This report makes clear that the council’s housing service is still not delivering for tenants - Cllr Alison Morley, Deputy Labour Group Leader and member of the NWLDC Housing Improvement Board.
C2 Rating Shows Serious Weaknesses Still Holding Back Council’s Housing Service
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C2 rating exposes “significant, material weaknesses” in the council’s housing service, showing it still falls short of the standards tenants deserve.
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1,400 repair backlog, overdue safety checks, and weak data assurance highlight ongoing risks to residents and poor service delivery.
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Labour vows to hold the council to account through every scrutiny process until all regulator recommendations are fully implemented and tenants see real improvements.
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has graded North West Leicestershire District Council’s housing service a C2 in its latest assessment. While this indicates broad compliance, it also confirms there are significant, material weaknesses that the council must urgently address to deliver better outcomes for residents.
The C2 grade means the council remains on the RSH’s watch list, and must demonstrate real, measurable progress before it can achieve the higher C1 standard expected of all social landlords. The regulator is expected to continue close engagement to ensure that long-standing issues, particularly around repairs and data integrity, remain a top priority.
Cllr Alison Morley, Deputy Labour Group Leader, said:
“This report makes clear that the council’s housing service is still not delivering for tenants. Behind the talk of improvement, there are serious weaknesses that continue to affect residents’ safety, comfort and confidence. The regulator’s findings should be a wake-up call that the council must go further and faster, not a cause for celebration.
We will hold the Conservative – Lib Dem Alliance to account on every recommendation from the regulator, through the Housing Improvement Board, Scrutiny Committees, and Full Council, until residents see the improvements they’ve been promised.”
The Labour Group highlighted key areas of concern raised by the regulator:
- Repair Delays: The council is failing to meet its targets for completing repairs on time, with a backlog of 1,400 outstanding repairs. This directly affects the quality of life for tenants and must be fixed urgently.
- Data Integrity: The regulator found a lack of assurance about the accuracy of key compliance data, meaning the council may not have a reliable, real-time understanding of risks in its housing stock.
- Health and Safety: The report noted overdue fire and electrical safety actions, highlighting a continuing risk to tenants that must be fully eliminated.
- Stock Condition Gaps: Only 81% of council homes have had a full stock condition survey in the last five years. The remainder must be completed by the end of 2026 to ensure that no residents are left in substandard properties.
- Complaints Handling: The council is missing its own deadlines for responding to complaints, and the regulator found that learning from complaints is still not leading to improved outcomes.
- Focus on Delivery, Not Just Plans: While the council points to various improvement plans, tenants will judge success on results, faster repairs, safer homes, and real change, not paperwork.
