Brent Council has referred itself to the housing regulators after it ‘identified weaknesses’ in how it follows up on completing housing repairs including addressing damp and mould.
The local authority said it is ‘determined to improve the quality’ of council homes in the borough after admitting it has ‘fallen short’ of its responsibilities as a landlord.
After completing checks across all of its estates in the borough, Brent Council has voluntarily referred itself to the Housing Regulator after it raised concerns about how it managed ‘follow-up actions’.
The concerns were identified as part of the council’s new Housing Improvement Plan and it says it has since written to tenants to inform them of what action it will take next.
Damp and mould squads, as well as a number of ‘action days’ will be rolled out across the council homes in order to ‘blitz through the repairs’ that are needed to bring them up to standard, according to Brent Council. The local authority has also appointed new leadership in its housing department after acknowledging that it has ‘fallen short of our responsibilities as a landlord and the expectations of our tenants’.
The social housing regulator sets out the standards that landlords must deliver under the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. The Social Housing Act 2023, which came into force on April 1, 2024, introduced four new consumer standards that apply to all registered providers of social housing – including local authorities.
They place an emphasis on ‘decent homes, tenant safety, tenant engagement, transparency and a duty on landlords to highlight any areas of non-compliance’.
Following the self-referral, the regulator will review the reports and data that the council shares and ask it to take specific action where necessary. The actions are designed to help the local authority improve the services and support provided to tenants and leaseholders.
Brent Council has said that its Director of Housing is working closely with the regulator as they assess the issues and outlined a number of actions it is carrying out in the meantime in order to ‘keep tenants safe’. These include bringing in building safety experts to make sure it has carried out the necessary works; employing specialist contractors to start work on any outstanding issues; and write to tenants to inform them of the scope work required.
Cabinet Member for Housing and Resident Services, Cllr Fleur Donnelly-Jackson, said: “The safety and security of our tenants and leaseholders is absolutely essential and I am determined to improve the quality of our council homes. Whilst we have made real, tangible progress in recent months, the council will now work closely with the regulator to strengthen our processes, and families will be kept up to date as we fix any outstanding actions.”
She added: “We’re looking forward to working with the tenants who have joined the new Housing Management Advisory Board, because listening leads to better decision-making and we are determined to improve the service we offer.”
Grant Williams is a journalist and Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Reach PLC, reporting on local government, politics and community issues across London. As part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he has contributed to Harrow Online, covering council decisions, housing developments, transport, planning matters and stories affecting local communities across Harrow and Brent.
