Ealing Council makes progress towards C1 housing regulator rating, focusing on repairs and safety
Ealing Council is working towards achieving a C1 rating from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) following a C2 grading, with significant progress reported in its Provider Improvement Plan. The council's efforts are focused on enhancing its housing services, particularly in repairs performance, asset management, building safety, and resident engagement.
Stephen Tate, Operational Director for Landlord Services, informed stakeholders that the RSH has reduced its monthly meetings with the council to bi-monthly, indicating satisfaction with the current direction of travel. However, he stressed that achieving a C1 rating requires continued dedication and evidence of sustained improvement.
Repairs Performance and Improvements
While overall repairs performance has improved, there was some under-performance in August. This was attributed to a combination of contractor resource pressures, vacancies, service transition activity associated with implementation of the RDC and operational process issues.
Joint recovery plans with contractors, including Wates, are in place to address issues such as overdue repairs and first-time fix rates. These plans focus on enhanced governance and contractor oversight, improved performance insight to reduce repeat visits, and clearer operational reporting to improve scheduling and appointment compliance. The new Repairs Diagnostic Centre, launched in August 2026, is in its embedding phase, with its full impact expected to be assessed in the new year. The centre aims to improve repairs diagnosis, communication, and the overall resident experience.
Councillor Martin raised questions about repair call categorisation and response times, with Jed Livermore, Divisional Director from Wates, explaining that emergency repairs are expected to be visited within four hours, urgent repairs within five days, and routine repairs within 28 days.
RSH Provider Improvement Plan Progress
Stephen Tate highlighted key achievements in delivering the improvement plan, including the Repairs Diagnostic Centre, the finalisation of the Asset Management Strategy, and enhanced resident engagement activities. The council is actively seeking to learn from other local authorities that have achieved a C1 rating, participating in various networks to share best practices.
Current resident engagement activities include community workshops, drop-in events, estate action days, the Housing and You Event,
and Customer Access / Readers Panel workshops.
A Youth Engagement Group has also been established. To meet the requirements for a C1 rating, the council is focusing on embedding and evidencing these improvements for residents,
strengthening learning from complaints and resident feedback,
and continuing to demonstrate how resident insight and scrutiny are influencing service delivery and decision-making.
Specific enhancements include ongoing delivery of TLF surveys to collect vulnerabilities information and the launch of phase 5 customer access workshops. The council is also working towards the sign-off of the Housing Annual Report 2025/26. Key lessons learned from C1-rated authorities highlight the importance of understanding every resident
and giving residents real influence.
Councillor Wheeler suggested Ealing investigate joining the Cooperative Council's Innovation Network, citing Westminster's success with a C1 rating and their involvement with the network. This suggestion was met with interest, and further research will be undertaken.
Public reports pack Wednesday 14-Oct-2026 19.00 Housing and Environment Scrutiny Panel