'Serious failings' with council's social housing

"Serious failings" have been identified with Thanet District Council's services for its social housing tenants.

The Regulator of Social Housing found the authority in Kent could not prove it was taking timely action to tackle anti-social behaviour, among other failings.

The regulator graded the council as C3, meaning the landlord was failing to deliver consumer standards and "significant improvement" was needed.

The council said it was "preparing a comprehensive improvement plan to address findings".

In its judgement, following an inspection in September, the regulator said it could not see evidence of "effective case monitoring and oversight" for anti-social behaviour reports.

It also found "no oversight of tenancy decisions" and that the council's tenancy agreement "refers to outdated legislation".

"We found that the complaints process is clearly communicated and accessible, however weaknesses were found in how Thanet District Council learns from complaints to continuously improve services," the Regulator of Social Housing said.

The council's repairs outcomes were "generally positive" and its overall health and safety performance was "reasonable", according to the report.

But questions were asked about how many of the council's 3,200 social rented homes met the Decent Homes Standard - the minimum criteria for social homes.

The standard sets out that homes should be free from serious hazards, in a reasonable state of repair, have reasonably modern facilities and provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.

Thanet District Council "cannot demonstrate that the information collected through its surveys is sufficient to assess that its homes meet all four elements", the Regulator of Social Housing found.

The council "reports that 86% of its homes are decent", according to the regulator.

"We do not have assurance that the reported decency figure is accurate, or that [the council] has an accurate understanding of the investment needed."

The local authority has committed to completing full surveys for all of its homes by the end of March.

Helen Whitehead, the council's cabinet member for housing, said the inspection outcome was "highly disappointing" but the council would "continue to address every area highlighted".

"Our tenant and leaseholder services team works with immense dedication every day to support local people, as do all of our linked housing teams," she said.

"I will always want the very best for our tenants, and we will do everything necessary to ensure we are both delivering and evidencing that commitment."

The Regulator of Social Housing said: "We are not proposing to use our enforcement powers at this stage but will keep this under review as Thanet District Council seeks to resolve these issues."

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