Response to regulatory judgement
The council has received a Consumer Standard grading of C3 from the Regulator of Social Housing.
The Regulator of Social Housing has today (28 October 2026), published its judgement following its inspection of Woking Borough Council's housing services. The council has received a Consumer Standard grading of C3, which means the regulator has identified serious failings and expects significant improvement.
We fully accept the findings of the regulator's report and are working tirelessly to address the issues raised. The council already has a well-established Housing Improvement Programme in place and we have been working at pace to strengthen and improve our services.
The judgement highlights failings in our management of anti-social behaviour cases and tenancy oversight and monitoring, as well as identifying some further areas of improvement in aspects of property maintenance, asset management, complaint handling and tenant information. We accept these findings and have already incorporated additional actions into our Housing Improvement Programme to address these.
While the report identifies some shortcomings, it also recognises areas where services are performing well. Following the council’s self-referral to the Regulator for Social Housing in 2023, it is encouraging that improvements in health and safety compliance have been acknowledged. The inspection also found that we have a strong understanding of the condition of our homes, we are meeting our targets for repairs and residents have meaningful opportunities to influence policy and service delivery. The regulator also recognised the positive and respectful culture demonstrated by our staff towards our residents and our constructive engagement throughout the inspection process.
Improvement work is already well underway. Since the inspection, we have refreshed our Housing Improvement Programme and are making positive progress on the actions identified by the regulator. We have drafted a new Tenancy Management Policy, rolled out antisocial behaviour case management staff training, completed a review of new lettings and shared performance data with tenants through the publication of our annual report.
The regulator has confirmed that we understand the issues that need to be addressed and have clear plans in place to rectify the weaknesses identified. We are fully committed to making the necessary improvements, learning from feedback and working closely with residents and the regulator to deliver lasting change.
Cllr Ian Johnson, Woking Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing, said:
The regulator’s C3 consumer grading is a reminder that we still have further to go on our improvement journey. We are however, making progress. In December 2023, we received a regulatory notice for breaches of safety standards. Today, the regulator has acknowledged that we are largely meeting our obligations relating to health and safety compliance, as well as meeting our targets for routine, urgent and emergency repairs.
The progress we have made has only been possible through partnership working and constructive challenge. I would like to thank tenants, leaseholders, shared owners and resident volunteers for their continued support, patience and involvement in improving our services.
Our priority remains the safety of our tenants and the quality of the homes and services we provide. We are committed to learning from the findings of this inspection and delivering the improvements necessary to restore tenant confidence and meet the standards our residents deserve.