It’s back to school with a bang for the RSH. They’ve issued no fewer than 10 new reports. It’s the ultimate ‘What I did on my holidays’ opening day essay. There is a spread of C1s, C2s and C3s so we can get a sense of the split factors.

Well done to North Star, Greatwell and Paragon Asra (PA) for scoring C1s. Let’s not forget Cornwall Council. What a journey they have been on as they came back from a Regulatory Notice to C2. Anyone that is setting up a new council must read their report for tips on how to handle the process. A full list of the results is at the end.

What is it that marks out the C1s? How do they differ from the C3s? Does it bear out Tolstoy’s observation that – “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”?

Well, these C1s are indeed alike. In fact, they are similar to all the C1s so far. It is crystal clear what the RSH is looking for. To get to C1 you must be strong on each and every one of the Consumer Standards. Key positives picked out by the RSH at North Star and Greatwell include:

– health and safety compliance,

– spotting and remedying hazards,

– understanding of stock condition and acting on the findings,

– efficient and timely repairs services,

– tailoring services around tenants and

– learning from tenant feedback and complaints.

But the reports are not duplicates. We find out about how each handles consultation in distinct ways. And we can see how local issues, such as the presence of Radon, affect services.

PA’s first inspection ended last September with C2. Since then the RSH has engaged to track progress. And now we have a C1 rating.

PA has achieved a lot in a year! It reads like a classic case of embedding or following up on good intentions. The RSH now finds:

– the repairs service has got better after root cause analysis,

– the backlog of planned maintenance is down,

– the approach to damp, mould and condensation is stronger,

– actions completed on fire safety, electrical safety and third party managed blocks,

– better tailoring of services around tenants diverse needs,

– complaints backlog cleared,

– learning from complaints to improve services and

– improved performance on ASB after an independent review.

The PA report is as clear a guide as you will get to climbing from C2 to C1. The good news is that you can do it and the RSH engages to help.

I’m not sure if you would say that this batch of C2s are a happy or an unhappy family but there are many common threads in the reports. Long story short – these landlords know what to do and are getting on with it but the RSH is waiting to see the outcomes of the improvement plans. Good intentions get you to C2 – only embedded change, as the RSH puts it, moves you on up to C1.

So, what are the sorts of improvements the C2s need to make?

– getting faster and better at dealing with damp, mould and condensation plus other hazards,

– mobilising repairs contractors to clear backlogs and deliver better services,

– strengthening tenant engagement and showing impact,

– rectifying weaknesses on dealing with ASB and

– gathering and using better information on tenants’ diverse needs.

Each C2 report sets out the specific changes the landlord must embed. That’s really helpful. I’d expect all of the landlords to get to C1 though some have more to do than others – so the timings will vary.

Then we turn to the C3s. Yes, there were positives in the reports. Both Nuneaton and Bedworth and Thanet did treat tenants with respect. But there is  a chasm between C3 and C2.  Bluntly, these landlords just don’t know enough about their homes or their tenants. And that is the biggest flaw that unites them. If you don’t hold good data you cannot deliver a good service.

Each RSH report goes through the many failings that led to C3 and they do vary a bit. So, the unhappy families are not doppelgangers. Tolstoy got that right.

At Nuneaton and Bedworth serious failings include:

– lack of repairs policy,

– repairs backlog,

– only 80% gas safety compliance and

– not being ready for dealing with new rules on hazards.

The list at Thanet covers weaknesses on:

– dealing with ASB,

– out of date tenancy agreements,

– learning from complaints and

– records of health and safety remedial actions not kept up to date.

It looks like there will be  a long road back to C2 for Thanet and Nuneaton and Bedworth. Waverley climbed all the way back from C3 to C1 so that gives hope. Inspection reports set out exactly what you must do to rise up the rankings. The RSH will engage intensively with the C3s to make sure change happens.

The RSH’s model of co-regulation relies on landlords telling them when things go wrong. It seems that Nuneaton and Bedworth did not stick to this rule. That is a timely warning to us all. We must keep the RSH in the loop or face the consequences.

We are starting to see the Competence and Conduct Standard feature in new inspections. HQN will keep you posted. You might like to use the tool we developed with G15 for identifying quickly the training and qualification needs for your staff.

Some of the RSH reports point to satisfaction figures. So we have put these in the table alongside the C rating. HQN found the data on landlord websites. Do remember that context and method of collection affect the results. That means it’s not always like for like. And sometimes the RSH calls in and corrects the figures.

 

Landlord	Rating	Overall satisfaction (25/26)	Overall repairs satisfaction (25/26)
North Star	C1	85.3%	83.6%
Greatwell Homes	C1	77.9%	83.2%
Paragon Asra	C1	66%	60%
Brighter Places	C2	65.6% (from 60.5% in 24/25)	69.1% (up from 58.4% in 24/25)
Cornwall Council	C2	68%	74% (up from 69.8% in 24/25)
First Choice Homes Oldham	C2	76.8%	76.3%
Freebridge Community	C2	69.8% (from 59.8% in 23/24)	75.1% (from 62.1% in 23/24)
NSAH Alliance	C2	79.8%	82.3%
Nuneaton and Bedworth Council	C3	79.37%	84.76%
Thanet Council	C3	78.2%	85.7%