Three housing associations have been awarded C1 gradings by the Regulator of Social Housing in its latest batch of inspection reports but the overall performance picture is mixed.

Salix Homes, Saffron Housing Trust and North Devon Homes were all deemed to be delivering the outcomes of the new consumer standards. According to the regulator, they have demonstrated that they identify issues affecting tenants and put plans in place to solve them and minimise recurrence.

They join Watford Community Housing and Nottingham Community Housing Association in receiving C1 gradings, bringing the total number to five.

Cobalt Housing, meanwhile, received a C2 grading, which means it has the dubious honour of being the first housing association not to be awarded a C1 rating under the new inspection regime.

Overall, however, local authorities are performing less well than their housing association counterparts.

Dacorum Borough, North East Derbyshire District, Melton Borough and High Peak District councils all received C2 gradings in the latest set of inspection outcomes due to “weaknesses” in delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards.

Last week, four local authorities – Brighton and Hove City Council, the London Borough of Hackney, South Derbyshire District Council, and Ashford Borough Council – all received C3 gradings, which means there are serious failings and they need to make significant improvements.

Reaction

Salix Homes – C1

Sue Sutton, Salix chief executive, said: “This is a really positive outcome for Salix Homes and we’re very proud to be amongst the first housing associations to have achieved the highest possible C1 grading under the new consumer standards, which reflects our ongoing commitment to putting customers at the heart of our organisation.

“This achievement is testament to the dedication and hard work of our workforce, Board and customer committee. It also underpins our collective efforts to ensure that our homes are safe and well-maintained, our customers are listened to and respected, and that our services are responsive and effective.”

Cobalt Housing – C2

“We recognise that our repairs service needs considerable improvement, and have begun the steps needed to make sure this happens. This is our number one priority. The RSH acknowledged that our Improving our Repairs project would help us to address concerns raised.

“We provided strong evidence in supporting customers to maintain their tenancies and in dealing with Anti-Social Behaviour. They found that our Customer Voice Strategy and our customer involvement methods are delivering in line with the standards. We have made commitments to continuously improve and embed our customer’s voice in our decision making and improvement journey.

Melton Borough Council – C2

Councillor Pip Allnatt, Leader of Melton Borough Council said: “We are pleased with the outcome of this process, and that our commitment to housing improvement and the hard work from members and officers over a number of years has been recognised through this regulatory judgement.

“Back in 2019, the council referred itself to the housing regulator due to challenges demonstrating sufficient grip on health and safety compliance, whilst at the same time establishing a comprehensive housing improvement plan.

“With commitment and momentum maintained ever since, it is particularly pleasing that the areas of most importance and concern back then are now recognised as areas of real strength, and that the inspection confirms we are keeping our tenants safe and consistently improving the quality of their homes.

“We recognise that there is more work to be done and reassuringly we were already working on the improvement areas identified prior to the inspection commencing. With our strong track record of improvement, we are confident of further progress and remain fully committed to delivering the best possible outcomes for our tenants.

“I am very grateful to our staff for the huge effort and time they have put in to turn our housing services around and their determination to continue a journey of improvement. I also wish to thank the inspection team for their courtesy and objective assessments”.