Regulator housing warning to council

GATESHEAD Council has been warned that “improvement is needed” to deal with a backlog of housing repairs and complaints from tenants.

- DANIEL HOLLAND

A regulator has found “some weaknesses” in the social housing services provided by the local authority, which owns around 18,000 homes. The C2 grading awarded to Gateshead Council by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is one level higher than that given to neighbour-ing Newcastle City Council earlier this year, where “serious failings” were identified.

In its judgement, which follows an inspection completed in January, the watchdog concluded that “there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed”.