The Regulator of Social Housing has issued a C4 grading to Northumberland County Council due to “very serious findings”.
A planned inspection by the RSH found that the council only had up-to-date information on the condition of around 3% of its homes, and that there was limited evidence that health and safety assessments were being accurately recorded or routinely monitored, or that actions were being addressed within appropriate timescales.
The RSH also found that the council does not respond to all complaints in a timely way, and that there was a lack of meaningful opportunities for tenants to scrutinise performance and influence services.
Finally, the inspections also highlighted serious failings in meeting the outcomes of the tenancy standard.
The RSH says that Northumberland County Council had been engaging constructively with the regulator, and will now need to urgently develop a comprehensive improvement plan and share it with its tenants.
Kate Dodsworth, chief of regulatory engagement at the RSH, said: “These failings are unacceptable and the council urgently needs to develop a full understanding of the root causes of these issues and the current risks to tenants.”
“We will engage intensively with the council while they put things right and our priority will be that they ensure that risks to tenants are properly managed and mitigated.”
RSH is carrying out planned inspections of all large social landlords (those with 1,000 homes or more) over a four-year cycle.
Separately, RSH has placed Aves Housing on its gradings under review list while it investigates matters which may indicate serious failings in the landlord delivering outcomes of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard and the consumer standards.
