East Suffolk Council (ESC) takes its responsibility as a landlord very seriously and, to help us understand the quality of the homes we provide, and inform our investment plan for them, we have been conducting stock condition surveys. The Council intends for these to be completed by the end of March 2026.
With the majority of surveys undertaken (independently by Pennington Services), we have been reviewing the results and identified that many of our homes do not currently meet what is known as the Government’s “Decent Homes Standard”.
Based on the levels of non-decency we have identified, East Suffolk Council referred itself to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), who considered the information we provided to them and shared its findings with us. As we anticipated, they confirmed that we have breached the Safety and Quality Standard.
From the evidence we supplied and the assurance we provided as part of our responsive engagement following the self-referral, the Regulator has issued a Regulatory Judgement. This is a grading they use to assess how well we meet their published Consumer Standards. The Regulator has identified serious failings in how we are delivering our Safety and Quality Standard obligations, and that significant improvement is needed. Based on their assessment, they have concluded a C3 grade for East Suffolk Council.
Their findings have been published on their website - East Suffolk Council - GOV.UK, in the form of a Regulatory Judgement, on 30 July 2025. Judgements are published to provide full transparency for Tenants and the public.
As part of our response to the RSH, we have shared a robust improvement plan, to ensure this situation is rectified as quickly as possible.
Tenants with any questions not answered below, are asked to complete our online contact form and we will respond within three working days.
What are the issues?
Who is the Regulator of Social Housing?
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is responsible for ensuring that all homes provided by Registered Providers (Housing Associations) and Local Authority Registered Providers (councils) meet a set of standards.
The RSH have published a video, which sets out how they regulate landlords.
The RSH also has lots of information on their website.
Why have you made a self-referral?
We made a self-referral following a large number of properties, which have been surveyed, being identified as ‘non decent’ under the Decent Homes Standard.
ESC is required to ensure that all its housing stock meets a minimum statutory quality requirement. This is known as the Decent Homes Standard. Since 2023, ESC has been undertaking stock condition surveys to its housing stock. As at 31 March 2025 we have now completed approximately 78% of the surveys and these have identified that 50% of our homes, do not meet the Decent Homes Standard. As a result of this, it was necessary for ESC to report this matter to the RSH which we did on 3 June 2025.
We have undertaken further validation of the survey data in the latter part of 2025 and it means we can now say the number has decreased to 12% of our homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard.
What is a Decent Home and the Decent Home Standard?
The Decent Homes Standard is a set of minimum standards for the condition of socially rented homes. It ensures that homes are fit for habitation, are in a reasonable state of repair, have modern facilities, and provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.
A decent home is one, which should be wind and weather tight, warm and have modern facilities.
There are four criteria a home should meet:
1. It must meet the minimum statutory requirements, under the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
a. Homes should be free from hazards, enabling residents to live in homes, which do not pose a risk to their health and/or safety
b. A Category 1 (Cat 1) Hazard means there is something that could cause a serious and immediate risk to a resident’s health and safety
c. A Category 2 (Cat 2) Hazard means there is something that needs to be remedied but it is less serious and immediate
2. The home should be in a reasonable state of repair
a. One or more of the key building components are old and, because of their condition need replacing or major repair
b. Two or more of the non-key building components are old, and because of their condition need replacing or major repair
3. The home should have reasonable modern services and facilities
Homes which fail to meet this criterion are those which lack three or more of the following:
a. Reasonably modern kitchen (20 years old or less)
b. Kitchen with adequate space and layout
c. Reasonably modern bathroom (30 years old or less)
d. Appropriately located bathroom and WC
e. Adequate insulation against external noise (where external noise is a problem)
4. The home should have a reasonable degree of thermal comfort
This includes programmable heating and adequate insulation
What is ESC doing to address this issue?
East Suffolk Council is putting programmes of work in place, to ensure that we undertake the necessary works required to ensure that all our homes meet the Decent Homes Standard.
