and how feedback is used to drive service improvements”.

C2s

Milton Keynes City Council

  • Only 42% of homes have had a physical stock survey within the last five years – RSH will monitor progress on surveys
  • Meeting the legal requirements on health and safety of homes and communal areas
  • 99% of routine repairs and 96% of emergency repairs are “attended to” within target timescales
  • Property health checks to detect damp and mould and other hazards
  • Milton Keynes has a “victim’s code recognising the impact of ASB and hate crime, including access to support for victims”
  • Programme of visits to new tenants and tenancy audits – this will be expanded
  • “Respectful and positive culture towards tenants” – “engaged tenants told us they felt listened to and valued”
  • Needs to gather more data on tenants and use this to tailor services
  • Getting better at engagement – but measures have been put in place only over the past year – RSH will check that these changes are embedded and lead to better outcomes
  • Dealing with and learning from complaints an area of weakness – RSH will track progress
  • Milton Keynes CC “…understands the issues it needs to address and is already taking action towards rectifying the weaknesses identified.” RSH will continue to engage.

Salford City Council – homes managed by Pendleton Together as part of a private finance initiative scheme (PFI)

  • Together Housing Group was upgraded to C1 in January – but the management of this contract is graded at C2.
  • Most of homes surveyed – meeting Decent Homes Standard – working to complete surveys and update EPCs – RSH monitoring progress
  • RSH says health and safety OK – but need to improve reporting to councillors and tenants
  • “No recent audit of health and safety compliance” – RSH will track progress
  • “Efficient, effective and timely repairs service” – proactive on damp and mould
  • Weakness on ASB – improvements being made – RSH will track progress until changes embedded
  • “Salford CC needs to do more to ensure that scrutiny reviews are tenant-led and that feedback of the outcomes of reviews is provided promptly”
  • Needs to gather more data on diverse needs of tenants so as to tailor services
  • Complaints are dealt with “fairly, effectively and promptly” but not doing enough to learn from complaints
  • Salford has shown “self-awareness” – RSH will engage to track progress.

C3

London Borough of Islington

  • “The majority of LB Islington’s homes have a survey that’s more than 10 years old and does not have a formal HHSRS assessment”
  • Islington has started an “accelerated” programme of surveys to complete by the end of 2028 – RSH will track progress
  • “Recent internal audits of health and safety compliance have provided limited assurance on…lifts, asbestos and fires safety and …significant improvement is needed”
  • Islington considering an external assessment of health and safety information – RSH will continue to engage
  • RSH identified >1,000 overdue lift remedial actions, 500 overdue for more than a year – Islington say that the works are “not safety critical and do not require closing of the lifts” – RSH will monitor action the borough is taking to “address this weakness”
  • The repairs service meets “regulatory requirements” and the borough is improving the service – 95% of emergency repairs are done on time and 76% of non-emergencies get fixed on time – RSH satisfied that non-emergency times are shortening
  • RSH finds that the repairs service is “accessible” with the borough making “improvements to its communication with tenants”
  • ASB is an area of strength
  • RSH found a “fair and respectful culture towards tenants” with the borough “listening to tenants and shaping plans in response to tenant feedback and insight”
  • Islington provides “tailored support” to tenants and is closing gaps in its knowledge of tenants via tenancy audits
  • There was a flaw in the TSM calculation for complaints – the borough is now seeking third party verification to rectify this
  • The speed of complaints handling is improving and the borough learns from complaints – but it needs to “do more to assure itself that its complaints process is accessible to tenants in properties managed by TMOs”
  • RSH says its “engagement will be intensive” as it checks that improvements are made – the Borough is working “constructively” with the RSH and is “taking action to rectify the failures and weaknesses”.