Housing performance report

Quarter 3 2025/26

This report provides updates on performance indicators covering a wide range of housing services provided by Brighton & Hove City Council. The report covers Quarter 3 (Q3) of the 2025/26 financial year and uses red, amber and green ratings, as well as trend arrows. Commentary has been included for all indicators that are red as well as any marked ‘Corporate KPI.’

The ratings and trends for the quarter are as follows:

	Green – on target (9 indicators)		Improved since last time (9 indicators)
	Amber – near target (7 indicators)		Same as last time (3 indicators)
	Red – off target (5 indicators)		Poorer than last time (9 indicators)

Contents – performance areas	Page
Customer Feedback
Compliments received	7
Stage one complaints	7
Stage two complaints	7
Private Sector Housing
Private sector homes improved	8
Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)	8
Property inspections completed	8
Requests for assistance (RFAs)	8
Private sector vacant dwellings returned to use	8
Housing options and homelessness
Homelessness preventions	9
Homelessness acceptances	9
Social housing waiting list	9
Rough sleepers	9
Temporary accommodation
Households	10
Rent collected	10
Voids (empty dwellings)	10
Gas safety compliance (Seaside Homes)	10
Housing supply
Additional council homes	11
Right to Buy sales	12
Other additional affordable homes	13
Council housing management
Rent collected	14
Universal Credit	14
Tenants evicted	14
Anti-social behaviour (ASB)	14
Calls and emails (Housing Customer Services)	14
Re-let times	15
Voids (empty dwellings)	15
Council housing maintenance
Repairs completed in time	16
Calls, emails and online forms (Repairs Helpdesk)	16
Satisfaction with completed repairs	16
Decent Homes Standard	17
Energy efficiency rating of council homes	17
Gas safety compliance (council homes)	17
Lift breakdowns	17
Council housing adaptations: time to approve applications	18
Council housing adaptations: time to complete works	18
Leaseholder disputes	18

		Customer feedback (all indicators in this table are for the financial year to date)	Target (amber value)	Q2 2025/26	Q3 2025/26	Status against target	Trend since last quarter
1.1	Compliments received from customers		Info	63	109	-	-
Overlapping themes covering the majority of the 109 customer compliments received during 2025/26 to date included staff politeness (76%), professionalism (76%), good communication (63%), empathy (57%) and teamwork across services (56%).
1.2	Stage one complaints responded to within 10 working days		80% (70%)	75% (284 of 380)	77% (604 of 789)	Rated amber	Improved
1.3	Stage one complaints upheld		Info	50% (191 of 380)	54% (425 of 789)	-	-
The 789 stage one complaints received during 2025/26 to date were most commonly about unhappiness with the outcome of a service request (30%), unhappiness with service delivery (23%) and delays completing repairs (18%). These are more likely to be upheld when there is evidence of gaps in service delivery, such as delayed responses to service requests, and less likely to be upheld when it comes to disagreement with policies or procedures that were followed correctly.
1.4	Stage two complaints responded to within 20 working days		Info	78% (59 of 76)	83% (111 of 134)	-	-
1.5	Stage two complaints upheld		18% (20%)	50% (38 of 76)	45% (60 of 134)	Rated red	Improved
During 2025/26 to date, 134 stage two complaints were investigated by the corporate Customer Feedback team, after they were escalated following the stage one response from the relevant housing service. These complaints were most commonly about unhappiness with the outcome of a service request (33%), delays completing repairs (20%) and unhappiness with service delivery (18%). The 60 stage two complaints which were then upheld were more often about demonstrable problems with service delivery, such as delays completing repairs, whereas those not upheld more often reflected disagreement and dissatisfaction with decisions.

