Serious council failings in safety standards have been uncovered in council-owned properties. The government's Regulator of Social Housing has told Brighton and Hove City Council that "significant improvement is needed" as part of its role as a social housing landlord. The council is failing to ensure that it meets a number of legal requirements in relation to the health and safety of tenants and has a long backlog of repairs, the damning report states .
It has failed to carry out electrical and water checks on thousands of homes. The regulator began engaging with the council in October 2023 after media coverage was circulating that suggested that Brighton and Hove City Council had a backlog of repairs. The report said: “The information provided by Brighton and Hove City Council to us during our engagement with it demonstrates that it is failing to ensure that it meets a number of legal requirements in relation to health and safety.
” Brighton and Hove City Council owns around 12,100 social housing homes as of the date of the report. St James House in Kemp Town a tower block owned by the council currently undergoing repairs (Image: Ramy Abou-Setta) The regulator found that there are around 3,600 homes without a current electrical condition report, this being more than a quarter of the homes owned. It also found that the council does not have evidence of a current electrical safety certificate for over 600 communal areas and that it cannot provide evidence that it is meetin.