Two local authorities have received consumer standard upgrades in regulatory judgements from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).

Castle Point Borough Council have been upgraded from C4 to C3, while North Kesteven District Council have been upgraded from C3 to C2.

Essex local authority Castle Point was first given a C3 in September 2024 after the RSH identified its failure to collect and report Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs).

In December 2024, it was downgraded to C4 after the regulator concluded there were very serious failings in the council’s delivery of the outcomes of the consumer standards that required fundamental changes.

The RSH says the upgrade to C3 shows progress has been made, particularly regarding the safety of tenants’ homes, but serious failings remain and significant improvement is still required.

Castle Point has now provided evidence of its ability to put matters right, which it failed to do when the RSH gave it a C4 judgement. The council now needs to ensure that the changes made to its housing service are fully embedded and operating effectively.

This includes securing and sustaining the appropriate skills and expertise within the service to consistently deliver the outcomes of the consumer standards, ensuring that councillors and senior leaders maintain effective oversight and continuing to implement new systems to manage and use data to effectively deliver its services.

In a statement on its website, Castle Point said: “The judgement recognises progress made, particularly in relation to health and safety and property condition but is clear that further improvement is required, notably in relation to tenancy services and transparency, influence and accountability. The judgement reflects issues that have developed over a period of many years, meaning that while progress has been made, sustained improvement is required in order to achieve a higher regulatory rating.”

RSH Chief of Regulatory Engagement Kate Dodsworth said: “Landlords must have the capacity and skills to properly diagnose the issues and their root cause, and put in place a timely, credible action plan to deliver improvement.

“Safety of tenants’ homes is our clear priority and where we identify serious failings, we expect landlords to act quickly to protect their tenants by prioritising the most urgent health and safety issues.

“As set out in our guidance, these changes are fundamental and take time to embed as rebuilding relationships with tenants will be intensive and gradual. But at the same time, it provides landlords with an important opportunity to involve tenants and secure lasting change.”

Lincolnshire local authority North Kesteven District Council was given a C3 rating in July 2025 but has now been upgraded to a C2 after demonstrating it had improved its understanding of the condition of its homes and compliance with the Decent Homes Standard.

In other judgements, the Guinness Partnership Limited and Peabody Trust both received their first consumer gradings today.

Guinness received a C1, showing it is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards, while its governance grade of G1 and financial viability grade of V2 remain unchanged. Peabody received a C2, which means there are some weaknesses in it delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. Its G1 governance and V2 financial viability gradings remain unchanged.

City of York Council and Newlon Housing Trust also received first consumer grades of C2, with Newlon’s governance and viability grades unchanged.

The RSH has also published an interim regulatory judgement for Portus Supported Housing Limited confirming a governance grade of G3, a financial viability grade of V3, and serious failings in how it is delivering the outcomes of the Rent Standard.

Portus Supported Housing Limited was created following a transfer of engagements of Westmoreland Supported Housing Limited into Bespoke Supportive Tenancies Ltd (BeST) in December 2025. Portus continues to positively engage with RSH to address the failings that were previously identified in Westmoreland Supported Housing Limited and BeST.