The Housing Management (Cabinet) Sub-Committee of Tower Hamlets Council met on Thursday, 30 July 2026, to discuss a range of housing-related matters. Key decisions included the approval of the Council Housing Annual Report 2024-25, the establishment of Phase Two of the Your Voice, Our Action – Safe Homes, Great Services programme, and the noting of the Housing Management Strategic Risks. The committee also reviewed performance and compliance reports, and agreed on the forward plan for future meetings.

Housing Management Performance and Compliance

The committee received an update on the Housing Management Performance and Compliance Report for April 2026. While 10 out of 16 key performance indicators (KPIs) showed a positive trend compared to the previous month, performance was below the agreed target level for 10 measures.

Significant discussion focused on Stage 1 complaints, which had decreased in April and were performing substantially below the 90% target. Officers explained that this was due to vacancies in the housing management complaints and repairs coordinator teams, with recruitment ongoing. Mitigations, including temporary resource reallocation and overtime, were in place. A significant change planned for September 2026 is the relocation of the complaint triage function from the busy Housing Service Centre to the Housing Management Complaints Team, which is expected to improve efficiency and accuracy.

Performance in answering calls at the Housing Service Centre had improved to 76.4% in April, an increase from the previous year, despite having fewer full-time equivalent staff. However, this remained below the 85% target. Issues with a new telephony system were being addressed, and the council was exploring new features like workforce management tools and call analytics. The average wait time for calls was around five minutes.

Repairs performance was also discussed, with emergency repairs attended to on time at 94.3% and non-emergency repairs at 88.5%, both below target. This was attributed to underperforming contractors, with no contractor meeting the targets for emergency repairs in April. The council was reviewing contractor performance and considering contractual penalties. The Mayor requested copies of all contractor agreements to review termination clauses and penalty provisions.

The committee noted that 20.1% of homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard, with an investment programme in place to address this by 2030.

Housing Management Strategic Risks

The committee reviewed the Strategic Risk Register for the Housing Management service as of May 2026. Nine of the ten identified strategic risks had maintained their previous risk scores, indicating that mitigation actions were effective. However, one risk, HRD0008, relating to Geo-political and economic uncertainty, had increased in score to 15. This was attributed to the situation in the Middle East impacting energy supplies and creating inflationary pressures. Nine control measures were in place to manage this risk, with regular monitoring by senior management.

Other significant risks with a score of 15 included:

• HRD0009: The condition of tenanted housing stock and its age, with a stock condition survey programme underway to inform targeted improvements.
• HRD0002: The occurrence of a major incident, with an established out-of-hours service, on-call rota, and integration with the council's Civil Contingencies function.
• HRD0004: Legacy systems being unable to meet governance and data process requirements, with progress being made on system consolidation and a Data Management Strategy being implemented.

A new risk, HRD0010 (water pressure outages), with a score of 12, had been added due to Thames Water reducing water pressure in the area. This had resulted in periods of little or no water supply, causing reputational damage and potential financial liability. Control measures included strengthening relationships with Thames Water and installing pressure-boosting equipment, with over £300,000 already spent.

The committee approved the Risk Heatmap and noted the control measures outlined to manage these risks.

Council Housing Annual Report 2024-25

The committee approved the Council Housing Annual Report 2024-25. The report provides an overview of the council's performance as a landlord, including data on health and safety checks, major works, complaints handling, and service expenditure. It also highlights resident engagement initiatives and the progress made through the Your Voice, Our Action: Safe Homes, Great Services improvement programme. The report acknowledged weaknesses identified in the council's self-referral to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), which resulted in a 'C3' grading, and detailed the actions being taken to address these.

