Serious failings have been found in Kingston Council's understanding of its own homes.

The authority not holding accurate, up-to-date information on the condition of most of its homes is among the reasons it has failed to meet safety and quality standards identified by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) – a public body that is auditing the housing stock of all local authorities in England.

After completing an inspection of Kingston's housing stock for the first time in October, the RSH said the Lib Dem-run council's last survey of the condition of its homes in 2020/21 did not include a physical, internal inspection of every property.

It gave the authority a 'C3′ rating for its overall performance in meeting consumer standards for the roughly 4,500 homes it owns and directly manages, which is the second lowest score.

The regulator said the authority had recently started an 18-month programme to survey its homes, with 15 per cent of homes seen at the time of the inspection.

It said the council had reported 16 per cent of its homes not meeting the current decent homes standard, but that this figure fell to 10 per cent when taking into account homes awaiting demolition and those that had recently been brought up to the standard.

Lib Dem councillor Emily Davey, portfolio holder for housing, said work was already underway to address inspectors' concerns, and the authority remained committed to working with residents to improve their homes.

The regulator's concerns were mostly about failures to meet the safety and quality standard. The inspection also looked at neighbourhood and community, tenancy and transparency, influence and accountability standards.

The report revealed weaknesses in the council's reporting and oversight of remedial actions and required timescales to investigate and respond to major or emergency hazards.

While it said there were weaknesses in Kingston Council's delivery of repairs to communal areas, it provided an effective and timely repairs service for its homes.

All emergency repairs and 86 per cent of routine repairs were completed in target timescales at the time of the inspection, according to the report.

What is the council doing well?

Inspectors said they were assured the council was meeting neighbourhood and community and tenancy standards, as they found evidence of effective work to tackle anti-social behaviour and arrangements to support tenants stay in their homes.

Looking at the transparency, influence and accountability standard, the report praised the authority for showing a "positive culture of fairness and respect towards tenants" and using their feedback to inform service improvements.

However, inspectors found weaknesses in the council's ability to show it understood and responded to tenants' diverse needs, with gaps in the information it held about tenants across some protected characteristics.

The report also revealed weaknesses in the council's complaint handling. A total of 62 per cent of stage one complaints and 74 per cent of stage two complaints were responded to within the required timelines at the time of the inspection, according to the report.

The regulator said it was working with the council to make sure it tackled the issues found by inspectors.

Independent councillor James Giles called on the administration to provide a public improvement plan with clear deadlines, named responsibility for each action and regular progress reports.

Councillor Giles said: "This is a damning judgement on Kingston Council's management of its housing. Knowing the condition of the homes you own is one of the most basic responsibilities of any landlord.

"Residents are entitled to ask how the Liberal Democrat administration allowed the council to fall so far short.

"Behind these figures are people paying their rent and expecting a decent home, properly maintained communal areas and a response when something goes wrong. Those are reasonable expectations, and the council must meet them."

Cllr Davey said she was pleased the regulator was assured the authority was "delivering good quality services for our residents across many areas of the inspection, whilst aIso recognising further improvements are needed".

She added: "We recognise the seriousness of this and work is already underway to address this gap.

"A full survey programme to improve our understanding of the condition of all our council homes is now 24 per cent complete (700 homes) and will be fully completed within the next 18 months.

"Whilst we accept that our survey programme is not sufficiently progressed, there is no suggestion that tenants' homes are unsafe.

"The regulator highlighted our excellent track record on emergency repairs and health and safety with electrical, fire and gas safety records all up to date and no priority works outstanding.

"Inspectors also praised our partnership work tackling anti-social behaviour, and the way tenants are treated with fairness and respect.

"They reported on seeing clear evidence of good resident engagement and how feedback from tenants has directly shaped improvements in the service.

"We remain committed to listening to our residents and working with them to improve their homes and neighbourhoods."

The Social Housing Regulation Act came into effect in 2024, giving RSH more power to ensure social landlords are following consumer standards.

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