Regulator slams giant landlord for 'chronic' repairs failings

In a damning judgement published this morning, Circle Housing was given a ‘G3’ rating for governance, putting it in breach of regulatory standards.

The 70,000-home provider was found to have ‘caused serious detriment to tenants’ by completing fewer than 20% of emergency repairs on time in 8,000 of its homes and elsewhere less than 50%.

In its judgement, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) - which placed Circle on its watchlist last month - said Circle’s management of a £350m contract with Kier for its 13,000 London homes represented ‘a chronic failure… made possible or contributed to by serious and enduring failures’. The five-year contract will terminate early at the end of April

In an attempt to ‘create fewer, larger contracts for responsive repairs and planned maintenance’ the landlord had ‘failed to control delivery of a core service and respond effectively to serious underperformance’.

‘For over a year tenants, including vulnerable tenants, had experienced significant difficulties in getting essential repairs done, either on time or at all,’ the judgement said.

In one of its most severe judgements of a large provider ever issued, the regulator said Circle had failed to show it had ‘prepared adequately for the implementation of the contract’ and its management had been ‘compromised by the absence of reliable performance information’.

Circle was unable to improve the outcomes under the contract despite an improvement plan put in place in September last year.

The regulator said its concern was not over the choice to outsource, but the management of risk as a result. It said reliance on external advice ‘did not absolve’ Circle from responsibility.  

‘The regulator’s non-compliant judgement reflects the scale, impact and duration of Circle’s shortfall in adhering to the governance elements of the standard,’ it said.

The landlord has now put a new recovery plan in place, with oversight from the HCA, and hopes the performance to be up to scratch by July. Its financial viability remains at the highest level.

A spokesperson for Circle said: ‘We know that repairs is the single most important service that we offer our residents and it is our highest priority to drive our improvement plan and return our service to an acceptable standard.  We apologise unreservedly to those customers who have been affected. 

‘We are disappointed with the HCA’s conclusions and will continue to deliver improvements to resolve the challenges we have experienced in parts of London.’

A Kier spokesperson said: ‘From the end of April, Kier will no longer deliver responsive repairs for Circle Housing in its central region.  Kier prides itself on delivering a high quality service for its clients and their customers, so we believe that this is the best decision for Kier, for Circle Housing and for their residents.’

The contractor will continue to work with Circle Housing to deliver its annual £33m planned and cyclical maintenance contract London, Birmingham and East Anglia.