STORY
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) today issued a C3 grading to Swindon Borough Council after an inspection found “serious failings” in its delivery of consumer standards relating to tenant safety, repairs and resident engagement. RSH’s accelerated inspection, triggered by the council’s own self-referral over health and safety and repairs concerns, identified multiple breaches of statutory requirements. Inspectors found that Swindon Borough Council:
– Could not accurately report on the presence of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
– Failed to track or monitor faults uncovered by electrical safety checks.
– Held more than 800 overdue fire-safety actions—most outstanding for over a year.
– Did not actively monitor or report open damp and mould cases, despite effective follow-up once reported.
– Lacked evidence of involving tenants’ views in decision-making or encouraging participation from under-represented groups.
While the council has demonstrated awareness of these shortcomings and is taking steps to address them, RSH confirmed it will continue close engagement to ensure swift remedial action is taken. Separately, RSH published C2/G1-V1 gradings for three housing associations—Housing 21, Torus62 and Sovereign Network Group—indicating they meet governance and viability standards but require improvements in delivering consumer outcomes. An interim G1/V1 grading was also issued for Bromford Flagship following its merger with Bromford Housing Group in February.
Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said:
“We take health and safety very seriously and expect all landlords to make sure tenants are not at risk in their homes. We also want to see better data management to demonstrate landlords understand their homes and tenants. Self-referrals show accountability and a willingness to improve.”
Under RSH’s framework, a C3 grading denotes “serious failings” in delivering consumer standards, obliging landlords to implement significant improvements or face further regulatory action.