Cambridge City Council (12UB): Regulatory Judgement - 15 October 2025
Updated 15 October 2025
Applies to England
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Our Judgement
| Grade / Judgement | Change | Date of assessment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer | C2 Our judgement is that there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed. |
First grading | October 2025 |
| Rent | Our judgement is that the landlord has addressed the issues in the regulatory judgement dated July 2024. | New judgement | October 2025 |
Reason for publication
We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Cambridge City Council (Cambridge CC) following an inspection that completed in October 2025.
This judgement confirms a consumer grade of C2. This is the first time we have issued a consumer grade in relation to this landlord.
The judgement also confirms that Cambridge CC has now addressed the rent setting issues detailed in our previous regulatory judgment published in July 2024.
Summary of the decision
From the evidence and assurance provided during the inspection, our judgement is that there are some weaknesses in Cambridge CC delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed, specifically in relation to the outcomes in the Safety and Quality Standard. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a C2 grade for Cambridge CC.
Through the inspection and responsive engagement, Cambridge CC provided us with evidence that it has addressed the previous issues relating to the Rent Standard regarding rent setting that was outlined in our regulatory judgement published in July 2024. Based on this assessment, we have now gained sufficient assurance to remove the previous judgement relating to the Rent Standard.
How we reached our judgement
We carried out a planned inspection of Cambridge CC to assess how well it is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards as part of our regulatory inspection programme. We considered all four consumer standards: Neighbourhood and Community Standard, Safety and Quality Standard, Tenancy Standard, and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. We also considered the Rent Standard to assess the progress Cambridge CC has made in addressing the issues that led to the previous regulatory judgement, which we published in July 2024.
During the inspection we observed meetings of the Cabinet, the Housing Advisory Board and the Performance, Assets and Strategy Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and recordings of the former Housing Scrutiny Committee. As part of the inspection, we met with engaged tenants, officers, and councillors, including the leader of Cambridge CC. We also reviewed a wide range of documents provided by Cambridge CC.
Our regulatory judgement is based on a review of all the information we obtained during the inspection, as well as analysis of information received from Cambridge CC in our responsive engagement, its regulatory returns and other regulatory engagement activity.
Summary of findings
Consumer – C2 – October 2025
The Safety and Quality Standard requires landlords to have an accurate, up-to-date and evidenced understanding of the condition of their homes that reliably informs the provision of good quality, well maintained and safe homes for tenants and to ensure that tenants’ homes meet the requirements of the Decent Homes Standard (DHS).
Currently 65% of the council’s properties have had an external survey, and 44% of homes have had a physical internal stock condition survey, within the last five years. While the internal surveys carried out to date cover a wide range of properties, the council recognises that it needs to increase the pace of its survey programme. Cambridge CC has a plan to increase stock condition survey coverage and then to carry out a rolling programme on a five-year cycle. Although Cambridge CC’s knowledge of its stock is also informed by a range of other information and data that the council holds, we have concluded that the current lack of up to date data on more than half of its stock is a weakness that the council needs to address. We will continue to engage with Cambridge CC to monitor its progress in delivering its planned programme of stock condition surveys.
Cambridge CC reported that at 31 March 2025 only 38 of its homes (0.1% of total stock) did not meet the DHS. Cambridge CC maintains 100% data on the age of components and draws upon a wide range of data to understand its properties. This understanding will be further enhanced as the pace of the stock condition survey programme increases.
The Safety and Quality Standard also requires landlords to identify and meet all legal requirements that relate to the health and safety of tenants in their homes and communal areas, and ensure that all required actions arising from legally required health and safety assessments are carried out within appropriate timescales. During the inspection, Cambridge CC provided evidence that it is currently meeting the legal requirements that relate to the health and safety of tenants in their homes and communal areas. While overall compliance performance is satisfactory, Cambridge CC has been tackling a backlog of overdue fire risk assessment remedial actions. It has made considerable progress in reducing the number of overdue high-risk actions, but there remain a number of overdue medium risk actions and further improvement is required by Cambridge CC in this area. We will continue to engage with Cambridge CC as it progresses delivery of these programmed actions.
Cambridge CC lacks assurance regarding the accuracy of some of its compliance data. While the inspection has found evidence that systems have been strengthened and oversight has been enhanced over the past 18 months, there remains a reliance on different data sources and a need to further improve the quality and storage of some compliance data. Cambridge CC recognises this and is commissioning external support to strengthen data integrity and storage, as well as progressing work to manage compliance through its new asset management system.
The Safety and Quality Standard also requires landlords to provide an effective, efficient and timely repairs service for the homes and communal areas for which they are responsible. Through the inspection we saw evidence that Cambridge CC is providing a repairs and maintenance service that meets regulatory requirements. In 2024-25 the council completed 92% of non-emergency repairs and 95% of emergency repairs within set timescales. The repairs service is accessible, and Cambridge CC’s most recent tenant satisfaction measure data shows that satisfaction with both the quality and timeliness of the repairs service has increased.
The Neighbourhood and Community Standard requires landlords to work in partnership with appropriate local authority departments, the police, and other relevant organisations to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) and hate incidents in the neighbourhoods where they provide social housing. Through the inspection, we saw evidence that Cambridge CC has an effective approach to dealing with ASB and hate crime and that it meets regulatory requirements. Cambridge CC plans to enhance its current ASB management software to reduce reliance on manual input and analysis, but there is no evidence to indicate a lack of assurance in the information currently being collated.
