The Regulator of Social Housing - the government body which monitors standards - has awarded City Hall a C1 consumer grade for its housing services.

The rating marks a turnaround for the Labour-run city council, after previous issues and criticism of the standards in its social housing.

In 2021, the authority referred itself to the regulator, after it emerged it had not carried out crucial safety inspections of fire, water and electrics in thousands of homes.

Norwich City Council's City Hall headquarters (Image: Nick Butcher)

And, between April 2023 and March 2024 the Housing Ombudsman - which investigates complaints by tenants - found more than 40 instances of maladministration by the council.

Those included claims of poor responsiveness to repairs, damp and mould, pest control and noise, with the council told to pay more than £18,940 to disgruntled residents.

But Labour leaders said the latest rating, which followed an inspection earlier this month, reflected the work the council had put in to improve services.

The inspectors said: "Our judgement is that, overall, the landlord is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards.

"The landlord has demonstrated that it identifies when issues occur and puts plans in place to remedy and minimise recurrence."

The regulator said it had gained assurance that the council was "taking reasonable and proactive steps to comply with legal health and safety requirements".

The inspectors said, with the council managing a number of homes in tall buildings, such as Normandie Tower and Winchester Tower, it was assured that the authority "understands the risks associated with these buildings and has mitigations in place while programmed works are planned or under way".

The watchdog said there was an "effective repairs service" and emergency repairs were "consistently delivered within target timescales".

The report stated the council had a "proactive approach" to damp and mould, while the authority worked with relevant organisations to "deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents in the communities where it provides homes".

Beth Jones, cabinet member for housing, said: "I am so proud of the staff I work alongside.

"We needed to acknowledge what we weren't doing right and learn from that.

"It was about getting the data, being transparent about it and having really clear governance.

"It's been incredibly hard work, but we've put tenants at the heart of it, which was critical.

"I hope we have begun to regain the confidence of tenants and have proved we can deliver for them.

"There's more to do and now we need to maintain this standard."

© Norwich Evening News