Brent Council fails to meet RSH’s consumer standards

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has published three regulatory judgements on the London Borough of Brent.

The Borough has failed to meet the outcomes in the consumer standards and has been given a C3 grading from the Regulator of Social Housing.

The council made a self-referral in April concerning the quality and accuracy of its fire safety data.

After a spot check, the council found that although actions from fire risk assessments had been closed, evidence of completion was not available in all instances and that some actions had not been completed.  

Following RSH's engagement with the borough, it was also found that data for fire safety, smoke and carbon monoxide safety, asbestos management and water safety could not be reconciled and that concerns about the data validation process that took place prior to LB Brent implementing its new asset management system.

Furthermore, although LB Brent is reporting that it has 95% of its stock condition data, almost half of its homes have not had a recorded survey.

The regulator will continue to engage with the council as it seeks to address the issues identified, including evidencing that it is taking reasonable steps to mitigate risks to tenants as it creates and delivers its improvement plan.

Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said: "Accurate, up-to-date data is fundamental to landlords delivering safe, decent homes for tenants. LB Brent has engaged positively with us since their self-referral and we will continue to work closely with them as they put things right for tenants.

"Our scrutiny of housing associations’ governance and viability is vital to ensuring landlords are manging their risks effectively. Things can go wrong without robust board challenge and rigorous stress-testing. We will continue to regulate for a sector that is well run and viable, to enable more and better homes for tenants."

Following an inspection, Metropolitan Housing Trust has been downgraded from G1 to G2 - meaning that it meets RSH’s governance requirements overall but needs to improve some aspects of its arrangements to support continued compliance.  

Metropolitan Housing Trust also received C2/V2 gradings and Mosscare St Vincent’s Housing Group was upgraded from C2 to C1, following responsive engagement.