Tenant Annual Report 2025

In April 2025, we received our first grading from the Regulator of Social Housing. We were awarded a C2 rating, which means we meet national standards, but there are areas where we must improve.

What the inspection involved

The inspection lasted three months, ending with a three-day visit. Inspectors:

• met tenants, staff, councillors, and senior leaders
• reviewed policies and performance data
• attended tenant panels, scrutiny committees, and housing board meetings

Positive findings

Inspectors highlighted strengths in all four consumer standards:

• Safety and Quality - recognition of our strong approach to keeping residents safe in their home
• Transparency, Influence and Accountability - our commitment to tenant engagement, listening to residents and implementing change in response
• Tenancy - our fair and transparent allocations process
• Neighbourhood and Community - our partnership work to tackle antisocial behaviour and support community cohesion

They also recognised the accuracy of our housing records and our plan to survey the condition of every home by the end of 2025.

Areas for improvement

The regulator identified 13 areas where we need to do better, including:

• tackling damp and mould more effectively
• reducing the repairs backlog and the time it takes to re-let empty homes
• making tenancy policies and information more accessible 
• handling complaints better and learning from feedback
• improve how we collect and use tenant profile data to meet diverse needs

What we've already done

We had already recognised many of these areas and have acted. For example: 

• we have set up a dedicated complaints team and improved response times and service quality 
• we have invested in our repairs service, recruited specialist tradespeople, and improved monitoring 
• we are making information easier to access and improving how we communicate with tenants 

What's next

We have agreed an action plan with the Regulator of Social Housing to address all weaknesses by the end of 2025/26. Our goal is to move to a C1 rating, demonstrating that we're delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards, and when problems do happen, they are quickly identified, fixed, and learned from.

This outcome could not have been achieved without the hard work and determination of all our staff who continually strive to improve the housing services we provide for our valued tenants. 
 

Cllr Chris Buckley, Cabinet Member for Housing