Industry News


Company fined three quarters of a million pounds over asbestos


A construction firm converting a former nine- storey office building into residential flats has been hit with a massive fine after being found guilty of repeated asbestos safety failings. Barroerock Construction Limited of East


Finchley, London, was fined £750,000 after pleading guilty to two offences of breaching Regulation 22 (1) (a) of the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2007 at Canterbury Crown Court. They were also ordered to pay costs of £14,874.68. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)


carried out two investigations of working practices at the site, which was known to contain asbestos. The first investigation arose from a routine


inspection during one of HSE’s refurbishment campaigns. The Court was told a refurbishment and demolition survey had been carried out but the company failed to act upon it. This resulted in up to 40 workers being exposed to asbestos during the early demolition phase of the project. The second investigation followed


complaints being made about the health and safety practices at the site. This found that despite engaging a licensed asbestos contractor to remove the remaining asbestos materials, dangerous practices were continuing. In addition the company was unable to


provide documentation to show that asbestos materials identified in the survey had been correctly removed. When work on site was halted for the second time about 160 people were working inside the building. It was found in both HSE investigations that


the incidents could have been prevented if Barroerock ensured they had effective management controls in place to avoid the risk of exposure to asbestos. Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Melvyn Stancliffe said:


“The company’s failings in this case put many workers at risk to the exposure of asbestos. It was clear there was an endemic failure to effectively manage the construction work on the site in a way which ensured that asbestos materials were not disturbed until removed under appropriate conditions. Failing to prevent the breathing in of asbestos fibres on the site is reckless.”


More than 200,000 homes lie empty


With the crisis in housing supply and lower than needed rates of housebuilding, it is concerning that over 200,000 homes in England with an estimated value of £43bn, have been empty for at least six months. Across London there were 19,845 homes


sitting idle for over six months in 2016, which amounted to £9.4bn worth of property, based on the average price in London of £474,704. This has contributed to the increase in high profile squatting cases reported in the past year. Birmingham was the worst affected city


outside the capital with 4,397 empty homes worth an estimated £956m, followed by Bradford and Liverpool. Towns and cities in the north and Midlands filled the top 20 list of local authority areas with the highest number of empty homes. In the north west, Blackburn shot up the


rankings to ninth place after a 35 per cent jump, the biggest increase of any authority outside London, pushing neighbouring Bolton into 10th place.


Royal borough In London the royal borough of Kensington & Chelsea was the worst performer as super-rich owners rejected renting them out or selling up in favour of leaving their properties lying idle to gain value. This saw the number of empty homes in Kensington & Chelsea rise 22.7 per cent over the 10-year period from 2006 and 8.5 per cent since 2015. The royal borough had 1,399 empty homes


worth £664m, compared with second-placed Croydon, which had 1,216 empty homes worth £577m. Property investment firm Property Partner,


which collated the report from Department for Communities & Local Government figures, said Kensington & Chelsea stood out from most London boroughs, who have recorded falls in the number of empty homes over the last 10 years.


Rogue landlord gets first Scottish banning order


A rogue private landlord in Fife has become the first to receive a disqualification order from a Scottish court. Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court found Mohammed


Murtaza, 47, in breach of the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 and the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 after continuing as a landlord despite being denied entry to the council’s landlord register.


16 | HMM July 2017 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk In 2006, Newham in East London, was the


worst performing borough in the capital, but dramatically cut the number of empty homes over the next 10 years from 2,070 to just 593. Similarly, Lambeth recorded a fall from 2,807 in 2006 to 756 in 2016.


Incentives Government and councils have worked to cut the number of empty homes, primarily by reducing tax incentives which encouraged owners to leave properties unused. In recent years most local authorities have


increased council tax bills on second homes and adopted stricter rules on council tax discounts for empty homes. Some councils have achieved less than


others in their efforts to reduce the number of empty homes in their area. While Birmingham recorded a 13 per cent jump in empty properties in the last year and Liverpool suffered a 5 per cent rise to 3,449, Manchester registered the greatest fall over a decade, dropping 88 per cent to 1,365.


Homes sitting idle for over six months Number of homes per city and their total value in 2016:


London: £9.4bn Birmingham: £956m Bradford: £858m Liverpool: £750m Leeds: £560m Sheffield: £434m Sunderland: £382m Wakefield: £362m Doncaster: £351m Blackburn: £340m


Property Partner said a large drop in the number of empty homes across England from 2006 stalled in 2015. The figures for 2016 showed little progress.


The landlord had a previous conviction for


failing to comply with legislation and for being in breach of gas safety regulations, which resulted in six convictions and £540 in fines. Sheriff Gilchrist said it was "a flagrant breach


of legislation" and the judge ruled that Mr Murtaza should receive a £500 fine and a 12 month ban, preventing him from acting as a private landlord for the next year. John Mills, the council’s head of housing said


“A significant proportion of private landlords are of good character and comply with the law – however, there are some who act unlawfully. “The outcome of this particular case sends a


clear message to private landlords in Fife that the council will continue to take all appropriate action to protect tenants and improve property standards in the private sector.”


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