Brentwood Borough Council has been awarded a consumer grading of C2 by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) – following an extensive inspection which took place in March this year.
The RSH sets the standards which social landlords, including local authorities, must deliver to ensure tenants experience high quality homes and services.
The purpose of the inspection was to measure how well the council is meeting the four standards - neighbourhood and community, safety and quality, tenancy, and transparency, influence and accountability.
A C2 rating - the second highest available - means that Brentwood Borough Council is delivering most of the requirements and identifies some areas where improvement is needed.
In its judgement, the regulator recognised that the council:
- Has appropriate systems in place to manage health and safety responsibilities, with a proactive approach to addressing damp and mould issues.
- The council is delivering repairs in a timely manner and is working with contractors to improve tenant satisfaction with the repairs service.
- The council collaborates with the police and other organisations to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) and is reviewing its ASB policy to ensure it remains up to date.
- The council offers various ways for tenants to get involved, including newly established Tenant Panels, and is committed to enhancing tenant-led scrutiny.
Commenting on the inspection results, Councillor Dr Tim Barrett, Chair of the Housing, Health and Community Committee at Brentwood Borough Council said: "We are encouraged by the positive aspects highlighted in the regulatory judgement, especially around safety and housing repairs. However, we already have plans in place to address the areas highlighted for improvement and the regulator was assured by our improvement plan.
“Our goal is to ensure that all our tenants receive the highest quality of service and support, and we will continue to work closely with the regulator to ensure that all necessary actions are taken to achieve the highest standards we can in our housing services.”
Some areas identified by the regulator where the council can improve its housing services included enhancing tenant communications and improving tenant satisfaction with the way it handles complaints. The council accept their recommendations and there is a strong focus within our improvement plan to address these.
Brentwood Borough Council manages around 2,400 social housing homes, including general needs and sheltered housing.