Decision

Wealden District Council (21UH): Regulatory Judgement - 14 October 2026

Published 14 October 2026

Applies to England

Our Judgement

	Grade/Judgement	Change	Date of assessment
Consumer	C1 Our judgement is that overall the landlord is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. The landlord has demonstrated that it identifies when issues occur and puts plans in place to remedy and minimise recurrence.	First grading	October 2026

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Wealden District Council (Wealden DC) following an inspection completed in October 2026.

This regulatory judgement confirms a consumer grade of C1. 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 we have concluded that overall Wealden DC is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. It is making effective use of its systems and processes to identify and address potential issues and areas for improvement. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a C1 grade for Wealden DC. 

How we reached our judgement

We carried out an inspection of Wealden DC to assess how well it is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards, as part of our planned regulatory inspection programme. 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 a meeting of the Wealden and Tenants Together Board and met separately with tenants and independent members of the group.  We met with tenants, councillors including the leader of the council and the Cabinet Member for Housing, and senior officers. We also reviewed a wide range of documents provided by Wealden DC.

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

Summary of findings  

Consumer – C1 – September 2026

Wealden DC meets the outcomes of the Safety and Quality Standard. It has evidenced an accurate understanding of the condition of most of its homes, with surveys on the condition of its homes, including assessments against the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, completed on around 79% of homes within the last five years. There is a clear programme in place to achieve full survey coverage by March 2027. Wealden DC also uses other sources of information, such as compliance information, to complement its understanding of the condition of its homes. Wealden DC reports that over 99% of its homes meet the Decent Homes Standard, and it uses its information on the condition of its homes to inform investment and target improvements.

During the inspection, Wealden DC demonstrated that it meets health and safety requirements. It provided assurance that it has systems in place to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and associated communal areas and that it monitors performance. Wealden DC is improving electrical safety compliance, which was 90% at the time of inspection, and is targeted to be 100% by the end of 2026.  Wealden DC understands areas of risk, including damp, mould and condensation. It has implemented targeted operational actions and increased oversight by councillors, tenants and officers to manage these risks.

We saw evidence that Wealden DC is delivering an effective, efficient and timely repairs and maintenance service. Overall, Wealden DC evidenced high completion of repairs within its published timescales and has a low number of repairs waiting to be completed.  

We gained assurance that Wealden DC meets the outcomes of the Neighbourhood and Community Standard. It works effectively in partnership with relevant agencies to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents, using a range of tools and responses. There are a number of ways for tenants to report anti-social behaviour and hate crime, and policies are in place setting out Wealden DC’s approach to managing incidents. Wealden DC demonstrated that it makes effective use of information to deliver targeted and proportionate responses to incidents of anti-social behaviour, supporting the delivery of services to tenants and communities.

In relation to the Tenancy Standard, we have assurance that Wealden DC allocates and manages its homes in a fair and transparent way and that it offers tenancies or terms of occupation that are compatible with the purpose of the accommodation, the needs of the individual and the sustainability of the community. It operates a structured allocations system supported by clear policies and verification processes. Wealden DC takes a proactive approach to tenancy sustainment, providing targeted support through locally based services and multi-agency working.

We have assurance that Wealden DC meets the outcomes of the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. It treats its tenants with fairness and respect, demonstrating practices and behaviours that support this. Throughout our inspection we saw evidence of a respectful, fair and positive culture towards tenants by both officers and councillors. Tenants told us that they felt listened to and valued. Wealden DC effectively uses the information it holds about its tenants to tailor the delivery of landlord services to meet tenants’ needs. While there are some gaps in tenant information, Wealden DC recognises this and has plans in place to address these gaps to further strengthen its understanding of tenants’ needs.

We gained assurance that Wealden DC takes tenants’ views into account in its decision-making about how landlord services are delivered, and it communicates how tenants’ views have been considered. Wealden DC provides a range of meaningful opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise services. Tenants can engage through a range of channels including local groups, consultations, and dedicated project and focus groups. The Wealden and Tenants Together Board operates effectively as an independent scrutiny body, providing constructive challenge as part of the formal governance structure. Tenant feedback is used to inform improvements to services with a clear feedback loop.

Wealden DC provides clear and accessible information to tenants about its services and performance. Information is widely available and communicated to tenants with a focus on consistency and accessibility. Engaged tenants receive performance information, and performance is reported to all tenants through the Wealden DC website, and digital and printed newsletters. We saw evidence of Wealden DC adapting its communications for tenants based on its understanding of their individual needs.

Wealden DC operates a well-publicised complaints service which addresses complaints fairly, promptly and effectively, with performance meeting the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code timescales. Its complaints improvement plan has resulted in improved outcomes for complaints handling and responsiveness and will be used to further improve tenant satisfaction. Wealden DC demonstrates learning from complaints through structured processes to identify themes and implement service improvements.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

Wealden DC owns just over 3,000 homes of which approximately 2,700 are social and affordable 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. 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