		Private sector housing	Target (amber value)	Q2 2025/26	Q3 2025/26	Status against target	Trend since last quarter
2.1	Corporate KPI: Private sector homes improved by council intervention		Info	36	37	-	-
Corporate update for 2025/26 to date: The number of private sector homes that have been improved due to council intervention was 107 between 1st April 2025 and 31st December 2025. This is a new indicator for 2025/26 and is currently being monitored without a target to establish a baseline ahead of setting a target for the next financial year. Public comparator data for other Local Authorities is not available. During the next quarter we will continue to monitor the completion of works to ensure cases can be closed and interventions recorded. We will continue to prioritise Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) cases which are falling short of the required energy efficiency standards to bring about improvements in these homes. Further information: The result of 107 homes improved so far during 2025/26 breaks down as: · 59 closed requests for assistance where there were Category 1 or 2 Hazards in property · 9 where the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating was improved to meet at least an E rating in line with MEES legislation · 39 Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) where the special licence conditions were met.
2.2	Total fully licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)		Info	2,244	2,351	-	-
2.3	Requests for assistance received (RFAs)		Info	88	110	-	-
The top categories for requests for assistance received during Q3 2025/26 were dampness (46%) and disrepair to customer’s property (16%).
2.4	Property inspections completed		Info	214	386	-	-
2.5	… of which RFA visits		Info	26	27	-	-
2.6	… of which licensing visits		Info	188	359	-	-
2.7	RFA cases closed		Info	76	56	-	-
2.8	Properties with Category 1 and 2 hazards resolved through informal actions		Info	93% (26 of 28)	100% (22 of 22)	-	-
2.9	Properties with Category 1 and 2 hazards resolved through formal action		Info	7% (2 of 28)	0% (0 of 22)	-	-
2.10	Private sector vacant dwellings (for more than one year) returned into occupation		25 per quarter	85	65	Rated green	poorer

		Housing options and homelessness	Target (amber value)	Q2 2025/26	Q3 2025/26	Status against target	Trend since last quarter
4.1	Corporate KPI: Homelessness cases presenting during the prevention duty stage		45% (37%)	34% (172 of 502)	41% (174 of 426)		Improved
Corporate update for 2025/26 to date: The proportion of homelessness cases presenting during the prevention duty stage was 36.8% (549 of 1,490) between 1st April 2025 and 31st December 2025. This is below target and slightly underperforms other Local Authorities within the South East of England (benchmark of 37.5%). During the previous quarter, work has continued to focus on early intervention, strengthen the prevention approach and continuing to build close working relationships with the services most likely used by people experiencing homelessness. Recruitment has now been completed to enhance the service to within the Housing Advice and Triage service, to further increase the work of the service to be moved into an early intervention space. The team has been going through a period of induction and training and have reduced the outstanding cases awaiting assessment, meaning focus can now move to early intervention work. Work in the coming quarter will continue to focus on exploring predictive analytics to improve early intervention, now the pilot has been completed and results are being analysed. As well as embedding the new staff and looking at how cases are triaged across the service.
4.2	Corporate KPI: Homelessness prevention cases closed with a successful prevention outcome		53% (52%)	62% (122 of 197)	60% (122 of 204)	Rated green	Improved
Corporate update for 2025/26 to date: The proportion of homelessness prevention cases closed with a successful prevention outcome was 59.5% (331 of 556) between 1st April 2025 and 31st December 2025. Furthermore, there have been 77 early intervention cases with successful outcomes, in addition to the 331 successful prevention cases. These 408 cases combined represent approximately £593k of financial mitigations achieved during 2025/26 to date. The council’s work to prevent homelessness continues to exceed target and outperform other Local Authorities within the South East of England (benchmark of 52.2%) The new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy is now in consultation for partners and residents to comment and provide input. This new strategy, has proposed prevention of homelessness and rough sleeping as a key priority and will continue to drive the council’s work to prevent homelessness.
4.3	New households with a full housing duty accepted		Info	180	189	-	-
4.4	Number of households on the housing register		Info	5,862	5,866	-	-

