Agenda item

This report will follow in supplementary papers after it has been published for the meeting of Executive Committee (due for publication on Friday 13 February 2026).

The Assistant Director of Environmental and Housing Property Services presented the Housing Consumer Standards Report for Quarter 3 2025/26 The report detailed the Council’s performance in relation to 10 of the Regulator of Social Housing tenant satisfaction measures.

It was reported that there had been some improvement compared to Quarter 2 in respect of the Homes that Do Not Meet the Decent Homes Standards measure. The current non-decency percentage (i.e. housing stock properties which did not meet the Decent Homes Standard) was 10.95 per cent, which was a decrease from a figure of 11.90 per cent at Quarter 2.

For non-emergency and emergency repairs completed within the landlord’s target timescale, it was noted that there had been a plateau in performance over Quarter 3. In terms of outstanding repairs, an example was given in terms of 40 outstanding fencing jobs. Work was ongoing to assess the shortfall in performance against the priority codes and to ensure that accurate and timely closure of jobs was completed on the system.

Most measures under maintaining building safety showed 100 per cent compliance with issues experienced in electrical test of communal areas (EI02) where the performance had fallen below target due to two electrical inspection certificates having yet to be received from the contractor. The Council had also experienced resource issues in the area of electrical compliance through this quarter with the Electrical Compliance Manager leaving in September 2025 and the Council being unable to recruit into this position either on a permanent or temporary basis. In the interim, corrective actions were identified through the contractor carrying out the inspections.

The complaints performance was discussed and it was noted that at Quarter 3 there had been more complaints received, largely due to seasonal issue with wetter weather resulting in more issues such as leaks. 80 per cent of complaints received over Quarter 3 related to repairs and maintenance.

In terms of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), it was reported that at Quarter 3, 55 new ASB cases were started and 56 cases were closed within the period. The team were managing 65 live ASB cases as of report writing. It was highlighted that there was a year-on-year rise in the number of ASB cases and it was thought that several factors contributed to this increase, such as the continued cost of living crisis and the impact of this on people’s mental health and general wellbeing as well as the year-on-year improvements in the Council’s recording and capturing of incidents of ASB/Nuisance and Hate Crime.

It was highlighted that with the new Neighbourhood and Tenancy Team structure coming into place and expected to be fully staffed by March 2026, a further rise in ASB cases as all local areas in the Borough would be covered by a Neighbourhood and Tenancy Officer. However, to provide more prevention support, there would also be an increase in the numbers in the Tenancy Sustainment Team which should stop many cases from escalating to enforcement.

Following the presentation of the report, there were several aspects of the report discussed by Members:

·       Number of properties with gas supply capped – It was clarified that the figure of 181 at paragraph 3.10 referred to the total number of properties that had their gas supply capped as of the end of Quarter 3. This compared to 204 properties at end of Quarter 2. It was explained that in some cases this was due to the tenants themselves requesting to have their gas supply capped, but there was some concern about the number of properties where Officers had not been admitted to undertake gas inspections and where access could not be gained the gas supply had been capped for safety reasons.

·       It was reported that the properties were gas was capped for a more significant period of time were prioritised in terms of tenancy visits and details were shared with the Neighbourhood and Tenancy team to provide opportunity for tenancy visits to ensure any underlying issues could be identified and support solutions for the household provided. It was further clarified that where gas to the property was capped, the tenant remained responsible for arranging matters with their gas supplier such as ending the contract, and the tenant rather than the Council remained liable for any gas bills.

·       Carbon monoxide detectors – A question was asked about the brand and model of carbon monoxide detectors being installed by the Council in its housing stock. Officers undertook to provide details of this to Members.

·       A specific question was asked by a Member with regard to the condition of the steps in Abbeydale. Officers commented that there had been issues identified including with threads and depth of cover on the steps which was being investigated by the Council. A specific response would be provided to the Member concerned outside the meeting.

RESOLVED that

the Council’s Quarter 3 Housing Performance for 2025/26 in respect of the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (Landlord) be noted.