Housing regulator issues fierce criticism of Haringey Council's housing repairs service

Council leader says his Green Party administration “did not create this crisis” but they will “prioritise solving it”, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Broadwater Farm Estate and (inset) council leader Mark Blake

Haringey Council must fix “very serious failings” in its housing provision as “tenants have been let down”, a government regulator has warned.

The damning verdict was delivered today (Wednesday 28th) by the government’s Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) following its publication of regulatory judgements on 15 housing providers.

Despite a number of poorly performing councils, the regulator focused a significant amount of its ire in describing its findings on Haringey, saying it had found “very serious failings” with the local authority’s housing provision.

Amid a litany of issues was the council’s current backlog of nearly 4,000 overdue “remedial fire safety actions” – including 1,400 categorised as “high risk”.

At the same time, it was found that “only around half” of non-emergency repairs were completed by the council in 2025/26.

A senior council officer has since responded to the findings to say that the council wished to “unreservedly apologise to our tenants and leaseholders for the serious failings identified during the inspection” and admitted “residents deserve better”.

Council leader Mark Blake, who began his role in May when the Green Party took control of the council from the previous Labour administration, also issued a response and promised: “While we did not create this crisis, we will prioritise solving it.”

The regulator’s report also described “a substantial backlog of overdue repairs including damp and mould cases, poor tenant satisfaction, and weaknesses in performance, oversight and assurance”.

In addition, RSH said the local authority had not been “providing timely responses or demonstrating learning from complaints” at the same time as failing to inform it “about significant issues which had emerged”.

The RSH said that although the council “had indicated a willingness to address issues and taken some action” it had yet to see “sufficient evidence” that it “understands the potential risk to tenants and is able to put matters right”.

The local authority, it argued, “must make fundamental changes to deliver improved outcomes for its tenants” after being given a ‘C4 consumer grade’ – the worst possible score.

In its published guidance, RSH explains that a C4 grade means that “failings are so serious that the landlord must make fundamental changes so that improved outcomes are delivered”.

In a statement published alongside its findings, RSH deputy chief executive Kate Dodsworth said the judgement “sends a clear signal that tenants have been let down and that urgent and sustained improvement is needed”.

“We will maintain intensive engagement and close oversight, set clear expectations for improvement and, if necessary, use our powers to make sure change happens,” Dodsworth added.

“We expect landlords in this position to take urgent action to address and fix the issues identified and improve outcomes for tenants,” the senior official warned.

The fierce criticism comes three-and-a-half years after the same regulator found more than 100 Haringey Council properties had serious hazards and nearly 5,000 did not meet minimum social housing standards. At that time, in March 2023, the council’s then Labour leader Peray Ahmet and chief executive Andy Donald – who remains in the same role – both said they were “very sorry” and that it was “important we move quickly to change this”.

Responding to the latest findings by RSH, Jess Crowe, the council’s corporate director for culture, strategy and communities, said: “We take the regulator’s judgement very seriously and fully accept its findings.

“I would like to unreservedly apologise to our tenants and leaseholders for the serious failings identified during the inspection. Our residents deserve better from their landlord.

“The seriousness of this judgement requires dedicated strategic leadership across our housing functions, and I will bring forward an immediate restructure proposal to enable us to achieve this.

“We have historically been very honest and open to external and regulatory scrutiny, and I am deeply concerned that this does not appear to have been the case with the Regulator of Social Housing.

“We have commissioned an urgent, independent review into why incomplete information was provided to the regulator in 2025 and why further proactive self-reporting was not undertaken after 2022, so that we can tackle this issue head on.

“This review will be the first step in identifying the root cause of the failings that have clearly not been effectively addressed as part of previous improvement efforts over the last three years.

“A refreshed Housing Transformation Plan will come to cabinet early in the new year that will address each of the regulator’s points and any findings from the independent review.

“Resident safety remains our priority. Where fire safety actions remain outstanding, appropriate mitigations are in place, and risks are kept under regular review while permanent solutions are implemented.”

Cllr Blake said: “For tenants and leaseholders who have spent years dealing with poor repairs, ignored complaints, and concerns about safety, today’s report will be deeply concerning, but not surprising.”

The council leader added: “The Grenfell tragedy showed us that nothing is more important than being transparent about fire safety.”

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