The Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Sub Committee met to discuss the performance of social landlords in the borough, and to review the council's response to a critical report from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH). The committee also agreed the terms of reference, membership, quorum and meeting dates for 2025/26.

Regulator of Social Housing Report

The committee received an update on the inspection of the council's Housing Management Service by the RSH, which took place from November 2024 to February 2025. Darren Reynolds, Head of Regulatory Assurance, told the committee that the inspection resulted in a C3 grading, meaning that the regulator found serious failings in the council's delivery of the consumer standards¹ and that significant improvement is needed. The RSH identified issues in meeting the safety and quality standard, particularly regarding stock condition and overdue fire risk actions. Mr Reynolds said that the council had referred itself to the regulator in advance of the inspection, and that the council had commissioned a review of the service by Housing Quality Network and Pennington's, which identified areas for improvement.

Mr Reynolds noted that the inspection had been a positive experience for the council, as it had brought services together and given the council a clear path for improvement. He added that the RSH had acknowledged the corporate commitment to improving services.

Stephen Platt, Director for Property and Assets, added that the council had been carrying out a lot of stock condition surveys over the years, which had put it in a good position to improve its grading. Gulam Hussain, Director for Neighbourhoods, said that the RSH had identified some areas that needed improving around antisocial behaviour (ASB) management, and that the ASB service had now moved out of housing management and sits within the community safety division.

Councillor Asma Islam asked what the council was going to do to make sure that it truly engaged with residents about their experiences. Mr Hussain responded that the council was committed to consulting with residents and holding bespoke workshops to invite feedback. He added that the council was also looking at the wealth of data that it had through its surveys.

Councillor Amina Ali raised concerns that the Somali community felt marginalised and disenfranchised when it came to housing allocations. Mr Hussain responded that the council was undertaking some analysis to see who accesses its services and what background they are from, and looking at what it is calling inequitable outcomes.

Several councillors raised concerns about the performance of contractors, and the difficulties that residents faced in reporting repairs. Mr Platt responded that he was appointing a permanent officer to manage the repair service, and that contract management was difficult but that he was ensuring that the council was holding contractors to account.

Social Landlords Performance Report

Mubin Choudhury, Performance Improvement Analyst, presented the Social Landlords Performance Report for quarter four of 2024/25. The report assessed the performance of registered providers² in the council in delivering safe, quality housing. The report showed that several providers, such as Poplar Harker and Spitalfields, reported 0% non-decency rates³. Tower Hamlets Council still had the highest non-decency rate at 20.1%, though that was an improvement from the previous quarter. Gas, fire, water and asbestos safety checks generally showed strong performance, with many providers reporting 100% compliance across checks, though there were notable outliers. Gateway's asbestos compliance dropped significantly. Tower Hamlets Council and Poplar Harker also reported less than 100% on their water safety compliance.

THCH and Notting Hill Genesis had the highest complaint proportions. Poplar Harker had the highest ASB cases relative to their stock. L&Q had the longest delays in reletting properties.

Councillor Amina Ali asked why the percentage of asbestos safety checks was so low for Gateway Housing Association compared to the other RPs. Mr Choudhury responded that the council had reached out to Gateway and was awaiting a response.

Councillor Abdul Kabir asked for a written explanation of how RSLs measure target time, and why complaints received by THCH and Notting Hill Genesis were so much higher than the rest. Mr Choudhury responded that he would reach out to the providers to give that explanation.

Susanna Kow asked if there was a report that said how many units failed the safety checks, and what measures were taken. Mr Choudhury responded that the information that the council gets from the registered providers is just the percentage for that quarter of the number of checks completed and reported, and that they do not have any additional information on that.

Other Business

The committee agreed the terms of reference, membership, quorum and meeting dates for 2025/26. The last meeting is scheduled for 9 March 2026, which may fall during Ramadan. It was proposed that the meeting be held in February instead, but this could not be confirmed.