RSH gives Kirklees and Kingston C3 grades over gaps in home condition data

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has given C3 consumer grades to Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames after inspections found serious failings in both councils' knowledge of the condition of their homes.

The judgements, published on Wednesday 14 October 2026, were among eight released by the regulator on the same day. A C3 grade means RSH has found serious failings in a landlord's delivery of the outcomes of the consumer standards and that significant improvement is needed, according to the regulator's guidance on gradings.

Angela Holden, Director of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said: "Both these cases highlight the importance of landlords having a clear understanding of the condition of their tenants' homes and delivering services that keep tenants safe."

Kirklees

RSH said the West Yorkshire council held up-to-date condition information, including an assessment of hazards, for around 25% of its homes and could not provide assurance that it fully understood potential risks across its stock. At June 2026 the council owned 21,286 homes, of which 21,214 were for social rent and 72 for affordable rent, the judgement said.

The regulator said Kirklees had made progress on damp and mould and on health and safety compliance. Its press release put the number of fire safety remedial actions still to be completed at around 2,500, while the full judgement described approximately 2,500 fire remedial actions as remaining overdue.

That compares with the position in March 2024, when RSH found 20,000 fire safety actions overdue at Kirklees and over 1,500 damp and mould repairs not completed in tenants' homes. The council had referred itself to the regulator at that time. Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said then: "The council referred itself to us and has engaged constructively."

The inspection also identified serious failings in the council's approach to anti-social behaviour, and weaknesses in tenant scrutiny, tenant data and complaint handling. Around 70% of complaints were answered within the required timescales, which RSH called a weakness. The regulator said it is engaging with the council as it continues to address the issues.

Kingston

At Kingston, which owns and directly manages about 4,500 social homes in south-west London, RSH said accurate up-to-date information was unavailable for most properties. Only 15% of homes had been surveyed under a new stock condition programme at the time of the inspection, which was completed in October 2026. The council reports that 16% of its homes do not meet the current Decent Homes Standard.

RSH said the council was meeting key health and safety legal requirements and had improved repairs performance following the appointment of a new repairs contractor: 100% of emergency repairs and 86% of routine repairs were completed within target timescales. Weaknesses remained in oversight of remedial actions, repairs to communal areas and complaints handling, with 62% of stage 1 and 74% of stage 2 complaints answered on time. The regulator also found gaps in the council's understanding of tenants' diverse needs.

RSH said it is not proposing to use its enforcement powers against Kingston at this stage and will continue intensive engagement. The council's own housing pages say it will be inspected at least once every four years and given a public rating.

Other judgements

Broadacres Housing Association, which owns around 7,000 homes mostly in Yorkshire and the Humber, was upgraded from a C2 awarded in October 2024 to C1 after showing RSH it had strengthened board oversight, assurance and challenge on its health and safety reporting, and improved how it tackles anti-social behaviour.

Onward Group and Wealden District Council in East Sussex received C1 grades on their first grading. Abri Group, Babergh District Council and Mid Suffolk District Council each received a C2 following inspection. RSH said Abri's grade reflected improvements in addressing safety and quality weaknesses at Octavia Housing, which was given a C3 in July 2024 and joined Abri in December 2024.

Landlord	Homes owned
Abri Group	48,000
Kirklees MBC	21,286
Broadacres	7,000
Kingston	4,500

RSH introduced revised consumer standards and began a programme of landlord inspections on 1 April 2024, following the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023. Local authorities receive consumer grades only, and the regulator does not grade landlords with fewer than 1,000 homes.