On 14 January 2026, the Regulator of Social Housing published its judgement, following an inspection of MCC’s housing service.
We have been awarded a C2 rating which recognises we have made significant progress in our services to residents with some areas needing improvement.
All registered providers of social housing are subject to an inspection by the regulator. Following this they are given one of four ratings with C1 being the highest and C4 requiring the most improvement.
The inspection focused on the four consumer standards which were set in 2024, the regulators team observed meetings with the Housing Advisory Board, the Housing Board, the Your Voice Resident Scrutiny Group, and spoke with engaged tenants.
They also met senior Council leaders, senior managers and reviewed a wide range of documents.
The regulator identified strengths and weaknesses in all areas of MCC’s Housing Service.
Safety and quality standard
The Regulator recognised that we have a good understanding of the condition of the homes we look after, health and safety systems in place, and clear plans to improve decency levels across our stock.
However, they noted that satisfaction with repairs is below target and complaints are high. This is something we have been working on, we have launched a comprehensive repairs transformation strategy to address these issues and deliver a more efficient, customer-focused service. We are also strengthening oversight of homes managed under PFI and TMO arrangements to ensure standards are consistent across all the homes we manage.
Tenancy Standard
The inspection found that homes are allocated appropriately and we are making efficient use of council stock. They did note that there are gaps in information we have on tenants and as such we could improve how we respond to their diverse needs. This is already improving. Our Resident’s Roadshows and biannual home visits are strengthening the information we have on the people who live in the homes we manage and with more robust data we are tailoring our services to better meet the needs of residents.
Neighbourhood and Community Standard
The regulator recognised that our partnerships to tackle antisocial behaviour are effective, and there is a positive, respectful culture towards tenants.
Tenant satisfaction with antisocial behaviour handling has historically been low but following extensive resident engagement and the introduction of a dedicated ASB team, we are already seeing improvements. We are also developing a new Tenancy Strategy to provide clearer policies and better outcome monitoring.
Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard
They recognised that we offer growing opportunities for tenants to influence services, have a strong local engagement focus, and are improving complaints handling and learning from feedback. However, at the time of inspection, we lacked an overarching engagement strategy and formal scrutiny was still developing. Since then, we have successfully completed a full scrutiny exercise on resident engagement with the Resident Scrutiny Group and have co-produced a new Resident Engagement Strategy with tenants. This strategy will launch in early 2026 and will strengthen monitoring of engagement outcomes and ensure diverse tenant voices are heard.
Cllr. Gavin White, Manchester City Council's Executive Member for Housing and Development, said:
"Since bringing the Housing Service back in-house in 2021 we have been tackling some significant challenges - including balancing a significant repair programme with new investment to improve Council-owned homes. And although we know we still have obstacles to work through, the result from the Regulator is encouraging and provides a strong platform to continue to improve.
"We know how important good quality, well-managed homes are to our residents. Housing is a cornerstone of our residents' lives and essential for them to thrive, which is why we take our responsibility to Council tenants incredibly seriously.
"We would like to thank the inspectors from the regulator for their time in reviewing our housing service and while there was lots of positive feedback, it's important that we take note of where the service still needs to improve to make sure we have homes that our residents can rely on and a management service they can trust."
Chris Higham, Chair, Your Voice Scrutiny Group added: “The regulator spent time with us, digging deep into about how MCC listens to tenants they wanted to ensure that our work is tenant led. It was a great opportunity to give our feedback. Everyone had the opportunity to say how they feel. The regulators made us feel valued and respected our views.”
We would like to thank the Regulator of Social Housing for their fair and accurate assessment of Manchester’s Housing Service and for recognising that we are on a journey of improvement. We look forward to working together on the areas identified so when we are inspected again, we achieve the C1 rating that residents deserve.
