The Housing Select Committee reviewed the Regenter B3 Annual Report, noting improvements in customer satisfaction for most services, though complaint handling satisfaction saw a slight decrease. The Committee also discussed the Annual Statutory Housing Ombudsman Report, acknowledging ongoing challenges with complaint handling and repairs, and reviewed the Housing Assistance Policy, approving its noted contents and requesting further information on budget setting and shared ownership eligibility. The Building for Lewisham Programme update was deferred to the next meeting.

Regenter B3 Annual Report

The Housing Select Committee reviewed the annual report from Regenter B3, which manages the Brockley Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract. While overall customer satisfaction with services like communal area maintenance and repairs showed positive results, satisfaction with complaint handling saw a slight decrease from 34% to 32%. Regenter B3 reported progress on fire and building safety, with most required actions completed, and highlighted improvements in their repairs service, including a 99.57% success rate for keeping appointments. However, concerns were raised regarding outstanding fire doors for leaseholders and a significant increase in outstanding gas safety certificates due to access issues. The Committee requested further information on 'free of charge' works for vulnerable residents, energy performance certification requirements, and data on disrepair cases to be included in future reports.

Annual Statutory Housing Ombudsman Report 2024-25

The Committee discussed the Council's performance against the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code. While the Council has made significant progress in policy compliance and improving complaint response times, particularly with system updates, performance in practice remains a challenge. The report highlighted a high volume of Housing Ombudsman casework and a significant number of maladministration findings, particularly concerning repairs, damp and mould, and complaint handling. The Council has implemented a Complaints Service Improvement Plan, focusing on enhancing timeliness, early resolution, and resident experience. The Committee requested further data on repeat damp and mould complaints, ombudsman determinations, transactional survey results, and the final report of the ombudsman's special investigation. They also agreed to receive a report on the findings of a recent mock inspection against social housing consumer standards and explore including a specific item on damp and mould in their work programme.

Housing Assistance Policy

The Committee reviewed the revised Disabled Facilities Grant and Homeowner Grants Policy, which aims to simplify and improve access to grants and loans for residents in the private sector and homeowners. Key changes include consolidating grants from 11 to 5, removing one grant that could inadvertently incentivise landlords to delay repairs, and improving the clarity of the policy. The Committee noted the report and requested further information on how the budget for discretionary grants is set and the eligibility criteria for residents in shared ownership housing.

Building for Lewisham Programme

This item was deferred to the next meeting due to issues with the report.

Select Committee Work Programme

The Committee reviewed its work programme and agreed to add the deferred Building for Lewisham Programme item. They also agreed to combine agenda items on major works and stock condition updates for the January meeting and explore further reports on complaints and damp and mould. The Committee noted that a forthcoming report on a mock inspection against social housing consumer standards would include suggestions for their scrutiny. The next meeting's agenda was agreed, subject to further planning.