As a result, RSH has given the landlord a C3 grade, which means there are serious failings and it needs to make significant improvements.
RSH investigated Harlow Council after reviewing its Tenant Satisfaction Measure (TSM) results. RSH concluded that the council 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).
Harlow Council has employed an external consultant to help it to develop a detailed improvement plan as a priority and the RSH will be engaging with the landlord as it addresses these failings
The Council is working to complete the outstanding fire risk assessments and resulting actions, starting with the highest risk blocks. RSH continues to scrutinise the Council closely and it must demonstrate that it is reducing risks to tenants as it puts these issues right.
Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at 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 investigation was carried out as part of RSH responsive engagement.
RSH has also today published a range of other judgements resulting from its ongoing regulatory activity, including seven programmed inspections as well as RSH's first stability check for a for-profit provider.
RSH carries out annual stability checks to see whether a provider's current viability grade is consistent with the financial information submitted in their regulatory returns.
| 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 |
Landlords must meet the outcomes of the economic and consumer standards set by RSH.
Governance and financial viability remain cornerstones of 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. We expect that, even where a landlord is assessed as C1, it will continue to review, evaluate and improve its services to tenants.
C2 means there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards, and it needs to make improvements.
Notes
- On 1 April 2024 RSH introduced new consumer standards for social housing landlords, designed to drive long-term improvements in the sector. It also began a programme of landlord inspections. The changes are a result of the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and include stronger powers to hold landlords to account.