These programmes of work will be designed to ensure that, in future, properties do not fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard.
We are currently developing an Investment Programme, which we intend to finalise by the end of March 2026. We will then be appointing suitable contractors to undertake the works and we are expecting these to be in place in Spring 2026.
If your home is affected and repairs and improvements are required, we will contact you to make arrangements to complete the works.
Health and safety compliance records
In May 2022, we made a self-referral to the Regulator of Social Housing due to there being inadequate health and safety compliance checks within our housing stock.
The council has made progress since the Regulatory Notice was issued in 2022. We have recruited a new team, including a Strategic Lead for Regulatory Compliance, four Compliance Contracts Managers, two Clerk of Works, a Damp and Mould Inspector and dedicated Administrative Support.
We have introduced a Housing, Health and Safety Board, which oversees and monitors compliance monthly and there are quarterly update reports presented to the council’s Corporate Leadership Team and Cabinet.
In early 2025, the council commissioned an independent external assurance review to assess our compliance levels against these related elements of the Regulatory Notice. The report for this review was received in May 2025, which recognises that progress has been made. However, it is clear from the report that there are improvements that could be made with record-keeping, systems and information management relating to compliance. The report has provided a number of recommendations for further improvement, and these have been incorporated within our wider service improvement plan.
The current levels of health and safety compliance within our housing stock are (as of 31 December 2025):
| Compliance Area | Level of Compliance |
|---|---|
| Asbestos | 100% |
| Electrical | 99.1% |
| Fire | 100% |
| Gas | 100% |
| Lift | 100% |
| Water | 100% |
What is ESC doing about condensation, damp and mould?
We have a dedicated Damp and Mould Inspector, but we also have other inspectors who can conduct assessments against the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
We have recently identified that we need a more robust monitoring systems for reports of damp and mould. Therefore, we have implemented an interim manual recording system but are currently investigating what systems we can use to help us manage this more effectively.
We have made improvements to our existing IT systems and performance reporting to ensure all records, information and documentation associated with property related health and safety management are accurate and up to date. Alongside this, we are exploring procurement of a modern IT system to replace our current one which is reaching end of life. Until then, we have in place a number of additional checks to ensure that the information that we hold remains accurate.
What if I have damp and mould in my home?
If you have damp and mould in your home, it is important you report it to us as soon as possible, so we can carry out a survey to identify the cause and carry out any necessary repairs and maintenance.
There are multiple ways you can report a damp and mould issue or request a repair:
- Contacting Customer Services
- myHome East Suffolk
- Online housing repair request form
- By post
- By email
- In person at our Customer Services centre
More information on the types of repairs the council is responsible for and timeframes:
Does this mean my home isn’t safe?
We have no reason to believe that any properties are not safe. If there are any additional checks or surveys required, we will write to you to arrange this.
Rent and service charges
In May 2022, East Suffolk Council was issued with a Regulatory Notice due to failures in relation to the health and safety of its housing stock and for incorrect rent and service charges being levied.
We are pleased to provide an update on our current position in in relation to the rent issue:
A thorough, forensic audit was conducted, reviewing over 9200 tenancies from 2010 to January 2023. As a result, all rent and service charges were reset from April 2023, and we are confident that all tenants are now paying the correct amount of rent and service charges. A new Rent and Service Charge Policy was also adopted in 2023, following approval by East Suffolk Councils’ Cabinet.
As of January 2026, we have completed over 99% of the required work to correct the overpayments and issue refunds. The Regulator of Social Housing published in July 2025 confirming that they are assured East Suffolk Council is now fully compliant with the Rent Standard.
Please be aware that any information relating to credit refunds will only come from East Suffolk Council in writing. If you are a former tenant, we will contact you first to confirm your correspondence address and this contact might be by email or telephone. Former tenants can proactively update or confirm their current address on their myHome account or call our Customer Services team on 0333 016 2000.