		Temporary accommodation	Target (amber value)	Q2 2025/26	Q3 2025/26	Status against target	Trend since last quarter
5.1	Corporate KPI: Total households in temporary accommodation		Info	2,125	2,170	-	-
Corporate update for 2025/26 to date: As of 31st December 2025, there were 2,170 households in temporary accommodation — an increase of 200 since 31st March 2025. While this is a trend indicator with no formal target, the rise reflects both local pressures and a broader national challenge. Across England, the number of households in temporary accommodation reached a record high of 131,140 at the end of March 2025 — a 12 % increase compared to a year before. In this context, the city’s figures represent approximately 1.7 % of the national total, despite having a smaller population share. This suggests a disproportionately high demand for temporary accommodation locally, underscoring the acute housing pressures facing the area. The council continues to prioritise early intervention and prevention, as evidenced by strong performance under the prevention duty, with over 300 households having their homelessness prevented by end-Q3 of this year. The council also continues to invest in Temporary Accommodation, with 60 council-owned Temporary Accommodation homes expected to be delivered this year, with a commitment to deliver a further 200 properties in future years. This work remains central to the council’s commitment to building a fair and inclusive city, with homes for everyone, and aligns with national efforts to reduce homelessness through expanded access to affordable housing and strengthened prevention strategies.
5.2	Rent collected for temporary accommodation (year to date including changes in arrears)		95% (90%)	97.1% (£8.6m of £8.9m)	95.0% (£12.9m of £13.6m)	Rated green	Poorer
5.3	Void temporary accommodation dwellings		Info	122	159	-	-
There were 159 void temporary accommodation dwellings on 31st December 2025, of which 79% (126 of 159) became voids during Q3 2025/26. This indicator now covers all types of temporary accommodation voids, including those undergoing works, and provides a breakdown of their status. Of these 159 voids, 7 were newly acquired dwellings (4%), 17 (11%) were being prepared for works, 44 were undergoing works (28%), 42 were ready to let (26%), 4 were void for other reasons (3%) and 45 were being prepared by a ‘block booked’ accommodation provider (28%).
5.4	Seaside Homes properties with a valid Landlord’s Gas Safety Record		100% (99%)	99.8% (493 of 494)	99.4% (491 of 494)	Rated amber	Poorer

		Council housing management	Target (amber value)	Q2 2025/26	Q3 2025/26	Status against target	Trend since last quarter
7.1	Corporate KPI: Rent collected from current council tenants		95.92% (94.19%)	92.75% (£70.7m of £76.2m)	92.04% (£70.3m of £76.3m)	Rated red	poorer
Corporate update for 2025/26 to date: As of 31st December 2025, the proportion of rent collected from current tenants of council owned homes is forecasted at 92.04% (£70,272,775 of £76,349,391) for the 2025/26 financial year. This collection rate currently underperforms the target of 95.92%, which has been set to match the benchmark from Housemark for Local Authority social landlords with 10,000 or more homes. The managed migration to Universal Credit (UC) has accelerated significantly, with around 900 tenants known to have moved from Housing Benefit (HB) to UC during 2024/25. This trend has continued into the current financial year, with approximately 1,145 tenants migrating by Q3 2025/26. This shift has had a notable impact on rent arrears. The latest group of tenants includes many who receive Employment Support Allowance (ESA), so include individuals with higher levels of vulnerability, requiring more intensive support to navigate the complexities of the UC system. This challenge is particularly acute in the city. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) recognise that Brighton & Hove is out of sync with most of the country in relation to the vulnerabilities of this cohort as a significant portion are in receipt of ESA because of a mental health condition, rather than a physical vulnerability. In response, we have strengthened our focus on early intervention and prevention. Housing staff are making early contact with all new tenants and those who have recently migrated to UC, helping to establish payment plans from the outset. A Senior Income Advisor has also been in post since June 2025 to help resolve the most complex UC migration cases alongside closer collaboration with the council’s Welfare Rights Team. The team has also increased direct payments from UC. During Q3 2025/26, this has averaged £1.9 million per calendar month across 4,150 revenue accounts. This represents a significant shift in how rent is collected and has helped to mitigate the risk of arrears by ensuring more consistent income flows.
7.2	Evictions due to rent arrears		Info	0	0	-	-
7.3	Evictions due to anti-social behaviour (ASB)		Info	1	0	-	-
7.4	ASB cases opened		Info	207	216	-	-
There were also 410 live ASB cases on 31st December 2025, including those opened before Q3. The housing service wishes for residents to report ASB, so the number of cases can be driven by both reporting and incidents, and the service welcomes the former.
7.5	ASB cases closed		Info	198	177	-	-
7.6	Average days to close ASB cases		Info	182	169	-	-
7.7	Calls answered by Housing Customer Services		85% (80%)	88% (5,156 of 5,878)	90% (4,610 of 5,122)	Rated green	Improved
7.8	Emails received by Housing Customer Services		Info	6,649	6,772	-	-
7.9	Number of council homes let		Info	126	122	-	-
7.10	… of which first lets of new council homes		Info	27	27	-	-
7.11	… of which re-lets of previously occupied homes		Info	99	95	-	-
7.12	Average ‘key to key’ re-let time in calendar days including time spent in major works		Info	72	86	-	-
7.13	Average re-let time in calendar days excluding time spent in major works		42 (49)	42	47	Rated amber	poorer
7.14	Void council dwellings (includes new properties)		Info	129	144	-	-
There were 144 void council housing dwellings on 31st December 2025, of which 14 (10%) were being prepared for works, 90 were undergoing works (63%), 34 were ready to let (24%) and 6 were void for other reasons (4%) on this date. Furthermore, 76% of these dwellings (109 of 144) became voids during Q3 2025/26.

