The housing regulator found serious failings at Kingston Council: only 15% of its 4,500 council homes surveyed. Repairs passed, but complaints ran slow.
The Regulator of Social Housing has found serious failings in how Kingston Council runs its council homes. It has given the council a C3 grade, the second worst of four.
The main problem is that the council does not know the condition of most of its homes. At the time of the inspection, only 15% had been surveyed under a new programme.
The regulator published its judgement on Wednesday 14 October, after an inspection completed this month. It is the first time Kingston has been graded under the tougher regime that began in April 2024. The council owns and manages about 4,500 social homes.
What the inspectors found
The regulator’s standards require a landlord to hold “accurate, up-to-date and evidenced” information on the condition of its homes. Kingston’s last stock survey was in 2020-21, and it did not include a physical inspection inside every home.
The judgement also records:
- 16% of the council’s homes do not meet the Decent Homes Standard, by the council’s own figures
- that falls to 10% once homes recently brought up to standard, and homes due for demolition under the regeneration programme, are left out
- the council meets the legal health and safety requirements for tenants’ homes and communal areas
- but its reporting and oversight of remedial actions, and of the deadlines for dealing with serious or emergency hazards, “requires improvement”
- only 62% of stage 1 complaints and 74% of stage 2 complaints were answered within the Housing Ombudsman’s timescales
- there are gaps in what the council knows about tenants’ diverse needs across some protected characteristics
The new survey programme will cover every home within the next 18 months, the regulator said.
What went well
The inspectors were not critical across the board. They found repairs to tenants’ homes “effective, efficient and timely”. 100% of emergency repairs and 86% of routine repairs were done within target.
That follows the appointment of a new repairs contractor. The council’s previous contractor, Breyer Group, went into administration in April 2025, according to a council statement at the time. Repairs to communal areas are still weak, the regulator said.
The council passed on anti-social behaviour, tenancy services and the way it treats tenants. The regulator saw “a positive culture of fairness and respect” and evidence that tenant feedback had changed how repairs are handled.
It is not proposing enforcement action “at this stage”. It will engage with the council intensively and keep that under review.
What the council says
The council accepted the grade in a statement the same day. It said it “recognises the seriousness of the judgement” and is speeding up the survey programme. It is now drawing up an improvement plan, as the regulator requires.
Councillor Emily Davey, the portfolio holder for housing, said: “Providing safe, warm, decent homes for council tenants is the highest priority for the council.” She said the council is strengthening how it oversees repairs and speeding up complaint responses.
The council’s statement describes a C3 as meaning it “is meeting the majority of the required standards”. The regulator’s own wording for the grade is “serious failings” with “significant improvement” needed.
How Kingston compares in London
The regulator has now graded 20 London councils, counting the City of London Corporation. Nine of them, Kingston included, are on C3. Newham is the only one on C4.
| Grade | London councils |
|---|---|
| C1 | Barnet, Enfield, Hammersmith and Fulham, Sutton, Westminster |
| C2 | Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Lambeth, Waltham Forest |
| C3 | Brent, City of London, Hackney, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth |
| C4 | Newham |
Sutton, next door, holds the top grade. Across England, 47 of the 107 councils graded so far are on C3 or C4, according to the regulator’s judgements table.
Kirklees in West Yorkshire was given a C3 on the same day. The regulator’s press release said both cases “highlight the importance of landlords having a clear understanding of the condition of their tenants’ homes”.
What it means for you
If you are a council tenant, expect a surveyor to ask to inspect your home at some point in the next 18 months. Letting them in is how the council builds the condition record the regulator found missing.
For a repair, use the council’s report a repair page.
If you complain, the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code sets the clock:
- the council must acknowledge a complaint within 5 working days
- a stage 1 reply is due within 10 working days of that acknowledgement
- a stage 2 reply is due within 20 working days of acknowledgement
- any extension should be no more than 10 working days at stage 1, or 20 at stage 2, without good reason
If you are still unhappy after stage 2, you can take the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.
The grade does not change your tenancy, your rent or your rights. It means the regulator will be checking the council’s progress closely until the problems are fixed.
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