The Shareholder Cabinet Sub-Committee convened to discuss and approve the Landlord Services Q1 Performance Report 2025/26 and a suite of Landlord Compliance Policies. The committee noted the performance report, which highlighted both successes and areas needing improvement in housing landlord services, and approved the updated compliance policies aimed at addressing regulatory concerns and ensuring tenant safety. These actions follow a C3 grading issued by the Regulator of Social Housing in late 2024, which indicated serious failings in how Northamptonshire Partnership Homes (NPH) was delivering the outcomes of the Safety and Quality Standard on behalf of West Northamptonshire Council (WNC).

Landlord Compliance Policy Suite

The committee approved a suite of revised property compliance policies developed by Northamptonshire Partnership Homes (NPH). These policies address critical health and safety obligations across six key areas: fire safety, electrical safety, gas and heating, water hygiene, asbestos, and lift safety. The policies were approved as detailed in Appendices A-F of the Landlord Compliance Policy Suite report.

The revisions follow a C3 regulatory grading issued by the Regulator of Social Housing in 2024, which identified serious failings in NPH's compliance systems. In response, NPH commissioned Pennington's Choice, property compliance experts, to support the development of robust policies aligned with statutory and regulatory standards, including the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and Building Safety Act.

The Landlord Compliance Policy Suite report outlined the key risks managed by each policy:

• Asbestos: Managing exposure to asbestos fibres through the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
• Electrical Safety: Preventing electrical fires and shocks, ensuring safe electrical installations, complying with the Housing Act and Electricity at Work Regulations.
• Fire Safety: Managing fire hazards, adhering to the Fire Safety Order, Fire Safety Act, and Building Safety Act.
• Gas and Heating: Preventing carbon monoxide poisoning and gas leaks, ensuring appliance safety, and complying with Gas Safety Regulations.
• Lift Safety: Ensuring safe lifting equipment usage, regular inspections, and compliance with LOLER¹ and PUWER².
• Water Hygiene: Controlling legionella bacteria and preventing waterborne diseases, adhering to the Health and Safety at Work Act and COSHH³ regulations.

Landlord Services Q1 Performance Report 2025/26

The committee noted the content of the Landlord Services Q1 Performance Report 2025/26, which provided an update on the performance of the council's housing landlord services, delivered primarily through its Arm's Length Management Organisation (ALMO), Northamptonshire Partnership Homes (NPH). The report also included an update on the council's ongoing engagement with the Regulator of Social Housing and associated Business Improvement Plan.

The report detailed that of the 28 corporate measures reported, 14 improved, 3 remained consistently high, 2 were new, and 10 declined. Half of the measures met their targets. Key successes for the quarter included improvements in tenant satisfaction measures, rent collection, and a reduction in anti-social behaviour reports. Areas of focus due to low performance included satisfaction with anti-social behaviour services, the number of properties not meeting the Decent Homes Standard⁴, and average void re-let times.

The report highlighted the following specific areas of focus:

• Tenant Satisfaction: Satisfaction with the anti-social behaviour service dropped 9% to 51%, and the number of tenants reporting that they feel they are Being listened to fell to 54%.
• Decent Homes Standard: The number of properties that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard remains at 18.17%. It has been communicated to the Regulator of Social Housing and tenants that all non-decent properties will be returned to decency by September 2026.
• Void Re-let Times: Average void re-let time at 59.57 days, against a target of 30 days.
• Complaints: Stage 2 complaints escalations remain high at 13.86, against a target of 7, and Stage 2 response timeliness dropped to 76.92%.
• Compliance: 30 properties are overdue for a gas safety certificate, and asbestos re-inspections are at 97.22%. Lift safety is at 94.8%.

The report also noted progress on regulatory compliance and engagement following the C3 grading issued by the Regulator of Social Housing in November 2024. Key actions completed and closed since January 2025 include the adoption of a new Housing Asset Management Strategy, the implementation of revised WNC and NPH Governance arrangements, an independent review of Health and Safety data quality, and the completion of a mock inspection of the remaining three consumer standards by HQN⁵ that had not been independently assessed.

Key areas of improvement being worked on include the full implementation of the Compliance 365 IT system, an independent review of compliance with the Rent Standard, approval and publication of a revised HRA⁶ Business Plan narrative document, preparedness for Awaab's Law[^8] from October 2025, and completion of Building Safety requirements and Building Assessment Certificate applications for the council's three in-scope high rise buildings.