Key areas covered included:

• Housing Stock: 11,513 tenanted properties and 10,032 leasehold properties.
• Repairs: £25.5 million spent on repairs and maintenance in 2024-25. Performance in emergency repairs was 79.80% on time, and non-emergency repairs at 75.60%. Satisfaction with repairs was 62.90%.
• Safety: 100% compliance with gas safety checks, 97.7% for fire safety checks, and 93.4% for asbestos safety checks. Lift safety checks were at 68.3%. 20.1% of homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard.
• Services: Overall tenant satisfaction with services was 60.10%. Call answer rates were 61%, and Stage 1 complaints answered on time were 70.7%.
• Neighbourhoods: Satisfaction with communal area cleanliness was 65.10%. Anti-social behaviour cases per 1,000 properties were 105.
• Tenancies and Rent: 451 lettings were made, with an average of 37 days to let homes. The Financial Inclusion Team supported 619 tenants, maximising income by over £1.1 million.
• Resident Involvement: 31 Tenant Resident Associations (TRAs) were active, and over 2,000 doors were knocked on during a Big Door Knock initiative.
• Expenditure: Total expenditure was £106 million, with significant investment in major works (£15.7m), estate services (£20m), housing management (£12.2m), and repairs & maintenance (£25.5m).
• Improvement Journey: The report detailed progress on the Your Voice, Our Action programme, including strengthened governance, new policies, improved complaints handling, and investment in the call centre.

Your Voice, Our Action: Safe Homes, Great Services Programme Highlight Report

The committee approved the establishment of Phase Two of the Your Voice, Our Action – Safe Homes, Great Services Programme. Phase One, running from November 2024 to April 2026, successfully delivered 96 improvement initiatives across 11 workstreams, establishing a strengthened governance model and improving compliance in key areas.

Phase Two will build on these improvements and address remaining areas of regulatory non-compliance to achieve a better regulatory grading from the RSH. The programme will have five workstreams: Safety and Quality, Transparency, Influence and Accountability, Tenancy, Neighbourhoods and Community, and Data and Business Systems Improvement.

Key achievements from Phase One included:

• Repairs, Leaks, Damp & Mould: Strengthened contract management, a new Damp and Mould Policy aligned with Awaab's Law, and improved resolution timeframes.
• Asset Management and Compliance: Increased stock condition data, significant reductions in overdue fire risk assessment actions, water hygiene actions, and communal electrical safety actions. A £609 million investment over ten years was approved for home improvements.
• Data Improvement: Introduction of SMS updates for residents, enhanced performance reporting, a new Data Management Strategy, and IT system improvements.
• Tenancy: Reduction in the housing applications backlog, improved void processes, and enhanced tenancy health checks.
• Anti-social behaviour: Development of a new ASB policy and initiation of a service redesign.
• Policies and Procedures: Development of Big 6 health and safety policies, a new Vulnerable Tenants and Leaseholders Policy, and an Income Collection Policy.
• Resident Engagement and Culture: Increased neighbourhood engagement, a Big Door Knock initiative, a new Housing Whatsapp Channel, and improved engagement with Tenant and Resident Associations.
• Complaints: Improved management of Stage Two complaints, achieving 100% in-time responses, and a new Complaints Compensation Policy.
• Rents: Compliance review of rent setting processes confirmed compliance with the government's Rent Standard.

The committee noted overdue actions and agreed to programme amendments, including the continuation of several Phase One deliverables into Phase Two. The proposed governance structure for Phase Two was also agreed.

Housing Management Cabinet Sub-Committee Forward Plan

The committee agreed the forward plan for future meetings. Standard agenda items will include Performance and Compliance reports, the Your Voice, Our Action programme highlight report, and reports from the Housing & Regeneration Scrutiny Sub-Committee. Future items for consideration include the Housing Management Strategic Risks (Quarterly Report), Leasehold Major Works Repayment Options, Ad-hoc Land Disposals Policy, Annual Complaint Performance Report and Self-Assessment, and the Housing Management Complaints Policy and Procedure.

The meeting was attended by Mayor Lutfur Rahman, Councillor Saied Ahmed (Cabinet Member for Homebuilding and Enhancing Council Homes and Neighbourhoods), Councillor Shafi Ahmed (Cabinet Member for a Clean and Green Borough), and Councillor Faysal Ahmed (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Life Chances), alongside various council officers.