The Landlord Services Advisory Board (Executive Working Group) met to discuss updates to landlord services, including reviewing the updated complaints policy, the damp and mould policy, and the Landlord Services Improvement Plan. The board was also scheduled to review the self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code for 2024-25 and annual complaints performance report. Also on the agenda was a discussion of the root cause analysis of consumer standard weaknesses.

Damp and Mould

The board was scheduled to discuss damp and mould in two separate agenda items: the Damp and Mould Policy and the Damp and Mould Quarterly Update.

The Damp and Mould Policy was up for approval. The policy outlines how Waverley Borough Council will manage, remediate and prevent damp, mould and condensation across all its housing stock, providing clarity for tenants on their rights and the responsibilities of the council as a landlord. The policy also ensures compliance with Awaab's Law, which places duties on social landlords to investigate and resolve damp and mould hazards within fixed timeframes from 27 October 2025.

The Damp and Mould Quarterly Update provided key statistics for June, July and August 2025. All identified cases fell under Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) Category 2 during the reporting period, with 2 cases falling into Category 1 Hazard. One cat.1 Hazard had the hazard removed within 3 working days and the prevention system installed within 5 working days. There was still one outstanding Cat1 Hazard, where the tenant is vulnerable, with several health conditions, including mobility issues. The report noted that on two occasions, the tenant postponed the works due illness, and that another reason for the delays with works is that due to the tenant's mobility issue they do not want to be moved temporarily, therefore works must be carried out in a room at a time, requiring several visits and trade specialists. The damp and mould officer was keeping the tenant updated and coordinates works with the operatives.

The update also stated that the council is procuring a specialist damp, mould, and condensation (DMC) contractor, and is on the final contract preparation stage.

Complaints Handling

The board was scheduled to discuss complaints handling in three separate agenda items: the Housing Ombudsman's Statutory Reports, the Complaints Policy, and the Complaints Update Quarter 1 2025-26.

The Housing Ombudsman's Statutory Reports included the annual self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code for 2024-25 and the annual complaints performance report. The Landlord Services Advisory Board was asked to consider the contents of both reports and recommend that the Lead Councillor for Complaints formally signs them off for publication and submission to the Housing Ombudsman.

The Annual Self-Assessment reviews Waverley's compliance with each provision of the Complaint Handling Code, identifies areas of good practice and areas for improvement, and includes an action plan to address any gaps.

The Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report provides 2024/25 data on complaints received, resolved and escalated, summarises outcomes, learning and service improvements, demonstrates how tenant feedback has shaped service delivery, and includes performance against timeliness and resolution targets.

The Complaints Policy was up for review and support. The updated policy was created in light of recommendations received from the Housing Ombudsman Service. According to the cover report for updated complaints policy, the two key changes to complaint handling which are noted in the new version of the policy are:

a. At both level 1 and 2 complaints will be logged, acknowledged, and defined within 5 days of being received by the Council. The Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code stipulates landlords have 5 days to do this. The previous version of the policy allowed 3 days for complaints to be logged.

b. At the point of logging, a detailed acknowledgement will be sent including the Council's understanding of the complaint, the outcomes the customer is seeking, the aspects for which Waverley is responsible and those for which it is not, and a request for clarification from the customer if any part of the complaint is unclear.

The Complaints Update Quarter 1 2025-26 stated that in Quarter One of 2025/26, the response rate for level 1 complaints remained consistent at 100% of responses sent within 10 working days, and 96.4% of level 2 complaints were responded to within 20 working days. There were 84 level 1 complaints closed, and 28 level 2 complaints closed during the quarter, which is a 60% increase in the number of complaints compared to the same period in 2024. Of the 84 level 1 complaints, 57 were upheld, and of the 28 level 2 complaints, 17 were upheld.

Landlord Services Performance

The board was scheduled to scrutinise the Landlord Services performance for July and August 2025, according to the Landlord Services Performance Scorecard and Exceptions Report July and August 2025.

The Landlord Services Performance Exceptions Report August 2025 noted that:

• The percentage of respondents who report that they are satisfied with the last repair service received (Ian Williams) was 78.20%, against a target of 85%.
• The average number of working days to re-let a 'normal void' (empty) property was 28, against a target of 25 working days.
• The percentage of level one complaints responded to within 10 working days of the complaint received was 84.40%, against a target of 95%.

Landlord Services Improvement Plan

The board was scheduled to monitor the progress in delivering the Landlord Services Improvement Plan 2025-26, according to the Landlord Services Improvement Plan Update July and August 2025.

Root Cause Analysis of Consumer Standard Weaknesses

The board was scheduled to be presented with a Root Cause Analysis of RSH Consumer Standards Weaknesses. Waverley BC Housing service received a C2 Regulatory Judgment in February 2025. The judgment stated that:

From the evidence and assurance gained during the inspection, our judgement is that there are some weaknesses in Waverley BC delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed, specifically in relation to the outcomes in our Safety and Quality Standard and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a C2 grade for Waverley BC.

The Council identified five key areas of challenge for the landlord services team, prior to the inspection and were already developing and progressing improvement plans to address known weaknesses against the regulatory consumer standards: repairs performance and communications, data (resident and property), systems, wider tenant engagement, and recruitment.

The regulatory judgment acknowledged these areas and identified ten specific areas for improvement:

Safety and Quality Standard

• i meeting Decent Homes Standard¹
• ii damp and mould review themes and trends to take preventive action
• iii improve water safety programme
• iv validity of health and safety compliance data
• v performance reporting efficient, effective and timely repairs service with tenant satisfaction
• vi timeframes for non urgent repairs, aids and adaptations and empty homes

Neighbourhood and Community Standard

• vii identify and distinguish hate crime

Tenancy Standard

• viii ongoing support to tenants and tenancy visit programme

Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard

• ix broaden tenant engagement inc non engaged tenants and scrutiny groups
• x additional information on diversity of tenants

The main two reasons identified for weaknesses, overall, was lack of people resources and lack of reliable data, followed by lack of project/programme management and lack of leadership.

Other Matters

The board was also scheduled to receive a Head of Service Report and to review the LSAB Forward Plan, which outlines items to be considered at future Board meetings.