The Housing Committee of Wandsworth Borough Council will be provided with a report pack that contains information on a range of issues affecting housing in the borough. These include the Grenfell Inquiry, tenant satisfaction, vulnerable residents, new affordable housing and the performance of Housing Services.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry

The Committee will be asked to note the findings of the Phase Two report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.¹

The report found that the deaths of 72 people in the fire were avoidable. The Inquiry was highly critical of the Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) who managed the tower, as well as of the role of central government.

The report found that the TMO had “chronic and systemic failings” in fire safety management, a “toxic” relationship with residents, and had prioritised speed and cost over the safety of its residents.

The Inquiry made a number of recommendations for social housing providers. These include:

A review of the definition of higher-risk buildings.

A reconsideration of the appropriateness of ‘stay put’.

Fire safety strategies to be required for all higher-risk buildings.

Licensing regime for contractors on higher-risk buildings.

Mandatory accreditation for fire-risk assessors.

Urgent advice on lift control switch standardisation.

A single regulator to oversee all the construction industry.

The report pack notes that many of these recommendations will incur costs for the Council, but did not contain any costings.

Tenant Satisfaction Measures

The committee will receive a report on the results of the 2023-24 Tenant Satisfaction Measures.²

The Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) are a set of performance indicators introduced in April 2023 by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH). There are 22 TSMs, including 12 tenant perception measures and ten management information measures.

The Council must collate and publish data on the TSMs every year. The data will help tenants understand how their landlord is performing and will help the RSH identify where improvement is needed.

The TSMs are grouped under five themes:

• Keeping properties in good repair
• Maintaining building safety
• Respectful and helpful engagement
• Complaints handling
• Responsible neighbourhood management

The report contains an overview of Wandsworth's performance against each of the TSMs.

Overall satisfaction

Overall satisfaction with the Council as a landlord has increased from 54% to 64% in 2023/24. This is higher than the regional benchmark of 59% for London boroughs.

Keeping properties in good repair

More than half (53%) of tenants are satisfied with the Council's repairs service, although this represents a fall from 57% last year. However, 95% of Wandsworth's housing stock meets the Decent Homes Standard. This has fallen significantly in recent years, mainly because of a revised methodology for assessing decency.

Maintaining building safety

Three quarters of tenants (76%) said they are satisfied that their home is safe, which is up from 61% in 2022/23. The report notes that the Council's performance on carrying out essential safety checks in 2023/24 was below expectation. In particular, only 65% of asbestos safety checks were completed, 17% of legionella water safety assessments were completed, and 84% of lift safety checks were completed. However, all three of these measures have improved in 2024/25 and it is anticipated that all checks will be completed by the end of the year.

Respectful and helpful engagement

Almost four in five tenants (77%) said that they agree that the Council treats them fairly and with respect. More than half (66%) said that they are satisfied with the way the Council keeps them informed about things that matter to them, up from 59% the previous year. However, just over half (51%) said that they are satisfied that the Council listens to their views and acts upon them, up from 42% in 2022/23.

Complaints handling

Just 16% of tenants said they are satisfied with the Council's approach to handling complaints. This is down from 25% the previous year. This is the Council's lowest performing TSM, but it is in line with similar London landlords. The report notes that although Wandsworth receives fewer complaints than other London boroughs, it takes longer to respond to them.

Responsible neighbourhood management

Two-thirds of tenants said that they are satisfied with the Council's approach to handling anti-social behaviour, up from 53% in 2022/23. A similar number (67%) said they are satisfied that the Council makes a positive contribution to neighbourhoods, compared to 55% the previous year. However, satisfaction with the way the Council keeps communal areas clean and well-maintained has fallen slightly, from 57% to 56%.

The report concludes that overall satisfaction levels are improving.

Vulnerable Residents

The Committee will be asked to approve a new Vulnerable Residents’ Policy.³ The policy defines vulnerable residents as those who are “less able or unable to take care of themselves or to protect themselves from exploitation or harm”. The policy identifies a number of groups that are more likely to be vulnerable, including those who:

• are aged 70 years or older
• are isolated from support
• have learning, physical or sensory needs, and/or mental health or cognitive issues

The policy sets out the Council's responsibility to identify vulnerable residents, to record their vulnerabilities, and to make reasonable adjustments to its services to help meet their needs. This could include providing information in different formats or languages, providing additional support or taking a more tailored approach.

The report notes that the Council already has a number of procedures and approaches in place to support vulnerable residents. The Vulnerable Residents’ Policy is intended to ensure a consistent approach across the department.

Affordable Housing

The Committee will receive an update on the provision of affordable housing in the borough.⁴

In 2023/24, 799 new affordable homes were completed in Wandsworth, of which 390 were for social rent or London Affordable Rent, and 409 were for Intermediate tenures. This represents a shift in favour of rented completions compared to the previous year, when 46% of completions were social/London Affordable Rent, and 54% were Intermediate. The report also notes that 39 properties were purchased for use as temporary accommodation.

The report also sets out proposals for the Council to bid for more grant funding from the GLA and MHCLG to support a property acquisitions programme. This programme would aim to increase the supply of both temporary accommodation and homes for social rent. The report requests that the Executive Director of Housing be given delegated authority to bid for and enter into grant funding agreements, subject to match funding being approved in the Housing Revenue Account capital budget.

The report also contains an update on other housing initiatives, including the House Purchase Grant scheme, the Intermediate Housing policy, and the use of Section 106 commuted sums.

Housing Services Activity

The Committee will receive an update on the activity of Housing Services.⁵ This includes information on homelessness applications, the use of temporary accommodation, and the letting of social housing.

The number of households living in temporary accommodation at the end of October 2024 was 3,865. This is an increase of 63 from the start of the year.

The report notes that homelessness demand is higher than expected in 2024/25, with 2,597 homelessness enquiries received between April and October 2024. This represents a 26% increase on the same period last year. There were also 761 new admissions into temporary accommodation during this period, which is 16% higher than last year.

The increase in demand is thought to be caused by a number of factors, including the ongoing cost of living crisis.

The report also sets out a number of mitigating actions that the Council is taking to try to tackle homelessness. These include:

• procuring more private rented homes for use as leased temporary accommodation
• preventing more homelessness through early interventions
• rehousing more households in 'permanent' accommodation

Despite this, the report concludes that the forecast for the use of temporary accommodation needs to be revised upwards.

Housing Budget

The Committee will also receive a report on the second quarter budget monitoring for 2024/25.⁶ The report covers all services that fall under the remit of the Housing Committee.

The report forecasts an overspend of £5.187 million against a revised budget of £26.883 million. The main reason for this is ongoing pressure on the Housing Services budget, caused by the rising demand for homelessness support and the high cost of temporary accommodation.

The report notes that the cost of temporary accommodation is being driven by both the increasing number of households requiring accommodation and by the rising cost of that accommodation. The report sets out a number of actions that the Council is taking to try to mitigate the overspend, but concludes that the budget position is likely to deteriorate.