Housing bosses in Newcastle have been told to turn around “serious failings” in the city’s council homes.
More than 1,800 overdue repairs and a backlog of more than 1,000 damp and mould cases have been identified across the 25,000 social housing homes managed by Newcastle City Council. In a judgement published on Wednesday morning, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) said there were “serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed”.
The watchdog said that around a quarter of council homes in the city and half of communal areas did not have a satisfactory electrical condition report and that there were more than 850 overdue fire safety upgrades required, as of November 2024. The city council, which had referred itself to the regulator having identified 16 areas where it was falling short of RSH standards, said that C3 grading it has been awarded was “extremely disappointing” but had been expected.
Vicky McDermott, who was appointed as the authority’s director of housing and communities after the abolition of Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) last summer saw control of council housing return to the civic centre, added that there had been a “significant improvement in several areas” since the regulator’s assessment. The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported last week how more than 3,000 council houses and a further 57 communal blocks across Newcastle were feared to contain potentially dangerous ‘ranch-style’ staircases.
The regulator also criticised a lack of an up-to-date domestic abuse policy and tenant information. It said that, because its last stock condition survey was completed more than a decade ago, the council was also “unable to provide evidence that it has a sufficient understanding of its homes to deliver the outcomes in the Safety and Quality Standard and we cannot be assured that it is providing homes of decent quality to its tenants”.
The Labour-run council chose to scrap YHN, the arms length management organisation it established in 2004, in the hope of cutting costs, enhancing relations with residents and improving its repairs service. A contractor has been commissioned to undertake a new condition survey of the entire housing stock, which will take until June 2027 to complete, while new ventilation systems are due to be installed in tower blocks plagued by damp and mould issues.
The regulator said that the council had “acted transparently” and was “taking steps to address the significant failures identified”. It added: “We expect Newcastle CC to implement these improvements. Our engagement with the landlord will be intensive and we will seek evidence to give us the assurance that sufficient change and improvement is being made, including ongoing monitoring of how Newcastle CC is delivering its improvement plan.
“Our priority will be that any relevant risks to tenants are adequately managed and mitigated. We are not proposing to use our enforcement powers at this stage but will keep this under review as Newcastle CC seeks to resolve these issues.”
Ms McDermott said that “change can’t happen overnight” but that “the safety and quality of our homes is our priority”. She added: “We are reviewing our current working practices to ensure we are able to provide a timely and right first-time resolution to repairs, with a particular emphasis on a long-term plan to help to resolve the issues around damp and mould which impacts a number of our properties.
“Since the Regulators assessment, we have been proactively visiting residents, which has seen an increase in the volume of reports of damp and mould, however due to changes in how we now prioritise reports of this nature, we have been able to provide a timely and efficient response, meaning that our backlog of outstanding reports has not increased. We’ve already reduced the number of overdue repairs since the assessment by over 10% and have now carried out electrical safety tests in over 90% of all communal blocks, with all high-rise block testing completed.
“We will soon be launching a new Repairs Policy which will provide residents with a clear service outline and timeframe to expect their repairs to be completed. We know we have a long way to go, but together, working with and listening to our residents, and with the ongoing support of the Regulator, we can make a difference and improve council housing in the city.”
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