Decision

Swindon Borough Council (00HX) - Regulatory Judgement: 14 May 2025

Published 14 May 2025

Applies to England

Our Judgement

	Grade/judgement	Change	Date of assessment
Consumer	C3 Our judgement is that there are serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed.	First grading	May 2025

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Swindon Borough Council (Swindon BC) following an inspection completed in May 2025.

The regulatory judgement confirms a consumer grading of C3. This is the first time we have issued a consumer grade in relation to this landlord.

Summary of the decision

From the evidence and assurance gained during the inspection, it is our judgement that there are serious failings in Swindon BC delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed, specifically in relation to outcomes in our Safety and Quality Standard and Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a C3 grade for Swindon BC.

How we reached our judgement

Before the inspection, Swindon BC made a self-referral and told us that it was not meeting all required outcomes across the four consumer standards. The self-referral identified material issues in relation to smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, fire safety, electrical safety, and the provision of an effective repairs service. As a result, we brought forward a planned inspection for Swindon BC.

During the inspection we considered all four of the consumer standards: Neighbourhood and Community Standard, Safety and Quality Standard, Tenancy Standard, and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.

During the inspection we observed Swindon BC’s Housing Quality Assurance and Performance Board, Housing Improvement Board, a Responsive Repairs Monitoring and Performance meeting, a Cabinet meeting, and a Tenant Scrutiny Panel meeting. We met with involved tenants, officers and councillors, including the leader of the council and the lead member for housing. We also reviewed a wide range of documents provided by Swindon BC.

Our regulatory judgement is based on a review of all of the relevant information we obtained during the inspection, as well as analysis of information supplied by Swindon BC in its regulatory returns and other regulatory engagement activity.

Summary of findings 

Consumer – C3 – May 2025 

We found serious failings in how Swindon BC is delivering the outcomes of the Safety and Quality Standard, and that significant improvement is needed.

The Safety and Quality Standard 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 necessary actions arising from legally required health and safety assessments are carried out within appropriate timescales. We found serious failings as Swindon BC could not provide assurance that it was meeting all legal requirements for its homes.

Before the inspection, Swindon BC made a self-referral which highlighted gaps in health and safety compliance management, with inadequate data systems and processes in place to accurately record and monitor compliance across all areas. This was identified following an external review of Swindon BC’s housing service. Although Swindon BC reported near 100% compliance levels, it could not provide assurance on the accuracy of this information. We also identified a lack of oversight over the completion, tracking, and reporting of safety remedial actions, leading to a potential risk to tenants.

At the time of the inspection, Swindon BC was unable to report accurately on the presence of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, was unable to track or monitor faults from electrical safety checks, and there were more than 800 overdue fire safety actions, the majority of which were overdue by more than a year. In relation to damp and mould, we saw evidence that reports are followed up effectively, however there is no active tracking, monitoring, or reporting of open cases, including the age of cases and associated works.

The Safety and Quality Standard also requires landlords to have an accurate record, at an individual property level, of the condition of their homes based on a physical assessment of all homes and ensure that homes meet the requirements of the Decent Homes Standard (DHS). We have limited assurance that Swindon BC has an accurate, up to date and evidenced understanding of its stock quality and decency as it only has data on around half of its homes, and it is reporting more than 10% of homes are not decent. A full physical stock condition survey is underway and due to be completed in June 2026. However, we found limited evidence of effective oversight and challenge of the stock condition survey process, compliance with DHS, and a defined plan to resolve the decency issues.

Through the inspection, we saw some evidence that Swindon BC is delivering an effective, efficient and timely repairs service, however, there are some weaknesses in the council’s approach. During the inspection we identified a lack of robust oversight and effective performance management of contractors, which is impacting the overall quality and consistency of the repairs service delivery. Swindon BC has acknowledged these weaknesses and has plans in place to introduce a new contractor framework, and it has implemented improvements to contract management practices to strengthen scrutiny and performance management until the new framework is in place.

The Neighbourhood and Community Standard states that landlords must 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. We saw evidence that Swindon BC deals effectively with ASB and hate incidents in line with its policy and procedures and in partnership with relevant organisations, delivering positive outcomes for tenants. 

