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Faulty record-keeping sees association mistakenly document 1,800 homes as breaching Decent Homes Standard
Faulty record-keeping led a housing association to mistakenly report that 1,802 of its homes had breached the Decent Homes Standard, Inside Housing can reveal.
In its annual data return to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) for 2020-21, Incommunities reported that 2,041 of its homes had failed to meet the standard, when the real figure was 239.
The Yorkshire-based landlord said its asset management record-keeping was at fault for the incorrect figure and that there are now measures in place to “rectify this and ensure that it does not happen again”.
The incorrect figure equated to 19% of all housing association’s Decent Homes Standard failures in 2020-21.
The details emerged in the English regulator’s annual data return report for stock owned and managed by social landlords.
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It revealed that the number of homes failing to meet the standard in 2021-22 was 6,781 homes – a 38% reduction compared with the year before.
The RSH said the drop was likely down to a single provider – Incommunities – reporting a large number of failures in 2020-21.
As a result, the percentage of homes owned by private registered providers failing to meet the Decent Homes Standard decreased from 0.4% to 0.3% between 2021 and 2022.
The error came to light nearly four months after Incommunites was found to have breached the Rent Standard following its self-referral to the regulator.
The RSH found the 22,600-home landlord had set the rent incorrectly for hundreds of tenants.
The association had wrongly classified properties as supported housing, set social rents above the allowed tolerance, and converted homes to affordable rent without gaining permission.
A spokesperson for Incommunities said: “In 2021, we reported that 2,041 of our homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard, however it was later discovered that this figure was inaccurate and, following stock condition surveys on all the homes identified, the actual figure was 239 homes.
“We took immediate action and can now report that all our homes meet the Decent Homes Standard.”
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