Dover District Council’s housing service has been given a C2 rating by the Regulator of Social Housing, confirming it meets the consumer standards, but tenant satisfaction with complaint handling fell to 35.3% from 48.3%.
Dover District Council’s housing service maintained overall tenant satisfaction of 77.4% during 2025/26, above the national median, according to an annual report to tenants considered by Cabinet when it met on 5 October 2026.
Regulatory rating
The Regulator of Social Housing gave the council’s housing service a C2 consumer standards judgement following a regulatory inspection. The C2 rating is described in the report as the second-highest available to social landlords and confirms that the council is meeting the standards required of social housing providers. The inspection involved a review of documents and service performance, attendance at a Dover District Tenant Consultative Group meeting, and discussions with staff and tenants.
The council had introduced a Housing Improvement Plan in early 2025, which included carrying out a stock condition survey, restructuring the housing management team to increase neighbourhood coverage, and consulting tenants on their communication and engagement preferences.
Performance highlights and concerns
The report recorded improvements in several areas during 2025/26, including repairs completion times, complaint response performance, neighbourhood satisfaction and building safety compliance. Investment in homes, disabled adaptations and community engagement also continued throughout the year.
However, the report identified areas requiring further improvement. Satisfaction with the council’s approach to complaint handling fell to 35.3%, from 48.3% in 2024/25, even though 97.4% of the 201 stage 1 complaints and all 39 stage 2 complaints were answered within target timescales. The report says this suggests that responding on time alone is not enough. Demand for affordable housing remained high, and resident feedback highlighted opportunities to strengthen communication and to give tenants greater influence over decision-making.
Publication and access
Cabinet was asked to endorse the report’s publication. Officers recommended publication on the grounds that it supports transparency and accountability and meets requirements set by the Regulator of Social Housing’s Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. The report will be published on the council’s website in PDF and HTML formats, with tenants and leaseholders notified by email and text message. Printed copies will be available on request.
The preparation, design and publication of the annual report will be met from existing Housing Revenue Account budgets, with no direct financial implications arising from publication itself.
The council had not published the minutes of the meeting at the time of writing, so the committee’s decision is not yet on the public record.