Tower Hamlets Housing Rated C3: Improvement Plan Underway Following Regulator's Concerns

Tower Hamlets Council is implementing an improvement plan after receiving a C3 grading from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH). The grading indicates that the council does not currently meet all consumer standards, particularly in the areas of building safety, stock condition, and non-decency. The current non-decency rate is 20%.

The Housing Management Cabinet Sub-Committee convened on Wednesday 30 July 2025, to address the RSH's findings and discuss strategies for improvement. The council self-referred to the regulator in October 2024, prompting the inspection in February 2025.

The improvement plan, titled Your Voice, Our Action: Safe Homes, Great Services Programme ¹, includes 104 deliverables across nine workstreams: Repairs, Leaks, Damp & Muld; Asset Management; Governance; Complaints; Data Improvement; ASB; Tenancy; Rents; and Culture. The plan aims to put tenants and their voice at the heart of services, ensure council homes are safe, bring services together under one roof, and achieve compliance with the Consumer Standards.

Darren Reynolds, Interim Head of Regulatory Assurance, clarified that the C3 grading was not a downgrade, as the consumer standards only took effect in April 2024. He highlighted progress in key areas, including a 60% reduction in high-risk fire safety actions and an 83% reduction in legionella actions.

Overall tenant satisfaction stands at 68%. Key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of the improvement plan are reviewed alongside the overall plan with the regulators and Tenant Voice representatives. Some KPIs mentioned include tenant satisfaction, call center handling, and compliance with safety regulations (fire safety, legionella).

Mayor Lutfur Rahman welcomed the inspection, noting concerns about repairs, mould, condensation, and fire safety. He expressed his ambition for a swift transition to a 'good' rating (C1 status), supported by a £140 million investment and £10 million in contingencies to enhance housing stock. The council aims to alleviate the non-decency rate by 2026 through a £140 million accelerated stock survey program. The lifespan of the Your Voice, Our Action: Safe Homes, Great Services Programme is between November 2024 and January 2026. However, he also raised concerns about the quality of workmanship, citing an example at Watts Grove. To address these concerns, the council is implementing more robust contract management of contractors like Mears, who have put extra resources on which has led to some improvement in performance.

Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding, acknowledged that the issues were central to the council's self-referral and affirmed the existence of an improvement plan.

The council has invested £140 million in an accelerated stock survey program to address building safety and decent homes standards, aiming to alleviate the non-decency rate by 2026. The accelerated stock survey program aims to have 100% stock condition data in place by the end of 2026. The £10 million in contingencies will be allocated to address any unexpected building safety issues as they arise within the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). Further work is being done around ASB with the integrated model with community safety and the increase in FEOs and estate patrols consistent customer service and stronger resident engagement. Refresher training has been provided to complaint handlers, and the Customer Relations Team has delivered training to new contractors on the use of the iCasework system. The council is also rolling out refreshed customer care training. The council also had the second of their big door knocks where they actively go out to residents knocking on doors and ask what support they need what kind of repair issues there are actively the whole workforce in order to engage directly with residents and particularly having access to vulnerable residents.