Southwark is making strides in its Good Landlord Plan (GLP), designed to improve housing services across the borough. An update was presented at the Housing Scrutiny Commission meeting on Tuesday, 2 December 2025, highlighting progress across several key areas.

The GLP, initiated in response to a C3 judgement from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH)[1], aims to ensure compliance with housing consumer standards and achieve the Southwark 2030 strategy goal of Decent Homes for All . The plan is structured around six core themes: Better Homes, Better Estates, Better Repairs, Better Customer Service, A Stronger Voice for Tenants, and New Council Homes.

Significant progress has been made in the Better Homes category. Domestic electrical condition tests have seen a substantial increase, rising from 24.7% to 48.6%. Communal electrical condition tests have also improved, climbing from 66.9% to 89.93%. Furthermore, the percentage of compliant smoke alarms has risen from 7.0% to 33.2%.

Better Estates have been targeted through the launch of estate surgeries across all areas, designed to enhance resident engagement. A new procedure for responding to anti-social behaviour (ASB) has also been agreed, aiming to provide a more effective and consistent approach to addressing these issues. Key features of this new procedure include updated ASB reporting codes to ensure consistent recording, monthly data review meetings and complex case panels, training for managers and case officers, a strategic ASB board chaired by the Council and Police, and a communications strategy to keep residents informed. The embedding of the new ASB procedure including quality assurance is a focus to March 2026.

In terms of Better Repairs, improvements to the online repair solution have commenced, including changes to the way damp and mould is reported. These changes include better signposting for private rented sector tenants to their landlord or to the private sector housing team for assistance. The form has also been changed to ensure urgent cases are prioritised i.e. where there is a vulnerable household member, and the resident will now receive a unique reference number to improve tracking of their request. The Plentific Marketplace system, intended to streamline sub-contractor procurement and management, went live on 10 November.

Better Customer Service has seen a reduction in the backlog of stage one complaints, thanks to ongoing improvement work. Leaseholders can now access an itemised breakdown of their service charges online, promoting greater transparency.

To give A Stronger Voice for Residents, a new resident engagement strategy has been finalised and is awaiting cabinet approval. This strategy aims to ensure that residents' views are better reflected in decision-making processes.

Regarding New Homes, 34 new homes have been completed, with 676 currently under construction and 14 modular homes in pre-planning, bringing the total number of starts to 724.

[1] The Good Landlord Plan Progress Update report states that on 27th November 2024, the Regulator published its regulatory judgement for Southwark Council's landlord services confirming a consumer grading of C3 which means the Regulator considered there to be serious failings in delivering the outcomes of the Consumer Standards with significant improvement needed. The four Consumer Standards are:

  • Safety and Quality Standard
  • Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard
  • Neighbourhood and Community Standard
  • Tenancy Standard