The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has today, Friday 19 July, confirmed it is currently investigating, through a planned inspection, our services as a council landlord to grade our performance against their Safety and Quality Standard.
On 18 June, we announced we had made a self-referral to the RSH after an internal investigation showed we had not fully complied with requirements in relation to electrical safety tests across our council housing stock. The referral was made as part of our commitment to raising standards across our thirty six thousand council homes and work is now underway to carry out the outstanding tests, which are known as Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICR).
While this work is underway, tenants should continue to take the usual care when using electrical appliances and devices in their homes. Council tenants who have questions about electrical safety can call a dedicated electrical safety number (020 7525 5999) or email (electrical.testing@southwark.gov.uk) to seek advice, and where necessary, book an appointment. They can also visit a dedicated webpage (southwark.gov.uk/electrical-testing) for further information and answers to frequently asked questions.
Cllr Sarah King, the Cabinet member for Council Homes said: "The safety of our tenants and residents will always be a top priority for Southwark, which is why we are determined to keep raising the quality and safety of our council homes. We will work with the RSH, the independent organisation responsible for regulating a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector, to help drive improvements on behalf of our tenants.
"This work is one part of the wide-ranging action we are taking to improve our council homes. This has also included setting up a new tenant-led repairs improvement board; damp and mould service and rolling repairs actions days on estates, as well as appointing new leadership in the housing department. While there is still some way to go, progress is being made in areas such as repairs, where satisfaction has increased since 2021."