Southampton City Council promises improvements to the way it delivers housing services

Southampton City Council has committed to make improvements to its housing service, following publication of the Regulator of Social Housing’s report on the authority on 27 November

In its first inspection of Southampton City Council, the regulator has graded the authority’s housing service as a C3 with a judgement that "there are serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed."

The regulator found failings in the council’s requirement to meet the Decent Homes standard, and that the authority had limited evidence of an accurate and complete understanding of the condition of its homes. In addition, it was found that action is needed to ensure the council is delivering effective, efficient, and timely repairs, and that health and safety inspections were not always completed on time.

Failings were also found in the way the council communicates with and engages tenants, and that performance information about the service was not made available to tenants and staff which undermined tenants’ ability to hold the authority to account. In addition, the report highlights the need to improve how the council handles complaints.

The report notes that the council has been open about the challenges facing its housing service and was committed to improving its services to tenants. It also acknowledges the council is already taking steps to improve in all the areas identified and has an improvement plan in place.

Councillor Lorna Fielker, Leader of Southampton City Council, said:

"On behalf of the council, I would like to apologise to all those tenants who have not received the standard of service they should expect and deserve.

"A good home is the foundation on which happy and healthy lives are built and it is clear that as a landlord, we have let our tenants down. I am committed to ensuring the regulator’s findings are addressed and that our improvement plans are delivered as soon as possible.

Jamie Brenchley, Director of Housing, said:

"We fully acknowledge and accept the regulator’s findings and are committed to improving the service that we provide to tenants.

"We are making improvements as quickly as we can and welcome the opportunity to work closely with the regulator, and most importantly our tenants, as we deliver our improvement plan.

"Our focus is on putting tenants’ voices at the heart of what we do. We must look at how we connect with communities to ensure their views are considered before we make decisions."

Following the publication of the regulator’s report, an updated Housing Improvement Plan will be presented to the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, and the Cabinet in December.