Top rating for council’s housing standards
Folkestone & Hythe District Council (F&HDC) has been recognised as one of the country’s best performing council housing landlords after being awarded the highest possible consumer standards judgement by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).
The council received the regulator’s top rating for social housing consumer standards, known as a C1. It is currently the only council in Kent to achieve this rating and is among just 13% of councils nationally to hold the top grading.
What does this mean for tenants?
The judgement provides independent assurance that the regulator found that the council is meeting all four consumer standards.
Safety and Quality Standard — safety and quality of tenants’ homes.
Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard — how landlords provide information, listen to tenants and act on feedback.
Neighbourhood and Community Standard — how landlords support safe and well-managed neighbourhoods.
Tenancy Standard — how homes are allocated and let, and how tenancies are managed.
You can read more about our result on our website: Regulator of Social Housing inspection result | Folkestone & Hythe District Council.
A tenant’s view
Elaine Cox, Chair of the Strategic Tenant Advisory Panel (STAP), said this about the result:
“Since 2020, when F&HDC took the housing service back in house from East Kent Housing (EKH), I was approached to co-create a strong and meaningful tenant engagement group. I was hesitant at first as the tenant engagement previously, had felt a little bit like a box ticking exercise. This team have been completely different, I have felt fully supported and have been given full access to leadership, councillors, contractors and officers, as well as full transparency regarding data and documentation and can see all the changes and improvements that have come directly from our engagement.
“Since we created STAP in 2021, I have been very privileged to be chair to a group of wonderful, like-minded tenants, who have been instrumental in helping to shape the service and improve conditions for all tenants. We feel heard and respected, and we know the work we do and the effort we put in, really counts. I am delighted that the RSH team recognised this in their inspections with STAP and the Scrutiny Panel observations and interviews; and we are overjoyed for the Housing Team, they have done such great work and it has been wonderful to have been able to be part of such a well-deserved outcome.”