Haringey Council given lowest housing grade over fire safety and repairs

The Regulator of Social Housing has given Haringey Council its lowest consumer grading, C4, after inspecting the north London council's housing service. The regulator described "very serious failings" and ordered "fundamental changes".

Inspectors found almost 4,000 fire safety actions that were overdue. About 1,400 of them were rated high risk.

Only around half of non-emergency repairs were completed during 2025/26. The regulator also reported backlogs of damp and mould cases, poor tenant satisfaction and weak oversight of housing services.

It said the council did not answer complaints on time and had not properly told the regulator about significant issues as they emerged. The regulator uses the C4 grade for landlords whose problems are serious enough that major changes are needed for residents to see better outcomes.

Kate Dodsworth, deputy chief executive of the regulator, said: "This judgement sends a clear signal that tenants have been let down and that urgent and sustained improvement is needed." She said the regulator would keep up "intensive engagement and close oversight" and use its powers if necessary.

Jess Crowe, the council's corporate director for culture, strategy and communities, said: "I would like to unreservedly apologise to our tenants and leaseholders for the serious failings identified during the inspection. Our residents deserve better from their landlord." The council accepted the findings in full. It has also commissioned an independent review to establish why the regulator received incomplete information and why concerns were not raised sooner.

Council leader Mark Blake said: "For tenants and leaseholders who have spent years dealing with poor repairs, ignored complaints, and concerns about safety, today's report will be deeply concerning, but not surprising." He added: "While we did not create this crisis, we will prioritise solving it."