Dudley Council has formally requested that a housing watchdog lift a regulatory notice imposed on it, following a multi-million-pound programme of property surveys.
The £3.25 Million Survey
The authority has spent £3.25 million with property consultancy Savills to compile a comprehensive stock condition survey of its housing portfolio. This expenditure was confirmed in a report prepared for the council's own Housing and Assets Scrutiny Committee, which is scheduled to meet on January 15, 2026.
All costs for the survey and associated work have been met from existing budgets covering the period from 2023/24 to 2025/26. The council states that the extensive survey was a key part of its response to the serious compliance issues that led to the notice being served.
Why the Notice Was Imposed
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) issued the formal Regulatory Notice in April 2023. This action came after Dudley Council reported itself for failing to meet legal health and safety requirements across its stock of approximately 21,000 homes.
Specific failures included not completing essential safety checks for gas, fire, electrical systems, and asbestos in properties where they were due. Furthermore, a significant number of required fire safety actions in the communal areas of housing blocks had not been carried out.
The council also admitted at the time that it could not confirm all its dwellings met the legally required Decent Homes Standard.
Progress and Current Compliance
According to the latest report, the council has now completed 82% of internal inspections and 100% of communal area inspections as part of the stock condition survey. It claims that 96.6% of its housing stock now meets the Decent Homes Standard.
However, the authority acknowledges it is not yet fully compliant in all areas, specifically citing energy efficiency ratings and its decarbonisation plans as requiring further work.
In its own assessment, the council summarised its position: "DMBC is currently substantially compliant across most regulatory standards, with strong systems, governance, and resident engagement. However, several areas require targeted improvement to achieve full compliance, particularly in Decency, Transparency, and Data Integration."
Following the service of the notice, the council's Housing and Assets Group worked closely with the RSH to implement improvements. The council has now written to the regulator formally requesting the notice be lifted, with a decision expected in mid-January 2026.
When the notice was first imposed, Kathryn Jones, Director of Housing and Communities at Dudley Council, sought to reassure residents, stating a 12-month survey programme was already commissioned and that swift action was being taken.
