The Housing & Regeneration Scrutiny Sub Committee met on Tuesday 13 January 2026 to review the performance of social housing landlords in Tower Hamlets, discuss the progress of the Your Voice, Our Action improvement programme and the Big Door Knock initiative, and assess the council's preparedness for the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Key concerns raised included the high percentage of non-decent homes managed by the council, issues with repairs and safety compliance across various landlords, and the need for robust communication and enforcement regarding the new renters' legislation.

Landlord Performance Report Q2 2025/26

The committee reviewed the performance of registered social housing providers in Tower Hamlets for the second quarter of the 2025/26 financial year. A significant concern highlighted was that Tower Hamlets Council had the highest percentage of non-decent homes at 26.4%, with the majority of these homes requiring replacements for building elements such as windows, roofs, and front entrance doors. Despite this, the council remains on track to reduce non-decency to between 18-22% by March 2026. Several providers, including Poplar HARCA, Spitalfields Housing Association, Gateway Housing Association, and Tower Hamlets Community Housing (THCH), reported high rates of on-time repair completions. However, some providers, such as Clarion Housing Association and London & Quadrant (L&Q), showed lower performance in non-emergency repair timeliness.

Notting Hill Genesis and Riverside reported the highest rates of complaints relative to their stock size. In terms of safety checks, most providers demonstrated high compliance, with only East End Homes and Sanctuary reporting below 99% for gas safety, and East End Homes showing lower compliance for fire safety. Riverside and Tower Hamlets Council were noted as having lower compliance rates for asbestos safety. Lift safety checks also revealed varying compliance levels, with East End Homes and Gateway Housing Association showing the lowest. Anti-social behaviour (ASB) cases were highest in Tower Hamlets Council and Providence Row Housing Association. Re-let times for vacant properties varied significantly, with L&Q having the longest average re-let time for standard relets. Riverside had the highest percentage of stock unavailable for letting at the end of the period.

Councillor Asma Islam raised concerns about the accuracy of the data presented, particularly regarding THCH's reported 100% decent homes when they had recently been in national media for issues. She also questioned the council's plans for addressing its own non-decent stock and the investment programme for windows, roofs, and doors, as well as any mitigation plans for contractor capacity or inflation risks. Representatives from Riverside outlined their development pipeline and investment strategy, noting that they continue to invest in occupied homes regardless of development plans.

The committee also discussed issues at Devon's Estate, managed by Poplar HARCA, where residents were experiencing intermittent water supply. Elizabeth Williams, Chief Operating Officer for Poplar HARCA, assured the committee that residents would not be without water for the rumoured eight months and that emergency measures, including bottled water delivery and surveys by Thames Water, were underway. A full plan was to be shared, with potential access to shower facilities at Bartlett Park.

Your Voice, Our Action & Big Door Knock

Karen Swift, Director of Housing Strategy, Policy and Regulatory Assurance, provided an update on the Your Voice, Our Action regulatory improvement programme, which aims to address failings identified following the council's self-referral to the Housing Regulator in October 2024, resulting in a C3 grading. The programme, which runs until March 2026, has 128 deliverables, with 78 completed, 47 in progress, and 3 not yet started. Key achievements include the delivery of 13 new policies, streamlined voids processes, a new damp and mould policy aligned with Awaab's Law, a reduction in the housing application backlog by over 6,000 cases, and improved call centre answer rates.

The Big Door Knock initiative, conducted between June and September 2025, involved 76 staff volunteers knocking on 2,004 doors across 76 council blocks. This resulted in 417 engagement surveys completed, with 75% of residents rating council communication as average or above. The initiative aimed to improve tenant perception, engage residents in service design, and create effective channels for issue identification and resolution. Issues raised by residents included repairs (22%), ASB (18%), and individual support needs (8%). Lessons learned include the need for better preparedness, digital integration for real-time data capture, and improved communication with residents about engagement opportunities. Councillor Asma Islam noted that some actions taken during the Big Door Knock on the Boundary Estate appeared superficial, and suggested better triangulation with existing repair requests. Councillor Iqbal Hossain highlighted that ASB and repairs were significant issues for residents in his ward, and questioned the actions being taken by Poplar HARCA and the council.

Renters Rights Act 2025 Update and Council Preparedness

Karen Swift also presented an update on the council's preparedness for the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and will see most changes come into effect on 1 May 2026. Key provisions of the Act include the abolition of 'no-fault' evictions (Section 21), the transition to periodic tenancies, restrictions on rent increases to once a year in line with market rates, the application of the Decent Homes Standard to the private rental sector, and prohibitions on discrimination and rental bidding wars.

A monthly working group, chaired by Karen Swift and comprising representatives from Legal, Trading Standards, Health and Housing, Housing Options, Homelessness, and Strategy and Policy, has been established to manage the implementation of the Act. A risk register has been created, and a penalties table detailing enforcement measures has been drafted. The council is preparing for the introduction of a national landlord database later in 2026. Councillor Ahmodul Kabir sought clarification on whether the changes would affect existing tenancies, and was informed that the Act primarily impacts private tenants and that landlords have until May 2026 to end tenancies under existing legislation. Councillor Paolo Sen questioned how rental appraisals and rent increases would be regulated, and was informed that the Act aims for rent stabilisation rather than control, with Trading Standards monitoring compliance. The council is also developing an enforcement policy, which will be presented to Cabinet.

The committee expressed concerns about the clarity of communication regarding the Renters' Rights Act, particularly for existing tenants. There was also a discussion about the council's asset management strategy, with a leaseholder representative noting they had received an invitation to attend a presentation on it without it being presented to the committee first. The Chair agreed to look into this outside of the meeting.