Regulatory Notice: London Borough of Redbridge (28 September 2022)
Published 28 September 2022
Applies to England
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RSH Regulatory Notice
- Provider: London Borough of Redbridge
- Registration number: 00BC
- Publication date: 28 September 2022
- Reason for publication: Consumer Standards
- Regulatory route: Reactive Engagement
Other providers included in the judgement
None
Regulatory Findings
The regulator has concluded that:
a) London Borough of Redbridge (LB Redbridge) has breached part 1.2 of the Home Standard; and
b) As a consequence of this breach, there was the potential for serious detriment to LB Redbridge’s tenants.
The regulator will work with LB Redbridge as it seeks to remedy this breach.
The issue
LB Redbridge made a self-referral to the regulator in June 2022 as it had identified a potential failure to meet statutory health and safety requirements in some of its homes. LB Redbridge reported it had not completed electrical safety checks for every property which needed one. Following our investigation, we identified LB Redbridge also failed to comply with statutory health and safety requirements regarding fire, asbestos and water safety.
Our investigation
As a registered provider, LB Redbridge is required to comply with the consumer standards, including the Home Standard. The Home Standard requires registered providers to have a cost-effective repairs and maintenance service and to meet all applicable statutory requirements that provide for the health and safety of tenants in their homes.
In respect of fire safety, LB Redbridge has a statutory duty[footnote 1] to regularly assess the risk of fire and to take precautions to prevent the risk of fire. Our investigation found that LB Redbridge had more than 3,000 overdue remedial actions in relation to fire door replacements. LB Redbridge was unable to report when the fire doors would be installed, their risk profile or how long the actions had been overdue.
With regards to electrical safety, LB Redbridge is required to ensure that electrical installations are in working and safe condition both at the start of any tenancy and throughout that tenancy.[footnote 2] LB Redbridge reported that almost 200 communal areas and 2,000 domestic properties did not have a current electrical condition report.
For asbestos safety,[footnote 3] the evidence provided to the regulator showed that LB Redbridge had not assessed whether over 450 communal areas required asbestos surveys. Without up-to-date surveys, the council cannot be assured that risks are being properly managed or that tenants are not being exposed to asbestos.
With regards to water safety, [footnote 4] we found that LB Redbridge did not have current risk assessments for more than 160 residential blocks.
The regulator considered the case as a potential breach of part 1.2 of the Home Standard and has concluded that LB Redbridge did not have an effective system in place to allow it to meet its statutory health and safety responsibilities across a range of areas, and to demonstrate that it was compliant across these areas.
Complying with statutory health and safety requirements is a fundamental responsibility of all registered providers because of the potential for serious harm to tenants. LB Redbridge has demonstrated to the regulator that it understands the work it needs to undertake to ensure the required statutory checks and relevant safety actions are completed. However, taking into account the seriousness of the issues, the duration for which tenants were exposed to risk, and the number of tenants potentially affected, the regulator has concluded that LB Redbridge has breached the Home Standard and that there was a risk of serious detriment to tenants during this period.
Our engagement
Section 198A of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (as amended) states that the regulator’s regulatory and enforcement powers may be used if a registered provider has failed to meet a consumer standard. In order to use regulatory or enforcement powers, as well as the failure to meet the standard, there should also be reasonable grounds to suspect that the failure has resulted in a serious detriment to the provider’s tenants (or potential tenants) or that there is a significant risk that, if no action is taken by the regulator, the failure will result in a serious detriment to the provider’s tenants (or potential tenants).
LB Redbridge has started to put in place a programme to rectify these failures and has assured the regulator that it is taking action to remedy the breach of standard. The regulator will therefore not take enforcement action at this stage. The regulator will work with LB Redbridge as it continues to address the issues which have led to this situation, including ongoing monitoring of how it delivers its programme.
About our Regulatory Notices
Regulatory notices are issued in response to an event of regulatory importance (for example, a finding of a breach of the Rent Standard or of a consumer standard that has or may cause serious harm) that, in accordance with its obligation to be transparent, the regulator wishes to make public. More detail about Regulatory notices is set out in Regulating the Standards.