The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has graded Southwark Council at C3, which means its “judgement is that there are serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed”.
The council is tackling the issues raised by the RSH and is also already taking action on things residents have said are most important to them – repairs, safety and cleanliness and better homes.
Cllr Kieron Williams, Leader of Southwark Council, said: “I want to apologise to tenants who have been let down. We will continue to drive up the quality of our services and homes for you. Whilst we have made progress we know there is much more to do.
“We will be making sure our action plan delivers the improvements that the regulator has identified. We’re investing over £250 million over the next three years to make our homes safe and decent.
“We’re improving our repairs, complaints and housing allocations services and establishing a new Housing Management Board - with tenants round the table - so you can hold us to account.
“We’ll also be continuing our work with the government and councils across the country to tackle the £2.2 billion black hole in our national council housing finances, so together we can secure the long-term funding settlement needed to fully lift council homes across the country up to modern safe, healthy and green standards.”
The RSH regulatory judgement highlighted a number of specific issues. Please see below for details of the actions Southwark Council is taking on each.
Electrical safety and fire safety
Southwark Council has developed a programme to complete all overdue electrical safety checks and install smoke alarms in all its homes. Work is underway and the programme is set to be completed by March 2026.
Fire safety
The council has taken action to mitigate the risks of overdue fire safety actions and is ensuring urgent work is prioritised. In the last three years the council has spent approximately £20m on fire safety. The council has set aside a further budget of about £10m for fire safety work and will allocate more money if needed. We’re also seeking to procure a new specialist fire safety contractor.
Stock condition information and Decent Homes Standard
The council has plans to invest £180m over the next two years to bring its homes up to the Decent Homes Standard and has developed a specification for a full stock condition survey, due to begin next year. This survey will give an updated understanding of the condition of the council’s homes. We will be prioritising investment in those homes that need it most.
Repairs
The council has already delivered significant improvements to its repairs services and the RSH found that Southwark Council is “delivering an effective repairs service”, with “scope to improve consistency in repairs completion times”.
The council is prioritising its repairs and maintenance service to make sure its repairs service is improved further, and so repairs are done right first time. We will introduce booked time slots for your repair, more repairs will be done in one visit and further improvements will be made to our damp and leaks services. Our Repairs Improvement Board made up of tenants will continue to oversee this work.
Allocations
The council has acknowledged it needs to improve its approach to allocating council homes, and will consult on a new allocations policy in early 2025.
Taking tenants’ views into account in decision-making
The council recognises that improvements are needed to show the impact of engagement activity, and a new engagement strategy has been developed with input from tenants.
Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs)
The council is putting in place a new approach to engaging with its TMOs and monitoring the delivery of their management agreement with the council.
Complaints management
The council is committed to improving the complaints process for people living in its homes and has set up a new dedicated Housing complaints team. It has developed a service improvement plan for the way we handle complaints, is now putting it into action and will carefully monitor its progress.