Harlow District Council has been handed a C3 grade by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) after it failed to meet the new consumer standards.

The grade means there are serious failings and that the local authority needs to make significant improvements.

The RSH investigated the council after reviewing its Tenant Satisfaction Measure (TSM) results. The regulator concluded that Harlow had:

  • Carried out fire risk assessments for only 20% of buildings that it should have done, out of its 9,100 social housing homes
  • Over 500 high-risk fire safety remedial actions overdue, and a further 1,500 medium risk actions overdue (the majority of which are more than 12 months overdue).

The council has employed an external consultant to help it to develop a detailed improvement plan as a priority and the RSH says it will be engaging with the landlord as it addresses these failings

Harlow is also working to complete the outstanding fire risk assessments and resulting actions, starting with the highest risk blocks. The RSH says it is continuing to scrutinise the council closely and that it must demonstrate that it is reducing risks to tenants as it puts these issues right.

Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at the RSH, said: “It is unacceptable that Harlow Council has failed to meet fire safety requirements. Providing safe, decent homes for tenants begins with robust data, and this must include fire risk assessments for every home that needs one.

“We identified these failings by scrutinising the council’s TSM results. It is the landlord’s responsibility to notify us themselves of material issues.

“Our new proactive approach and expanded consumer remit is helping to bring issues to the surface earlier. We expect all providers to regularly review and evaluate their services to improve outcomes for tenants.”

The RSH has also published a range of other judgements resulting from its ongoing regulatory activity, including seven programmed inspections as well as the RSH’s first stability check for a for-profit provider.

Provider Governance Viability Consumer Engagement Process Notes
Saxon Weald G1 Assessed and unchanged V2 Assessed and unchanged C2 First grading Programmed inspection
Great Places Housing Group G1 Assessed and unchanged V2 Assessed and unchanged C2 First grading Programmed inspection
Calico Homes G2 Assessed and unchanged V2 Regrade C2 First grading Programmed inspection
Bolton at Home G2 Assessed and unchanged V2 Regrade C2 First grading Programmed inspection
The Havebury Housing Partnership G1 Assessed and unchanged V2 Assessed and unchanged C1 First grading Programmed inspection
Rooftop Housing Group G1 Assessed and unchanged V2 Assessed and unchanged C2 First grading Programmed inspection
Mossacre St Vincent’s Housing Group Limited G1 Assessed and unchanged V2 Assessed and unchanged C2 First grading Programmed inspection
Legal and General Affordable Homes G1* V1* N/A Stability check RSH does not assess consumer grades as part of its annual stability checks
Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association Limited G2 Downgrade V2 Assessed and unchanged N/A Responsive engagement following a self-referral Responsive engagement related to governance issues, so consumer grade not yet assessed

Governance and financial viability remain cornerstones of the RSH’s regulation of housing associations and other private registered providers (including for-profits). Landlords must manage the risks associated with financial viability and reduced capacity with robust governance in place to meet the outcomes of RSH’s standards.

A C1 grading means that, overall, the landlord is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards, and they identify issues when they occur and put plans in place to remedy them and minimise their recurrence.

C2 means there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards, and it needs to make improvements.