The Housing Scrutiny Commission met to discuss challenges around housing delivery, district heating issues, and the progress of the Good Landlord Plan. Councillor Jason Ochere, Chair of the Housing Scrutiny Commission, and the other members were scheduled to review the commission's work programme for the coming year.

Good Landlord Plan Progress

The Housing Scrutiny Commission was scheduled to receive an update on the Good Landlord Plan¹, which outlines Southwark's approach to becoming a good landlord for all tenants and leaseholders. The Good Landlord Plan is designed to ensure compliance with new regulatory frameworks introduced following the Grenfell Tower fire². The report highlights that the Regulator of Social Housing responded positively to the council's approach, particularly the emphasis on governance, transparency, and capacity-building.

The Good Landlord Plan is based on six themes:

• Better Homes
• Better Estates
• Better Repairs
• Better Customer Service
• A Stronger Voice for Tenants
• New Council Homes

The report detailed progress in several areas:

• Better Homes: A stock condition survey is underway, and a new mobile working application for asbestos management surveys has been tested. Domestic electrical condition tests have increased from 24.7% to 48.6%, and the percentage of compliant smoke alarms has increased from 7.0% to 33.2%.
• Better Estates: Estate surgeries across all areas were launched on 22 October 2025, designed to enhance resident engagement. A new procedure for responding to Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) has been agreed.
• Better Repairs: Improvements to the online repair solution have started, and the Plentific Marketplace system went live on 10 November.
• Better Customer Service: The Housing Complaints team has reduced the backlog of stage one complaints. The Bournemouth Road office will reopen for in-person housing enquiries in January 2026.
• A Stronger Voice for Residents: A new resident engagement strategy has been finalised for Cabinet approval on 2 December.
• New Homes: Progress continues towards the target of delivering 1,000 new council homes by May 2026.

District Heating Review

The Housing Scrutiny Commission was scheduled to receive a report on the review of district heating³ and related issues. The report notes that over 17,000 homes are connected to heat networks in the borough. The report addresses several points raised by the commission, including:

• Preparedness for colder seasons: The council completed summer improvement works across boiler houses and plant rooms, totaling approximately £1 million investment. The council has also begun piloting the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) alarm systems at the Aylesbury and North Peckham boiler houses.
• Overly warm houses and water: The Engineering Services team has been working with the Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) and ward councillors on the Consort Estate, identifying properties with over-heating problems. An optimisation study has also begun at the North Peckham and Gloucester Grove estates.
• Ofgem regulations: The Energy Act 2023 paved the way for the Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) Regulations 2025. These regulations shift heat networks from being unregulated to regulated, empowering Ofgem as the official regulator for heat networks in Great Britain.
• Implementation update: An update regarding implementation of the actions identified in the cabinet's December 2024 report titled Response to the report of the Housing, Community Safety & Community Engagement Scrutiny Commission - review of heating and hot water outages can be found in Appendix 1 of the report.

The report notes that the council currently holds deemed authorisation (since 1 April 2025) but will need to register its heat networks information with Ofgem via a new digital platform by 26 January 2027.

Housing Delivery Challenges

The Housing Scrutiny Commission was scheduled to hear from officers and representatives of the council's developer partners on the current context around and approaches to housebuilding and wider development. No further information was provided.

Work Programme 2025-2026

The Housing Scrutiny Commission was scheduled to agree its work programme for the 2025-26 municipal year. The Housing service areas that fall within the scope of the commission are:

• Housing Needs and Support
• Landlord Services
• Southwark Construction
• Repairs and Maintenance

The report lists the dates of the Housing Scrutiny Commission for the 2025-26 municipal year and any items identified for consideration prior to this meeting.