Three local authorities have now received a C1 regulatory judgement: the top possible grade for social landlords from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).
The narrative in the regulatory judgements for Barnsley MBC (which has an ALMO, Berneslai), West Lancashire BC and the City of Westminster Council have some common themes:
- All three councils provided evidence and independent assurance of understanding their homes and of meeting landlord health and safety requirements.
- Tenant safety is central to the RSH's approach. They expect evidence that the right safety checks and risk assessments are done correctly and that any necessary fixes are made promptly.
It is clear there had been preparations and senior level engagement at each of the councils, with one part way through delivering an improvement plan. A C1 grading denotes that the landlord broadly meets the outcomes of the standards. There is a theme across the C1 providers – council and housing association – of self-awareness and of having realistic plans in place, with a track record of delivery.
A culture of treating tenants with fairness and respect is a strength for two of the councils, in complaints handling, engagement and interactions with tenants.
The RSH does not have the remit to give a governance grading to local authorities. It is clear from the C1 judgements to date, however, that good governance is central to demonstrating compliance with the regulatory standards. This means clear and robust oversight across landlord services is critical, along with an understanding of risk and assurance. Controls such as policies should be well designed and operating in practice, and the data underpinning performance reporting, property and tenant insight must be correct.
Campbell Tickell is exploring these themes through a governance survey for councils with retained housing stock, being distributed by the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH) and through a free seminar to be held on Thursday 24 April.
Catherine Little is a director at Campbell Tickell
