An inspection into Slough Borough Council’s housing provision has rated the service C3, the third of a possible four ratings.
The inspection by the national Regulator for Social Housing, took place in April 2025 and looked at all aspects of the council housing service, including property standards, repairs and maintenance and customer service and communications and tenant engagement.
The inspection, the first of its kind for Slough, looks at the housing service in response to four main standards social landlords are required to meet:
- Neighbourhood and Community Standard,
- Safety and Quality Standard,
- Tenancy Standard, and the
- Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard
Under the safety and quality standard the report noted that “Slough Borough Council has a good understanding of the condition of its homes and that… overall, it is delivering an effective, efficient, and timely repairs service for the homes and communal areas for which it is responsible”.
The change in repairs contractor in October 2023 was also noted, with the inspectors writing they saw evidence of resulting improvements in tenant satisfaction.
Under the neighbourhood and community standard the report noted that evidence had been provided of partnership working with other council departments, the police and relevant organisations to tackle antisocial behaviour and hate incidents in neighbourhoods.
In the tenancy standard and transparency, influence and accountability standard, the inspectors found ‘serious failings’ in how the council manages its properties, allocations, how it takes tenants’ views into account, provision of information and handling of complaints.
However, the report concludes that “Since identifying the failings, Slough BC has engaged constructively with us, and we have assurance that there is a commitment to ensuring improved outcomes for tenants.
“Slough BC has provided evidence that it understands the issues it needs to address and is putting in place appropriate and resourced plans to rectify them. Task forces are already in place to address weaknesses in some areas, and we have assurance that action to complete outstanding Health and Safety remedial actions is already underway.”
Councillor Robert Stedmond, lead member for housing, said: “Our aim is to put our tenants back at the heart of our service, engaging with them and listening to them to do much better and delivering the standards they deserve.
“We have been increasing the capacity and resources within the housing team and we will be using the results of this inspection to reengage with our tenants as we implement plans to improve our services.
“We thank the regulator for a fair and thorough inspection and to continuing to work with us to improve with and for our tenants.”
Councillor Dexter Smith, leader of the council, said: “Just a month ago, I chose to appoint Councillor Stedmond as the lead member for housing, so our housing team and our tenants could get the specific attention and support they deserve.
“The report is clear we need to do more, and we will be doing more to proactively work with our tenants, learn about them and from their experiences so we can be better for them.”