The Housing Select Committee met to discuss the Housing Assistance Policy, the Building for Lewisham Programme, the Annual Statutory Housing Ombudsman Report, the Regenter B3 Annual Report, and the Select Committee Work Programme. The committee agreed to request further information on energy performance certificates and disrepair figures in the next Regenter B3 report, and also requested a detailed report covering complaint handling and transactional surveys.

Annual Statutory Housing Ombudsman Report

The committee reviewed the Annual Statutory Housing Ombudsman Report, which included a self-assessment against the Complaint Handling Code, an annual complaints report, and a service improvement report. Councillor Will Cooper, Cabinet Member for Better Homes, Neighbourhoods and Homelessness, is the member responsible for complaints.

Key discussion points included:

• Damp and Mould: Councillors raised concerns about the council's handling of damp and mould cases, particularly in light of Awaab's Law¹ coming into effect on 27 October 2025. Councillor Liam Shrivastava, Leader of the Lewisham Green Group, asked how the council intended to rectify failures in hazard identification and recording, and what training would be put in place to avoid assumptions about condensation being attributed to tenants' lifestyles. Carol Hinvest, Director of Resident Engagement and Services, acknowledged the deep-seated issues identified in the root cause analysis and stated that the council had over 3,500 damp and mould cases at its peak in November 2024, which had been reduced to 1,700 by the end of July. She said that the council was working to be in a good place for the implementation of Awaab's Law, but that the repair service still had a significant backlog.
• Complaint Handling: Councillors expressed concern about low satisfaction rates with complaint handling. Councillor Billy Harding, Vice Chair Audit and Risk Committee, highlighted a case study from the ombudsman's March 2025 report where sewage leaks were unresolved for several months despite being classed as an emergency. Carol Hinvest said that the council was working to improve the repair service and had made changes to the way emergencies are dealt with. Gillian Douglas, Executive Director Housing, added that the council was aiming for early resolution and first-time fixes to save money and improve outcomes for residents.
• Complaint Statistics: Councillor Dawn Atkinson questioned the increase in ombudsman determinations, which had risen from 8 in 2022-23 to 105 in 2024-25. Gillian Douglas explained that the increase was partly due to the way cases were counted and the ombudsman's new powers to give wider orders. Councillor Will Cooper added that the cases coming through were from a period when Lewisham Homes was brought into the council and the service was at its worst.
• Transactional Surveys: Councillor Dawn Atkinson asked for clarification on the difference between transactional surveys and tenant satisfaction measures (TSMs). Gillian Douglas explained that TSMs are a series of questions set by the regulator, while transactional surveys are for people whose complaints have been closed in the last quarter and ask more granular questions.

The committee noted the report, and requested that the Paragraph 49 report come to the committee, along with details of transactional complaints and the mock inspection. They also suggested a separate work programme item on damp and mould.

Regenter B3 Annual Report

The committee discussed the Regenter B3 Annual Report, hearing from Andrew Rowlands, General Manager for EMS, and Paul Maychard, contract manager for Pinnacle.

Key discussion points included:

• Tenant Satisfaction: Councillor Billy Harding asked about tenant satisfaction measures (TSMs), particularly the one where Regenter was below the landlord average. Paul Maychard explained that antisocial behaviour (ASB) was harder to quantify than other complaints, and that noise nuisance was a common issue.
• Complaint Handling: Councillor Dawn Atkinson asked about plans to improve resident satisfaction with complaint handling. Paul Maychard said that 100% satisfaction was the target, and that the percentage of stage one complaints that converted into stage two complaints had drastically reduced.
• Fire Safety: Councillor Pauline Dall asked about fire doors and fire risk assessment (FRA) actions. Andrew Rowlands said that the aim was to have all outstanding fire doors completed by the end of the calendar year. He added that the fire risk assessment would give a risk rating and potentially look at a strategy.
• Service Charge Collection: Councillor Billy Harding asked about the service charge collection being consistently above 100%. Paul Maychard explained that it was a not-for-profit thing based on costs, and that the excess was credited back to the account. He added that the in excess of 100% collection rate was because they were collecting debt on previous years.
• Gas Safety Certificates: Councillor Dawn Atkinson noted that the number of outstanding gas safety certificates had jumped from 2 to 21. Andrew Rowlands said that they were going through the enforcement process and would get a court order if necessary.
• Energy Performance Certificates: Councillor Dawn Atkinson asked why energy performance certificates (EPCs) were not mentioned in the report. Andrew Rowlands apologised and said that he would make sure that it wasn't omitted in future reports. He added that the availability standard was a proportion of properties outside the conservation area that had to meet a standard, which he believed was a SAP rating of 70 across the estate.
• Disrepair Cases: Councillor Dawn Atkinson asked how many disrepair cases Regenter was facing. Andrew Rowlands said that he didn't know the number right now, but that he would provide a month-on-month analysis for the next report.

The committee noted the report and requested details on energy performance certificates and disrepair figures for the next meeting.

Housing Assistance Policy

The committee discussed the Housing Assistance Policy, hearing from Fenella Beckman, the Director of Housing Strategy.

Key discussion points included:

• Grant Consolidation: The revised policy streamlined the number of grants and loan schemes from 11 to 5, consolidating some grants into existing schemes and removing others.
• Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG): The committee discussed the eligibility criteria for the DFG, including the requirement that applicants plan to live in the property for the next five years.
• Shared Owners: The committee asked where shared owners stood in relation to the home repairs grant.
• Definition of Disabled: The committee discussed how the council assessed whether someone was disabled for the purposes of the DFG.

The committee noted the report and requested clarification on the points that were unable to be answered.

Building for Lewisham Programme

Due to problems with the report, this item was deferred until the next meeting on 18 November 2025.

Select Committee Work Programme

The committee reviewed the work programme and noted the items for the next meeting, which include the HRA rent-setting report, budget savings, and antisocial behaviour. They also added items on the Building for Lewisham Programme, complaints, and damp and mould.