Brighton Council Housing Safety: 99.6 Percent of Homes Have Valid Electrical Checks

A council scrutiny report shows progress on electrical, smoke alarm and water safety checks since the regulator's 2024 judgement, with repairs and fire actions still to watch.

Tim Graichi Cucarella

Published 03:07, Tuesday, 10 November 20263 min read

A white and grey council tower block on the Bristol Estate, Brighton, seen from a grassy slope under a blue sky — Flats on the Bristol Estate, Brighton. Photo: Hassocks5489 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Brighton and Hove City Council says 99.6 percent of its homes now have a valid electrical safety check, up from about 3,600 homes without a current one when the Regulator of Social Housing judged the council in August 2024. The figures are in a progress report for the council's Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which was on the agenda for its meeting on 3 November 2026.

The regulator gave the council a C3 grade for the Safety and Quality Consumer Standard in 2024. The council's report says a C3 means work needs to be done because there were serious failings in this area. The committee was asked to note and comment on the progress made. It is the council's latest twice-yearly update, and the previous one went to the same committee on 22 July 2026. The papers are on the council's meeting page.

Electrical, smoke alarm and water safety checks

Electrical checks. The report says 99.6 percent of homes now have a valid five-year Electrical Installation Condition Report, up from 96.1 percent in February 2026. For communal areas, 99.3 percent are compliant, up from 83.3 percent in February. In 2024 the regulator found no evidence of a current certificate for more than 600 communal areas.

Smoke alarms. The council reports a working alarm in 100 percent of its 12,086 homes, not counting empty ones. In February the figure was 99.6 percent of 12,237 homes. In 2024 the regulator said the council could not evidence compliance with the legal requirements for smoke detectors.

Water safety. The report says 98.6 percent of buildings now have a valid water safety risk assessment, up from 95.8 percent in February. There are 830 open remedial actions, compared with 2,020 overdue actions in January 2026. The report says the January figure reflected a significant increase in inspections. In 2024 the regulator said more than 600 buildings needed a risk assessment and more than 500 water safety actions were overdue.

Graphic titled Council housing safety: where the checks stand. It shows 99.6 percent of council homes have a valid electrical safety check, up from about 3,600 without one in 2024. It shows 4,523 repairs older than 28 days, up from 4,279 in February, including damp and condensation. It shows 67 high-risk fire safety actions open, up from 4 in February, with 427 open in total. A line below says smoke alarms are in 100 percent of homes, water safety has 830 open actions and tenant satisfaction is 71 percent. Source: Brighton and Hove City Council scrutiny report, 3 November 2026.

Fire safety actions

Fewer actions, more of them high risk. The council reports 427 live fire risk assessment actions, down from 2,082 in February. The regulator had raised concerns in 2024 about delays in completing more than 1,700 fire safety actions. Of the 427 now open, 67 are high risk, 9 are medium and 351 are low. In February the split was 4 high, 1 medium and 2,077 low. The report says the council is now into a new cycle of fire risk assessments.

ImJustBrighton has also reported on fire safety funding for council homes.

Repairs and Awaab's Law

Older repairs have risen. The report says 4,523 repairs are older than 28 days, up from 4,279 in February. It says the figure includes surge demand and damp and condensation reports from August 2025, ahead of Awaab's Law. In 2024 the regulator described a backlog of around 8,000 low-risk, low-priority repairs.

The council lists two remaining challenges: improving its stock condition data and managing the increased repairs demand arising from Awaab's Law.

What tenants say

Satisfaction. The council reports overall tenant satisfaction has increased to 71 percent. Satisfaction with the repairs and maintenance service rose to 77.3 percent, and 74 percent of tenants are satisfied their home is safe.

The report also covers Creating Great Homes Together, a tenant-led plan developed with tenants through citywide workshops. Early delivery includes complaints training, improved responses to pest, damp and mould problems, estate inspections, a stronger repairs supply chain and tenant involvement in procurement.

Regulator inspection and priorities

Inspection. The Regulator of Social Housing is carrying out a full inspection against all five of its Consumer Standards. Its site visit took place from 19 to 21 October 2026. The report says a new grading will reflect the regulator's view when it is available.

Action plan. The council says the majority of high and medium priority actions in its Consumer Standards action plan are on track or complete, with some stalled because of resourcing. Its improvement programme sets a goal of safe homes, completed checks and closed actions by March 2027.

The council's five priority programmes for 2026 to 2028 are repairs and maintenance, safer communities and anti-social behaviour, customer service, complaints and tenant engagement.

Funding

No new money sought. The report says the programme is supported through the Housing Revenue Account revenue budgets and capital programme, and no additional funding is sought through this report. It adds that resource constraints and any further requirements from the regulatory inspection may place extra pressure on those budgets, with any additional funding subject to the council's usual approval process.