East Suffolk Council
Housing Regulation and Financial Audit
Information regarding issues relating to our housing service.
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 relation to these issues:
Health, safety and compliance
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.
Most recently, 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:
| Compliance Area | Level of Compliance |
|---|---|
| Asbestos | 100% |
| Electrical | 98.84% |
| Fire | 100% |
| Gas | 99.97% |
| Lift | 100% |
| Water | 100% |
Rent and service charges
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 May 2025, we have completed 98.94% of the required work to correct the overpayments and issue refunds. The work to date has prioritised the completion of current tenants’ rent accounts, whilst simultaneously correcting balances on any linked former tenancies. Work to correct the balances of our former tenants began in August 2024. We anticipate that we will complete case management for former tenants by the end of August 2025.
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.