Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and Thanet District Council have received C3 consumer grades from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).
RSH’s inspection of Nuneaton and Bedworth, in Warwickshire, found serious failings in the delivery of the consumer standards. It said significant improvement was needed, particularly on repairs, health and safety, and transparency and accountability.
This included the landlord’s failure to communicate material issues to RSH promptly, the regulator said.
The regulator also identified weaknesses in how the landlord meets tenants’ diverse needs and handles complaints.
Inspectors also found serious failings at Thanet, in Kent. The most significant issues relate to the quality and condition of homes, and to the council not demonstrating timely or appropriate action to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour.
RSH said Thanet meets expectations in areas including repairs, health and safety, tenancy services, and transparency and accountability, but identified weaknesses that require further action.
RSH deputy chief executive Kate Dodsworth said: “Landlords are responsible for providing safe, decent homes and listening to residents.
“Our inspections found serious failings that are having a real impact on tenants. Where standards fall short, we will hold landlords to account and expect swift and sustained improvement.”
Meanwhile, two housing associations – Northamptonshire-based Greatwell Homes and Stockton-on-Tees-based North Star Housing Group – received C1 grades on their first grading.
Paragon Asra (PA) Housing, which owns 24,000 homes across London, Surrey, and the East Midlands, was upgraded to C1 from C2.
RSH said PA Housing had strengthened its services for tenants by improving repairs and planned maintenance, enhancing controls to support safe and responsive services, and making better use of information about tenants’ needs. It has also improved its oversight of complaints and anti-social behaviour.
All three have unchanged G1 governance and V2 financial viability grades.
In addition, five landlords received C2 grades following inspection. They are Bristol-based Brighter Places, Cornwall Council, First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) LTD, Norfolk-based Freebridge Community Housing LTD, and Somerset-based NSAH (Alliance) Homes.
FCHO has unchanged G1 governance and V1 financial viability grades, while the other three housing associations all have unchanged G1/V2 grades.
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