In relation to the Tenancy Standard, we found evidence that Swindon BC is offering tenancies or terms of occupation which are compatible with the purpose of the accommodation, the needs of individual households, the sustainability of the community, and the efficient use of their housing stock. We saw evidence that Swindon BC has an allocations policy and annual lettings plan that sets out its approach to ensuring all properties are let in a fair and transparent way and considers the needs of tenants and prospective tenants.

The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard sets out the outcomes landlords must deliver regarding being open with tenants and treating them with fairness and respect, so that tenants can access services, raise complaints, influence decision making and hold their landlord to account. Landlords must also take action to deliver fair and equitable outcomes for tenants and, where relevant, prospective tenants. Through the inspection, we saw evidence that Swindon BC is treating tenants and prospective tenants with fairness and respect, but there are weaknesses in the council’s approach. Although tenant data is collected, Swindon BC was unable to provide evidence of how it was using this information to tailor its services to meet tenants’ diverse needs. Tenants expressed concerns that relationships between the council and tenants needs to be strengthened, and it is our view that communication around landlord services needs improvement. 

The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard also includes the expectation that landlords take tenants’ views into account in their decision-making about how landlord services are delivered and communicate how tenants’ views have been considered. During the inspection, we saw evidence of serious failings in how the council is delivering these outcomes. Swindon BC was unable to demonstrate how tenants’ views have been considered in its decision making about how landlord services are delivered. We saw limited evidence of tenant scrutiny and challenge, and no evidence of Swindon BC actively encouraging participation from under-represented groups. Swindon BC acknowledged that the effectiveness of its current tenant engagement arrangements is limited and has commenced a review of its approach to deliver improvements.

Landlords must provide information so that tenants can use landlord services, understand what to expect from their landlord, and hold their landlord to account. Through the inspection, we saw that Swindon BC provides some of the required information to tenants, but there are weaknesses in its approach. In respect of performance information, landlords must collect and provide information to support effective scrutiny by tenants of their landlord’s performance. We saw evidence that Swindon BC provides performance information to tenants and makes it available online, however we found there were limited opportunities for tenants who are not digitally enabled to access information, thereby limiting their ability to effectively scrutinise landlord performance and hold them to account.

We saw evidence that poor communication with tenants on progress, next steps, and outcomes was a driver for complaints and there were weaknesses in the accessibility of information through an overreliance upon the website. While Swindon BC has completed an internal review of tenant communication, this did not consider improvements to how it communicates with individual tenants.

The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard states that landlords must ensure complaints are addressed fairly, effectively, and promptly. Through the inspection, we saw evidence that Swindon BC addresses complaints fairly, effectively and promptly, however, there are some weaknesses that require improvement; we saw limited evidence that Swindon BC has oversight of its complaints performance or is actively and effectively learning from the complaints it receives.

Swindon BC has engaged constructively with us by providing a self-referral and throughout the inspection process. Swindon BC has demonstrated that it understands the issues it needs to address and is already taking action towards rectifying the failures identified. This includes developing plans to deliver the required improvements, introducing improved oversight of landlord services, gaining a better understanding of the condition of its homes, procuring new systems and introducing validation processes of health and safety information, and reviewing the strategy and structure for tenant engagement. Whilst early in the delivery of these plans, there is positive evidence of progress being made in some areas and we have assurance that there is strong organisational commitment to ensuring improved outcomes for tenants.

We will continue to engage with Swindon BC as it continues to address the issues set out in this judgement and our priority will be that risks to tenants are adequately managed and mitigated. Our engagement will be intensive, and we will seek assurance that Swindon BC is making sufficient change and progress, including ongoing monitoring of how it delivers its improvement programme. We are not proposing to use our enforcement powers at this stage but will keep this under review as Swindon BC seeks to resolve these issues. 

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

Swindon BC is a unitary authority with borough status in Wiltshire, England. Swindon BC owns and manages around 10,400 social and affordable rent homes, the majority of which are general needs, with 136 supported housing properties.

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.

Further information

• Regulating the standards

• Regulatory standards for landlords

Related documents

Decent Homes Standard