Wandsworth Council's leader has apologised to tenants and leaseholders for the level of service
they have received in recent years, acknowledging significant failures within the borough's housing stock. Councillor Robert Morritt stated that the council's housing stock is ageing and finding it increasingly difficult to meet today's standards, particularly in areas of energy efficiency, accessibility, fire safety, family life, and dealing with crime and anti-social behaviour. Our borough has an ageing retained housing stock that's finding it increasingly difficult to meet today's standards,
Councillor Morritt said at an extraordinary council meeting on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Those standards have rightly risen since the Grenfell tragedy, and we simply cannot say we are meeting them all. If we were, we would not have a C3 rating.
The current regulatory rating for Wandsworth Council's housing stock is C3, with the administration aiming to achieve a C1 rating. The ambition of this administration is to deliver a C1 rating,
Councillor Morritt explained. That's not simply a technically regulatory matter. It's about confidence that homes are safe, that they're well maintained and properly managed, that tenants and leaseholders rightly expect accurate records, timely inspections, effective repairs, and a housing service that puts them first.
Councillor Morritt also outlined commitments to strengthen compliance, improve resident engagement, and enhance accountability within the housing service. These measures are part of Wandsworth's Housing Improvement and Transformation Plan, which is supported by a new oversight board and independent reviews. Wandsworth's Housing Improvement and Transformation Plan, supported by a new oversight board and independent reviews, is intended to strengthen compliance, improve resident engagement, and deliver better accountability across the housing service,
he added.
A key step in this process will be the re-establishment of an Executive Director for Housing to give the department a stronger voice. The formal recruitment process for this role is set to commence following the Joint Staffing Committee later on Thursday this week. Housing should have its own voice around the top table,
Councillor Morritt stated. Establishing a housing ED was a manifesto commitment, and we aim to deliver on that.
Councillor Morritt also addressed the trade-offs involved in delivering more homes. He expressed a preference to focus on improving existing stock, stating, Recognising the trade-off between the two, the HRA isn't infinite. We can only leverage once, and in a choice between new build and existing stock, my preference will unashamedly be that we focus on existing stock.
However, he confirmed the cancellation of some housing projects deemed undeliverable. For example, the Fitzhugh project, which involved 42 units over a major gas pipeline, was cancelled because it was undeliverable.
Removing these sites brings the total number of projects not going ahead to 253.
Councillor Simon Hogg, Leader of the Opposition, responded by welcoming the debate on housing policy. He reiterated Labour's commitment to affordable homes, highlighting their record on using public land for council homes and redesigning regeneration projects. Four years ago, the people of this borough elected a Labour Council to make genuinely affordable homes for local people our priority,
he said. Thanks to Councillor DECADEM's leadership, we flipped that programme, so public land would deliver council homes for local people... We redesigned the Alton Regeneration, made it a renewal plan, so regeneration means more affordable homes, not fewer, but crucially, a full-placed plan with transport, green spaces, employment and community facilities at its heart.
Councillor Hogg expressed disagreement with the Conservative administration's cancellation of housing schemes and called for greater transparency. He stressed the need for both more and better homes, stating, We need more homes, and we need better homes.
Councillor Morritt apologised to tenants and leaseholders for the level of service received in recent years, acknowledging that It's less than they had a right to respect, and it won't be fixed overnight, but fix it we will.