In relation to the Tenancy Standard, we saw evidence that Cambridge CC offers tenancies or terms of occupation that are compatible with the purpose of its accommodation, the needs of individual households, the sustainability of the community and the efficient use of its housing stock. Cambridge CC’s Tenancy Strategy and accompanying policy outline its approach to tenancy management and we saw evidence of appropriate procedures and systems being in place to ensure the policy is applied.
The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard sets out that landlords must treat tenants and prospective tenants with fairness and respect and take action to deliver fair and equitable outcomes for tenants. Throughout our inspection Cambridge CC demonstrated a respectful, fair and positive culture towards tenants evidenced by the council’s officers and members. Senior leaders, including the cabinet member for housing, are visible and accessible to tenants at both formal meetings and informal community-based sessions, and at the Housing Advisory Board meeting we observed, tenant representatives were able to question and challenge performance.
Cambridge CC has an understanding of the diverse needs of its tenants but needs to strengthen the information it holds to improve the use of tenant data in informing strategic decision making. The council is taking forward a project to conduct a tenant census survey. The project is being designed in a way that will support Cambridge CC to not only collect but proactively use the information gathered. Cambridge CC currently undertakes an annual programme of tenancy audits that are a rich source of data on Cambridge CC’s tenants, and we saw evidence of how the audits have enabled the provision of tailored support at an individual level.
The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard also requires landlords to provide accessible information so tenants can use landlord services, understand what to expect from their landlord and hold their landlord to account. We have assurance that the quality and range of information that Cambridge CC makes available to tenants meets the expectations set out in the standard. The council’s website provides information on the rights and responsibilities of tenants, the health and safety obligations of the landlord, the right to reasonable adjustments, and estate management. In addition to Tenant Satisfaction Measure results, Cambridge CC publishes a range of performance measures, with targets, benchmarks and previous year’s performance set out to enable comparison. The information is made accessible via Open Door, the council’s magazine for tenants.
The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard requires landlords to take tenants’ views into account when making decisions about the delivery of landlord services. The primary route for tenant involvement at the council is through the tenant representatives who sit on the Housing Advisory Board, with a system in place for their election by tenants every four years. The tenant representatives play a central role as key consultees in policy development, service reviews and the procurement of housing contracts. From our observations, the tenant representatives are able to effectively question and challenge councillors and officers and have demonstrable impact on decision-making. In addition to the tenant representatives, Cambridge CC provides appropriate and meaningful opportunities to engage as resident inspectors, armchair reviewers and via a range of other groups and panels. Taken together, we have assurance that there are effective arrangements operating to enable tenants to engage in ways that meet regulatory requirements.
The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard sets out that landlords must ensure complaints are addressed fairly, effectively, and promptly. Cambridge CC’s complaints process is accessible, simple and publicised but there is scope for further improvement in the council’s performance against timescales. Between April 2024 and March 2025, 60% of stage 2 complaints were responded to within the timescales set by the Housing Ombudsman. This was a significant increase on the preceding year but with room to improve further.
Rent - New Judgement - October 2025
As outlined in the judgement of July 2024, we concluded that there had been serious failing in Cambridge CC delivering the outcomes of the Rent Standard. Through our inspection and responsive engagement, we saw evidence that Cambridge CC has strengthened its approach to rent setting, acting on third party advice as well as undertaking internal audits to ensure that its data is accurate. The council has put in place effective and transparent arrangements to refund impacted tenants. Cambridge CC has provided appropriate assurance to demonstrate that the issues covered by the regulatory judgement have been satisfactorily addressed.
Background to the judgement
About the landlord
Cambridge CC owns 7,640 homes.
Our role and regulatory approach
We regulate for a viable, efficient, and well governed social housing sector able to deliver quality homes and services for current and future tenants.
We regulate at the landlord level to drive improvement in how landlords operate. By landlord we mean a registered provider of social housing. These can either be local authorities, or private registered providers (other organisations registered with us such as non-profit housing associations, co-operatives, or profit-making organisations).
We set standards which state outcomes that landlords must deliver. The outcomes of our standards include both the required outcomes and specific expectations we set. Where we find there are significant failures in landlords which we consider to be material to the landlord’s delivery of those outcomes, we hold them to account. Ultimately this provides protection for tenants’ homes and services and achieves better outcomes for current and future tenants. It also contributes to a sustainable sector which can attract strong investment.
We have a different role for regulating local authorities than for other landlords. This is because we have a narrower role for local authorities and the Governance and Financial Viability Standard, and Value for Money Standard do not apply. Further detail on which standards apply to different landlords can be found on our standards page.
We assess the performance of landlords through inspections and by reviewing data that landlords are required to submit to us. In Depth Assessments (IDAs) were one of our previous assessment processes, which are now replaced by our new inspections programme from 1 April 2024. We also respond where there is an issue or a potential issue that may be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards. We publish regulatory judgements that describe our view of landlords’ performance with our standards. We also publish grades for landlords with more than 1,000 social housing homes.
The Housing Ombudsman deals with individual complaints. When individual complaints are referred to us, we investigate if we consider that the issue may be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards.
For more information about our approach to regulation, please see Regulating the standards