Wandsworth Council is set to introduce an annual performance and audit report to scrutinise the delivery of housing associations (HAs) within the borough, aiming to ensure accountability and transparency for residents. The decision was made during a Housing Committee meeting on 2 October 2025, where councillors discussed the framework for engagement and oversight of these organisations.
The audit, detailed in the Annual performance and audit report for HAs, aims to benchmark performance and improve transparency for social housing residents. It follows the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2024, which brought significant changes for social housing landlords and strengthened the regulatory regime to ensure compliance with consumer standards.
The council intends to use the annual audit report to inform conversations with housing associations and highlight their performance to the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Councillor Matthew Corner mentioned that the council has enforcement action powers that it can take on matters such as environmental health and hazards.
According to the report, housing associations manage over 14,000 homes in Wandsworth, with the four largest providers accounting for nearly 70% of this stock. These include:
- Wandle Housing (1,589 homes)
- London & Quadrant Housing Trust (2,026 homes)
- Peabody (2,376 homes)
- Southern Housing (3,738 homes)
The council currently engages with housing associations through councillor enquiries, regular collaborative meetings, issue-specific meetings, and engagement on new developments. The council also hosts an annual Housing Association Forum, inviting all stockholding HAs to participate. This event promotes best practice in housing management and facilitates collaborative learning across the sector.
The annual audit report, scheduled to be presented to the committee in the autumn, will evaluate how the four largest housing associations are delivering services against the regulatory consumer standards. Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) will be used as a benchmarking tool, with comparisons drawn against the G15 providers, which are the 15 largest housing associations in London. The consumer standards will form the basis of the audit assessment. A summary of each provider's performance across the consumer standards will be provided, highlighting areas of strength and where improvements need to be made. The report will also include observations which will be shared with each HA to inform future engagement.
The regulatory standards set by the Regulator of Social Housing include the Safety and Quality Standard, Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, Tenancy Standard, and Neighbourhood and Community Standard.
The Housing OSC Work Programme report also included the update and Terms of Reference for the Social Housing Improvement Task and Finish Group, which was established following a C3 grading by the Regulator of Social Housing after an inspection in late 2024. Councillor Kate Stock is scheduled to chair the group, with Councillors Finna Ayres, Sarah Davies, Ravi Govindia and Mrs. Angela Graham as members. Councillor Maurice McLeod was scheduled to be invited to sessions dedicated to tenant engagement. The Task and Finish Group aims to meet monthly, around 1-2 weeks after the monthly Cabinet Member for Housing/ officer/ regulator liaison meeting. The Group will report on progress to the Housing OSC at its meetings in October, November and January 2025/26.
The council will explore opportunities to look at other main providers in the borough as well to ensure that the voices and concerns of tenants from smaller housing associations are also heard and addressed.
The report also mentions that when a HA's rating is downgraded, this (and potential impacts on Wandsworth residents) will be addressed through the established partnership meetings. It is intended that such matters will also be reflected in the proposed Annual HA Audit Report, where appropriate.
The audit will involve HAs throughout the process to ensure the report reflects accurate performance data (using borough-specific information where available) and supports collaborative improvement, ensuring the audit process remains objective.
