A borough council has been issued with a C4 consumer grading from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) after more than 900 overdue fire safety remedial actions were identified

Published on 17 December 2025, some of the fire safety remedial actions discovered at properties owned by Gosport Borough Council have been overdue since 2012, RSH inspectors said. In addition to fire safety concerns, more than 300 electrical safety checks were found to be overdue, along with more than 100 category 2 electrical safety remedial actions – some of which have been outstanding for almost 7 years.

Other concerns identified by the regulator during the planned inspection in October 2025 include a lack of accurate and up-to-date information on tenants’ homes and “serious failings” in the council’s understanding of the needs of its tenants.

“Our judgement is that there are very serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. The landlord must make fundamental changes so that improved outcomes are delivered,” the regulator concluded.

RSH added that whilst Gosport Borough Council had “demonstrated a willingness to resolve these issues”, there was limited evidence to suggest that it fully understood the scale and breadth of the issues, with limited evidence that it was capable of effectively addressing them.

Commenting on the grading, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, Kate Dodsworth, said:  

“The breadth and scale of the failings we identified at Gosport Borough Council are unacceptable, and we will be engaging intensively with them as things are put right as soon as possible for tenants. 

“Our inspection programme continues to root out issues and drive landlords to improve homes and services for tenants.”

Responding to the regulatory judgement, the council said it was “committed to making fundamental changes to deliver safe, high-quality homes and services” for its tenants. Additionally, it acknowledged that its housing service faced “long-standing issues” and that it was already taking action to address the regulator’s findings.

It was working with both the regulator and council residents on a comprehensive improvement plan, which would include completing overdue safety checks and remedial actions, with clear timescales and regular reporting.

A spokesperson for the council said: "Gosport Borough Council takes the regulator's judgement extremely seriously. Our tenants deserve safe, well-maintained homes and high-quality services, and we are fully committed to taking necessary action.

"We continue to work constructively with the Regulator of Social Housing, and improvements to the housing service are already being delivered, with 85% of tenants who took a council survey reporting that they are satisfied with the overall service provided. We recognise the need to further strengthen how we engage tenants in shaping the housing service, and we have engaged the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) to provide expert advice on how this can be improved."

You can view RSH’s full judgement here.

Source: Fire Protection Association

Comment: "Has your landlord carried out any of these routine checks?"