		Council housing maintenance	Target (amber value)	Q2 2025/26	Q3 2025/26	Status against target	Trend since last quarter
8.1	Corporate KPI: Emergency repairs completed within 24 hours		99% (97%)	99.6% (3,045 of 3,058)	99.6% (3,351 of 3,363)	Rated green	Same
Corporate update for 2025/26 to date: The proportion of emergency repairs completed within 24 hours was 99.6% (9,303 of 9,342) for repairs completed between 1st April 2025 and 31st December 2025. This is above the target and outperforms most other Local Authority social landlords with 10,000 or more homes (benchmark of 93.7%). Awaab’s Law, which sets strict timeframes for all social landlords to fix damp, mould, and emergency hazards came into force on 27th October 2025 and Repairs & Maintenance have set up new performance indicators to monitor compliance with these new duties through the Housing Safety & Quality Assurance Board. For now, these indicators are separate to the Corporate KPIs relating to the completion of emergency and routine responsive repairs, but the service will review these KPIs in anticipation of the next financial year.
8.2	Corporate KPI: Routine repairs completed within 28 calendar days		70% (58%)	60.5% (4,862 of 8,037)	61.2% (4,196 of 6,858)	Rated amber	Improved
Corporate update for 2025/26 to date: The proportion of routine repairs completed within 28 calendar days was 59.1% (13,291 of 22,471) for repairs completed between 1st April 2025 and 31st December 2025. This is below the target and underperforms most other Local Authority social landlords with 10,000 or more homes (benchmark of 78.8%). The proportion of routine council housing repairs completed within 28 calendar days is impacted by the number of old routine jobs among those completed, with 3,384 originally issued before 2025/26. Of the 19,077 jobs issued during 2025/26 to date, 67.9% (12,962 of 19,077) were completed within 28 days, which is close to the 70% target. Although the target has not been met yet, performance against this indicator has been improving, with year-to-date 2025/26 performance currently 11.3pp above the 2024/25 result of 47.8%.
8.3	Average days to complete routine repairs		15 (17.5)	47	36	Rated red	Improved
The average time taken to complete routine repairs is also impacted by the old routine jobs among those completed. Please see the update above for more information about recent progress.
8.4	Calls answered by Repairs Helpdesk		85% (80%)	94% (15,325 of 16,349)	89% (17,562 of 19,782)	Rated green	poorer
8.5	Emails received by Repairs Helpdesk		Info	5,761	5,551	-	-
8.6	Online forms received by Repairs Helpdesk		Info	884	461	-	-
8.7	Surveyed tenants satisfied with completed repairs: standard of work		96% (92%)	98% (2,213 of 2,253)	98% (1,550 of 1,576)	Rated green	Same
8.8	Surveyed tenants satisfied with completed repairs: overall customer service		96% (92%)	99% (2,225 of 2,253)	99.8% (1,573 of 1,576)	Rated green	Improved
8.9	Corporate KPI: Council dwellings meeting Decent Homes Standard		100% (96.3%)	97.2% (11,873 of 12,212)	97.4% (11,896 of 12,219)	Rated amber	Improved
