Croydon's Housing Services are under increased scrutiny as they prepare for an upcoming inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing in Q3 of the financial year 2026/2027. The Housing Assurance Board met on Monday, July 13, 2026, to discuss operational performance, with a particular focus on areas requiring improvement.
Despite some successes, including strong performance in the Repairs Contact Centre and improvements in tenant satisfaction measures, significant concerns were raised regarding a reduction in gas compliance, persistent void numbers, and ongoing issues with complaints and member enquiry timescales. The loss of interim staff in key compliance roles has also been highlighted as a contributing factor to these challenges.
Gas Compliance Concerns
Gas compliance has seen a reduction to 99.14%, with 107 cases outstanding, 45 of which are older than three months. The oldest outstanding case dates back to April 2024. These cases are being managed with the No-Access Manager and are progressing towards legal injunctions. While gas compliance has decreased from 178 to 129 cases compared to the same period last year, the Regulator of Social Housing will be closely examining this area during the inspection.
Addressing Void Numbers
Void numbers remain a concern, with a Voids Improvement Plan now in progress. To address this, both contractors have taken responsibility for utility issues, and a key objective is the procurement of an additional three specialist voids contractors. The team has met with a voids critical friend, and a workshop is scheduled for July to review lessons learned from previous contracts and inform the procurement of new contracts, expected in November 2026.
Improving Complaint Resolution
In the area of complaints, performance for both Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints has dropped against the Housing Ombudsman's Code. For the full financial year 2025/2026, only 58.7% of Stage 1 and 20.4% of Stage 2 complaints were resolved within timescales, an improvement on the previous year but still below expected performance. Stage 2 landlord complaints are now being managed within the Housing Directorate to allow for tighter management of timescales. A Complaints Improvement Plan, refreshed in March 2026, is progressing across six priority areas, aiming for sustained performance improvement and backlog reduction.
Repairs and Maintenance Overhaul
Repairs and maintenance services are showing signs of improvement, with a focus on first-time fix rates and a reduction in overdue jobs. The 'Repairs Blueprint,' an improvement action plan developed after consultation with tenants, contractors, and staff, aims to modernise delivery and improve customer experience over the next three years. Key elements include governance, communication, training, and equipment in Phase 1 (2026 Q1-Q2), technology, diagnostics, and mobile working in Phase 2 (2026 Q3-Q4), and a resident portal, predictive repairs, and data integration in 2027.
However, areas such as roofing, scaffolding, and drainage subcontractors require further attention. To address delays with roofing and scaffolding, a weekly scaffold register is being implemented. For drainage issues, one subcontractor covering all work has caused delays, leading to an increase and diversification of subcontract resources.
Tackling Sickness Rates
Sickness rates within the Housing Directorate remain higher than the London Council average. In January 2026, the national average was 9 days per employee per year, and the London Council average was 9.6 days, compared to 12.1 days in Croydon and 19.8 days in Housing. While there has been a significant reduction in long-term sickness absences, the project is now focusing on persistent short-term sickness. Analysis is being undertaken using the Bradford factor to identify employees with frequent short spells of sickness. Employees with persistent absence will be reviewed, and cases may lead to dismissals if no improvement is demonstrated.
Efforts are also underway to strengthen workforce stability and professional standards, with 82 permanent appointments made and ongoing recruitment for specialist and senior positions. Recruitment challenges remain, particularly within specialist, technical, and senior housing roles, with three Head of Service appointments still pending. The directorate aims to strengthen workforce stability, professional standards, and organisational resilience to deliver positive resident outcomes.
Inspection Readiness
Preparations for the inspection are progressing, including meetings with other authorities for advice, updating the document inventory, and fortnightly stand-up meetings to monitor progress against an inspection readiness checklist. The Board was informed that the Regulator of Social Housing is not expecting perfection but wants to see a clear understanding of the housing stock and informed business decisions being made as a result. Specifically, the regulator will be looking at how the council uses its completed stock condition surveys (98% complete) to inform judgments and business decisions, demonstrating how informed a landlord it is.
Understanding Resident Needs and Fraud Prevention
The meeting also covered efforts to better understand residents' needs through improved data collection. Significant improvements have been made in capturing contact details, with 79% of residents having a mobile number recorded. This data is being used to tailor services, including prioritising fire risk assessments for vulnerable residents. Furthermore, PowerBI reports are being used to identify potential fraud, such as under-occupation and properties with no reported repairs for over three years. Nine referrals have been made to the fraud team, leading to the recovery of two properties.
For more details, refer to the Public reports pack and the Agenda frontsheet.
