'Serious failings' found in council's housing role

Guildford Borough Council owns about 5,200 social housing properties.

The social housing regulator has found "serious failings" in a Surrey council's role as a landlord.

Guildford Borough Council referred itself to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) in December when "areas of concern" were identified.

The regulator's judgement, published on Tuesday, said "significant improvement" was needed at the council, highlighting issues with electrical reports and certificates.

Guildford council leader Julia McShane said the council "acknowledged and fully accepted" the regulator's findings.

A police investigation into alleged fraud in the council's housing department was opened in November 2023. That has since been escalated to the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit.

In its judgement, the RSH said the council had failed to ensure it was meeting electrical safety requirements.

'Urgent action'

The council, which owns about 5,200 social housing properties, had reported to the regulator it had about 1,700 homes without a current electrical condition report, with a further 1,000 with unsatisfactory certificates.

Additionally, the council did not have evidence of a current electrical condition report for more than 100 communal blocks.

The regulator's report said the council had taken steps to address failures.

It said: "The council has developed an improvement plan, commissioned an external review into its governance and implemented improvements in its reporting."

Ms McShane said: “Everyone living in a council property deserves to have a safe and secure home.

"Since December 2023, we’ve taken urgent action to improve our service.

"We can evidence progress across all areas of compliance and building safety which includes a real time compliance dashboard, recruitment of expert officers and procurement of building safety contracts."

She said all electrical information data had been reviewed and two short term contractors were in place to complete certification work by July 2025.

Tenant surveys were underway and engagement with the regulator would be ongoing, she added.