RSH Inspection

Who is the Regulator for Social Housing?

The Regulator of Social Housing is responsible for ensuring good quality social housing standards. As a social landlord, Newham Council is expected to meet these standards and the regulator has powers to investigate and hold us to account.

For more information see - www.gov.uk/government/collections/regulatory-standards-for landlords.

Why has the Regulator made a judgement about Newham Council now?

Newham was visited in May 2024 as part of a regular series of inspections that will eventually cover all local authorities who provide housing, and we received its judgement in October 2024.

What has the Regulator investigated? What did their investigation involve?

The inspection concentrated on the four main ‘consumer standards’ which all landlords must meet which are the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, Safety and Quality Standard, Tenancy Standard, and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.

It found serious failings in how the council was meeting the standards and evidence in particular in the Safety and Quality standard which found

• Electrical safety - at the time of inspection inspectors found more than 40% of LB Newham’s homes had not had an electrical condition test for more than 11 years.
• Fire risk assessments – with more than 9,000 overdue fire safety remedial actions, of which over 8,000 were overdue by more than 12 months
• Maintenance of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, where the inspectors did not find evidence of the borough meeting its requirements
• Reaching ‘decent homes’ standard – LB Newham does not have up to date stock condition information on the majority of its homes, with 60% not surveyed within the last five years, and 20% not reaching the requirements of the decent homes standard linked to modernisation of kitchens and bathrooms
• There were around 5,400 open repairs at the time of the inspection, of which 49% were outside of target dates but performance had improved

In the area of Transparency, influence and Accountability the inspection found limited evidence of the council sharing performance information with tenants, particularly when things go wrong, and few opportunities for tenants to meaningfully influence and scrutinise the council’s strategies, policies and services.

Inspectors did observe that Newham took a respectful approach to tenants, noting “we saw some evidence of LB Newham taking the diverse needs of tenants into account, and we saw evidence of LB Newham ensuring services were accessible to tenants with diverse needs”

It also reported that Newham’s approach to complaints handling was accessible, well publicised and broadly aligns with the requirements of the consumer standard, and that it worked with partners to tackle anti-social behaviour and hate crime.

Working with council officers, the Regulator has made a judgement on whether our service meets their standards. The council has been completely honest about its processes and has given the Regulator access to our records.

What does this mean for Newham ?

Newham Council has been given a C4 grade, which means the inspector found very serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. The landlord must make fundamental changes so that improved outcomes are delivered.

We believe the Regulator’s judgement is a fair reflection of the council’s current housing service and accept their findings. The full judgement is published online.

We are writing to all our tenants to apologise for falling short and let them know how we plan to improve

What is Newham Council doing to put things highlighted in the inspection right?

The inspection took place in May 2024 when we were already working to make improvements with a £64m investment programme to improve our housing stock. But immediate and additional actions which have been put in place since May include developing a clear schedule to complete outstanding work – prioritising safety issues first.  We can confirm we have

• 100% of our carbon monoxide alarms in your buildings are tested regularly, and replaced if not working as part of annual checks
• We have written to you to offer testing on any electrical installations which haven’t been tested within the past ten years – and will bring in extra resource to deliver this quickly
• We have plans in place to complete all overdue remedial fire safety works such asreplacing fire doors
• We have put in place extra safety measures in high risk buildings where actions are outstanding – such as nighttime walking watches, and additional alarms
• We have significantly cut the number of overdue repairs over the last two years

We are working hard to improve our relationship with tenants, our repairs and scrutiny panel was highlighted as positive by inspectors, and we are continuing to invest in engagement with tenants to listen as well as inform them.

We are setting out a plan with targets that will be overseen by senior council officers and closely reviewed and checked by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Modernisation

How long will the improvement works take?

We are prioritising the most important safety inspections, repairs and improvement works.

Over the coming months we will work with you and be open about our plans to improve the condition of your homes.

Am I and my family safe in our home? 

Making sure your home is safe is the first priority for our housing service. We know this inspection report may cause some concern but residents should maintain the same level of vigilance, taking the same care around fire safety as before and referring to letters we have sent you about keeping your property safe and evacuation procedures.

If you have any concerns about fire or electrical safety in your home please contact us on 020 3373 1650 and one of our team will speak to you and arrange a visit if required. 

Does my home need an inspection or safety works?

We will contact you if we need to inspect your home. As we catch up on the outstanding surveys and repairs, works will be planned for individual properties and blocks. If these works require people to temporarily move into alternative accommodation, the council will always speak to residents directly about the options available.

Is there anything we can do to speed up our repairs requests if we’ve been waiting a long time?

We are already working through the backlog of repairs and maintenance cases. We always prioritise cases with the highest safety risk. If we can speed this up through further investment or by bringing in more contractors, we will.

When will you be sharing more information about what you will be doing in my home? How will I be contacted?

We will keep residents regularly updated on the progress of improvements and works. Where possible we will use email and text. We will also write to you by letter and provide information on our website. We will continue to hold housing forums and tenant meetings to give residents an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback.

Will we have the opportunity to voice our concerns and provide feedback?

Yes, there are already a number of routes you can take to share your views and concerns. We are working on plans to increase the opportunities that residents can expect from the council to have their voices heard. In the meantime, if you ever have a concern about your property, please contact us on 020 3373 1650.