Corporate update for 2025/26 to date: The proportion of council owned homes that meet the government’s Decent Homes standard was 97.4 % (11,896 of 12,219) on 31st December 2025. This is below the target of 100 % but outperforms most other Local Authority social landlords with 10,000 or more homes (benchmark of 94.8%). Our reporting is more consistent as a result of council employed stock condition surveyors who are undertaking surveys to a wide variety of homes and locations. Several teams within Housing are collaborating to enhance the stock condition data, for example, by ensuring new elements are fully updated following works, in the asset database, and further staff training on recording it has been undertaken. Housing IT systems are now embedded and managed to ensure data is kept up to date which has improved reporting.
8.10	Corporate KPI: Council homes that have an EPC rating of A to C		91.2% (90.8%)	89.2%	89.2%	Rated red	Same
Corporate update for 2025/26 to date: · Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund – Grant Funding Agreement signed and all conditions met, contract with delivery partner signed and mobilised, engagement with Year 1 households has begun including all relevant surveys prior to works beginning in February 2026. · Solar PV programme – installs continued at planned rate of 6 to 8 per week · Whole house retrofit pilot – 13 houses surveyed and 2 retrofitted as part of pilot to establish model for future embedded programme linked to heating and hot water planned programme (previous gas boiler programme) with a further 4 houses identified for surveys · Engagement sessions have taken place across a number of seniors housing schemes as a first step on developing decarbonisation plans for each scheme · Partial decarbonisation of heating and hot water services at one senior housing scheme has begun, due to complete in March 2026 · Full decarbonisation of Manoj House (38 council-owned temporary accommodation homes) heating and hot water services was completed in Q3 2025/26
8.11	Council dwellings with a valid Landlord's Gas Safety Record		100% (99%)	99.99% (10,031 of 10,032)	100% (10,020 of 10,020)	Rated green	Improved
8.12	Lifts restored to service within 24 hours		95% (90%)	90% (154 of 171)	89% (172 of 194)	Rated red	poorer
Figures show 22 lifts were restored to service outside the 24-hour target during Q3 2025/26. These lifts were out of service for an average of 4 days during the quarter, with 8 days being the longest. The lift contractor had reduced staffing capacity over this period, which led to an increase in complex repairs that exceeded the 24-hour target. Council contract management staff have been working closely with the contractor to improve lift technician availability and breakdown response times.
8.13	Average weeks taken to approve applications for disability adaptations to council homes		10 (26)	13	14	Rated amber	poorer
8.14	Average weeks taken for contractor to complete disability adaptations to council homes		Info	16	18	-	-

		Leaseholder disputes	Q2 2025/26	Q3 2025/26
9.1	Stage one disputes opened		24	63
9.2	Stage one disputes closed		29	29
9.3	Active stage one disputes (end quarter)		12	46
9.4	Stage two disputes opened		13	7
9.5	Stage two disputes closed		10	2
9.6	Active stage two disputes (end quarter)		9	14
9.7	Stage three disputes opened		3	2
9.8	Stage three disputes closed		3	2
9.9	Active stage three disputes (end quarter)		6	6


77% Complaint responses within 10 working days	92.0% Rent collection rate	90% Customer services calls answered

47 days Empty home re-let time	99.6% Emergency repairs within 24 hours	61% Routine repairs within 28 days

89% Repairs helpdesk calls answered	97.4% Dwellings meeting Decent Homes standard	100% Gas safety compliance