The Housing Scrutiny Committee of Camden Council met on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, to review the performance of the Homes and Communities Directorate, discuss tenant satisfaction, and consider the Housing Investment Strategy. The committee received the Tenant Satisfaction Measures for 2025/26, which showed a slight decrease in overall satisfaction but improvements in repairs speed and complaint handling. The committee also considered a report recommending the continuation of co-opted members for the upcoming municipal year.

Insight, Learning and Impact Report - Homes and Communities Directorate - Quarter 4/End of Year 2025-26

The committee reviewed the Insight, Learning and Impact Report for the Homes and Communities Directorate for the 2025-26 financial year. The report highlighted challenges across the directorate, including high demand for anti-social behaviour (ASB) services, leaseholder arrears, and recruitment difficulties impacting tenancy management. Opportunities were identified in the renewal of the Mobysoft system for income collection and the development of a wider payment and billing transformation programme. Learning from the year included exceeding rent collection targets and sustained progress in reducing high-value rent arrears.

In Communities and Housing Support, rising homelessness demand and pressure on temporary accommodation were noted as significant challenges. Opportunities included new outreach arrangements with the Single Homeless Project and streamlining licensing processes for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). The team learned that social housing lettings increased significantly in the final quarter, supporting improved move-on opportunities for households in housing need.

Property Services faced challenges with the pace and scale of new statutory requirements, particularly Awaab's Law, and heating issues over the winter period. Opportunities were identified in the £670 million capital investment programme and the development of digital systems like MadeTech and ROCC. Learning included the strong performance of the Rapid Response Team in completing emergency repairs and the successful onboarding of in-house domestic heating engineers.

Tenant Satisfaction Measures and Tenant Perception Survey

The committee received the Tenant Satisfaction Measure (TSM) results for the 2025/26 financial year. The overall satisfaction score (TP01) was 69.3%, a slight decrease from the previous year, with satisfaction in areas such as listening to tenant views and handling anti-social behaviour also declining. However, tenants reported increased satisfaction with the speed of repairs and complaint handling. Safety of the home remained the area of highest satisfaction. The report noted that Camden's scores were broadly comparable with national and ahead of peer group medians, though there were significant gaps in listening to views and acting upon them, and ASB handling when compared to the highest-scoring landlords. Key drivers of overall satisfaction were identified as repairs and the home being well maintained.

Housing Investment Strategy Update

An update on the implementation of the Housing Investment Strategy was presented, outlining the Council's ambitions for delivering and acquiring homes and improving existing stock. The strategy aims to ensure 'decent, safe, warm and family-friendly housing'. The report detailed progress on the capital investment programme, with £204 million invested by the end of the 2025/26 financial year. New projects commissioned for 2026/27 were valued at over £100 million. The report also provided updates on Decent Homes compliance, noting a slight increase in homes not meeting the standard, and fire safety, with a reduction in overdue fire risk actions. Progress on the Quality Homes, Family Friendly, and acquisition programmes was also detailed, including the generation of £2 million in capital receipts from the sale of two homes under the Quality Homes programme.

Appointment of Co-opted Members

The committee considered a report on the process of co-opting members for the 2026/27 municipal year. The report recommended the continuation of Charles Bertlin, Larissa Hope, and Vic Seedman as co-opted members, a recommendation that had been made by the committee at a previous meeting.

Work Programme and Forward Plan

The committee reviewed its work programme for the upcoming year. It was agreed that the Allocations Review item would be moved to the December meeting. The committee also noted the action tracker, which detailed outstanding actions from previous meetings.

The meeting also included a deputation from Robert Taylor of the Camden Federation of Private Sector Tenants regarding the Renters' Rights Act 2025. The committee resolved to note the report on the Private Sector Housing Service and the implementation of the Act and receive a briefing paper in six months' time on the outcomes of the Act's implementation. An update on Anti-Social Behaviour policy and procedures was also considered, with a resolution to note the report and receive a further briefing paper in six months. Finally, an update on Void Property Performance was presented, with the Cabinet Member for Better Homes and Homelessness Prevention committing to providing a regular update on void performance at each committee meeting.