Redbridge Council's Housing Committee has reviewed the local authority's preparedness for upcoming housing inspections, with a focus on regulatory compliance and resident engagement. The review comes in the wake of significant legislative and policy changes impacting the social housing sector.
These changes, including the Social Housing (Regulation) Act (April 2024), Awaab's Law (October 2025), the Decent Homes standard (January 2026), and the Renters' Rights Act (May 2026), encompass four key consumer standards: Tenancy, Neighbourhood and Community, Transparency, Influence and Accountability, and Safety and Quality. The Social Housing (Regulation) Act, for instance, established a regulatory regime for social housing. Awaab's Law introduces more regulation around damp and mold issues, while the Decent Homes standard sets a new, higher benchmark for social housing quality. Although primarily aimed at the private sector, the Renters' Rights Act requires Redbridge Council to consider tenants' rights, such as keeping pets in council homes.
A visual aid presented to the committee highlighted areas of compliance in green and those requiring further work in yellow. The council aims to achieve baseline compliance by October 2026 and improve all 'yellow' areas to 'green' by the end of the calendar year. Key areas needing attention include finalising policies on anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse, which will be taken to cabinet. The tenancy strategy is also being updated to ensure the council effectively manages its stock and engages with tenants. Furthermore, asset management and engagement strategies are being developed to ensure proper stock management and tenant interaction.
In terms of data and accessibility, the council plans to gather more detailed information on tenants' equality categories, ensuring a robust equality of outcomes across different races, sexes, and genders. The housing website is also set for a review and update to improve its accessibility. Additionally, the council is focusing on improving how complaints are handled and demonstrating learning from them, with an agreed action plan with the Housing Ombudsman to address response times.
The Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM) for 2025/26 indicate an overall satisfaction of 69%, with notable improvements in tenants feeling listened to and responded to, and a perception of the council's contribution to neighbourhoods. These results represent the best the council has achieved to date, showing improvement over the previous year. There has also been a significant reduction in non-decent properties, from one in six to one in twenty-five.
A new governance model is being implemented to enhance accountability to the regulator. This includes establishing a Landlord Services Board, chaired by the Lead Member for Housing, Councillor Saima Ahmed. This board will provide the regulator with evidence of effective oversight of landlord functions. The process involves reports going through various channels, including the Executive Leadership Team and potentially this committee, before reaching the Landlord Services Board for note or decision. This aims to create a complete governance loop.
The Competence and Conduct Standard is also being developed, which will include a code of conduct for officers. Tenants will be asked for feedback on the existing code of conduct to see if they wish to recommend any changes.
Councillor Muhammed Javed questioned officers about current practices and improvements. Andrew Billini, Director of Housing, stated that the service is continuously improving. Ben Tomlinson, Head of Housing Strategy, Quality and Assurance, added that while tenants generally receive a good service, the council needs to better evidence its work through governance processes.
The committee requested that specific reports previously requested by councillors be included in future work programmes, with a possibility for some to be presented at the September meeting.
More information on the council's housing strategy can be found in the Public reports pack.
