Regulator flags landlord’s poor data on health and safety and homes quality, as well as failings in tenant engagement and a lack of self-referral
Basildon Borough Council has become the latest local authority to be handed the lowest possible consumer grading by the regulator following an inspection.
In a judgement today the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) handed the Essex council, which owns nearly 11,000 homes, a C4 grading. This means there are “very serious failings” in Basildon delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and it must make fundamental changes to improve.
The RSH found poor data assurance for legal health and safety requirements, and a lack of assurance that remedial actions are accurately recorded or actioned in a timely way.
It also flagged a lack of accurate information on the quality of tenants’ homes, particularly the recording and monitoring of potential hazards.
Basildon was also found to be failing in its engagement with tenants and lacking meaningful opportunities for them to scrutinise landlord services, policies and strategies.
RSH said: “We identified serious failings in Basildon BC’s understanding of the diverse needs of its tenants.
”Although Basildon has started a new programme to collect tenant information, this information is not yet being used to shape or tailor services.
”There is a lack of comprehensive information to allow Basildon BC to fully understand the diverse needs of tenants, assess whether fair and equitable outcomes are being delivered, and ensure that services and information are truly accessible and tailored to individual needs and preferences. “
RSH said it does not have sufficient assurance of repairs performance, or effective oversight of its contractor. In September Basildon announced it was ending its £300m contract with Morgan Sindall because maintenance services had “not been good enough.”
The judgement said the council has been engaging constructively with RSH but needs to develop a full understanding of current risks to tenants and of the root causes of the failings identified.
It said: “Our engagement will be intensive, and we will seek assurance that Basildon understands and is mitigating risks to tenants, is making sufficient progress to improve outcomes for tenants, and is sharing its improvement plan and progress with its tenants.”
RSH also found issues with the council’s Tenant Satisfaction Measure (TSM) reporting, and no evidence of any analysis, learning or actions from the results to improve services.
It added: “Basildon Council did not self-refer to RSH, after an external review in March 2025 found the council was not delivering a range of outcomes in the consumer standards. Due to the seriousness – including the scale and breadth – of the issues identified during the inspection, the lack of self-referral was itself a very serious failing.”
Basildon Borough Council is the eight landlord to be awarded the lowest ‘C4’ grade since the new consumer regulation regime came into effect two years ago. The others, all councils, are Arun District Council, Tandridge District Council. Runnymede Borough Council, Northumberland County Council, Newham Council, Gosport Borough Council and Castle Point Borough Council.
Kate Dodsworth, chief of regulatory Engagement at RSH, said: “We are working intensively with Basildon Council to make sure it understands the risks to tenants and takes prompt action to put things right – prioritising the highest risk issues.
“This case reinforces the importance of landlords self-referring to us when they find problems – either themselves or through external reviews. This is a fundamental requirement of our consumer standards. By flagging issues to us at an early stage, landlords can solve them more quickly and, in doing so, protect tenants and improve services
Basildon Borough Council has been approached for comment.
RSH today also added YMCA Thames Gateway to its gradings under review list, while it investigates matters which may indicate serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the governance and financial viability standard and the consumer standards.
In other judgements today, Worthing Homes was downgraded from G1 to a still-complaint G2 following an inspection. The housing association meets RSH’s governance and financial viability requirements overall, but it needs to improve aspects of its governance to support continued compliance. This includes the reliability, accuracy and completeness of the information it holds, and work is already underway to strengthen these areas. It also received C2 and V2 grades.
One Vision Housing was also downgraded from G1 to G2. RSH said the provider, while complaint, needs to improve some aspects of its governance, including board reporting to support improved oversight of safety and quality outcomes for tenants, as well as aspects of its stress testing. It also received C1 and V1 grades.
Norwich City Council was given a C1 grading after an inspection, while Torus was upgraded from C2 to C1. Bradford-based Incommunities was given G1, V2 and C2 grades.
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