Folkestone & Hythe District Council has earned national recognition as one of the country’s leading council housing landlords after receiving the highest possible consumer standards judgement from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).
The council was awarded the prestigious C1 rating, making it the very first council in Kent to achieve this distinction. Across the entire nation, only 13% of local authorities hold this top-tier grade.
The landmark rating follows an intensive four-month inspection by the RSH, which evaluated the council’s performance against all four consumer standards and confirmed full compliance across the board.
Inspectors praised several key strengths within the housing service. Most notably, they highlighted the council’s clear commitment to involving tenants in decision-making processes, its robust and up-to-date understanding of its overall housing stock, and its consistently high levels of health and safety compliance.
Cllr Rebecca Shoob, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, said:
“Becoming the first local authority in Kent to achieve the top rating from the Regulator of Social Housing is not only a significant achievement, but also a testament to the dedication of staff, tenants and partners.
“While we are proud of this recognition, we remain committed to keeping tenants at the heart of what we do and improving the services we provide.”
Elaine Bostock, Chair of the Strategic Tenant Advisory Panel (STAP), added:
“Since we created STAP in 2021, I have been very privileged to be chair to a group of wonderful, like-minded tenants, who have been instrumental in helping to shape the service and improve conditions for all tenants. We feel heard and respected, and we know the work we do and the effort we put in, really counts.
“I am delighted that the RSH team recognised this in their inspections with STAP and the Scrutiny Panel observations and interviews. We are overjoyed for the Housing Team, they have done such great work and it has been wonderful to have been able to be part of such a well-deserved outcome.”
Visit the council website for more information about the inspections.