RSH finds serious failings at Bury Metropolitan Borough Council
The Regulator of Social Housing also published its first large batch of stability checks today.
The Regulator of Social Housing has given Bury Metropolitan Borough Council a C3 consumer grade after finding serious failings relating to health and safety, engagement with tenants, and service and performance information.
During an inspection, RSH found limited evidence of meaningful opportunities for tenants to scrutinise their landlord’s performance or influence how its services are delivered.
Significant improvement is also needed in the accessibility of information about landlord services and how services are performing. Bury MBC had also failed to meet the technical and survey requirements of the Tenant Satisfaction Measures.
Additionally, the Greater Manchester local authority was unable to provide sufficient assurance on the accuracy of its health and safety compliance information.
RSH identified weaknesses in Bury MBC’s repairs service (including meeting legal timescales for investigating, identifying and repairing hazards like damp and mould), the approach to anti-social behaviour and hate incidents, understanding and responding to tenants’ diverse needs and complaint handling. While a range of improvements are in progress, processes and systems were still being embedded and Bury MBC was unable to demonstrate that these improvements had consistently translated into better outcomes for tenants.
RSH did, however, find evidence that Bury MBC was reducing its backlog of overdue repairs, taking action to improve the quality of its data and had further service improvements planned. Bury MBC has worked constructively with RSH, and RSH will continue to engage intensively with the council as it addresses these issues and delivers the improvements required.
RSH Deputy Chief Executive Kate Dodsworth said:
“It’s really important that landlords give tenants meaningful opportunities to scrutinise their performance.
“They should listen carefully to what tenants say and act on this to improve their services.
“They also need to have accurate health and safety information to make sure tenants’ homes are safe and carry out repairs promptly when needed.”
RSH also published stability checks for 19 landlords today including Peabody Trust, Sanctuary Housing Association, The Guinness Partnership, Southern Housing and Hyde Housing Association Limited.
Stability checks are the annual assessment of a landlord’s financial position, business plan and risk profile, used to determine whether its financial viability grading remains appropriate.
The process no longer includes a review of governance gradings and is focused solely on financial viability.
Kate Dodsworth said:
“A strong financial footing underpins everything a landlord does.
“Stability checks are an important part of our ongoing oversight, helping to ensure landlords remain financially viable and able to deliver for current and future tenants.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
The full list of judgements published today is provided in the table below.
| Landlord | Consumer grade | Governance Grade | Viability Grade | Engagement Process |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bury Metropolitan Council | C3 | - | - | Inspection |
| Citizen Housing Group Limited | C1 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Cobalt Housing Limited | C1 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| East Midlands Housing Group Limited | C1 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Eden Housing Association Limited | Not assessed yet | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| (The) Guinness Partnership Limited | C1 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Havebury Homes | C1 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Hyde Housing Association Limited | C1 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Joseph Rowntree Trust | C2 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Karibu Community Homes Limited | C2 (based on previous assessment) | G2 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| North Devon Homes | C1 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Ocean Housing Limited | Not assessed yet | G2 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Orwell Housing Association Limited | Not assessed yet | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Peabody Trust | C2 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association Limited | C1 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Saffron Housing Trust Limited | C1 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Sanctuary Housing Association | C1 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Southern Housing | C2 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| Trident Housing Association Limited | C2 (based on previous assessment) | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
| YMCA St Paul’s Group | Not assessed yet | G1 (based on previous assessment) | V2 (assessed and unchanged) | Stability Check |
- On 1 April 2024 RSH introduced revised consumer standards for social housing landlords, designed to drive long-term improvements in the sector. It also began a programme of landlord inspections. The changes are a result of the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and include stronger powers to hold landlords to account. More information about RSH’s approach is available in its document Reshaping Consumer Regulation.
- RSH does not give grades to small landlords (under 1,000 homes) and only publishes regulatory judgements where it considers there to be serious weaknesses or failings in a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of the standards.
- More information about RSH’s responsive engagement, programmed inspections and consumer gradings is also available on its website.
- RSH promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver more and better social homes. It does this by setting standards and carrying out robust regulation focusing on driving improvement in social landlords, including local authorities, and ensuring that housing associations are well-governed, financially viable and offer value for money. It takes appropriate action if the outcomes of the standards are not being delivered.
- RSH publishes gradings for consumer, governance and viability. Local authorities only receive consumer gradings. More information can be found on our How we approach regulatory judgements and gradings page.
- For media enquiries please contact vicky.moore@rsh.gov.uk or christian.cosby@rsh.gov.uk. For general enquiries, email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk.