Industry News
New housing complaints services to be established
The Housing Complaints Resolution Service will
be developed on a voluntary basis initially with a new Redress Reform Working Group made up of representatives from across the sector, working with industry and consumers. But the Government says it could put this on a statutory footing if it is not satisfied with the sector’s response. A press release from the MHCLG says the new
complaints resolution service will potentially help millions by providing a straight-forward way of getting help when faced with unresolved disputes about problems with their home, from broken boilers to cracks in the wall. Establishing a single housing complaints service
for all residents, whether they rent or own their home, will prevent people from battling with their landlord or builder to resolve issues on their own and make it easier to claim compensation where it is owed. Redress for social housing residents is being
considered separately. The response to the social housing green paper and the call for evidence for the review of social housing regulation are due to be published in Spring 2019. Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National
Housing Federation, said plans for a single service were very welcome. “It’s important that, when a complaint can’t be resolved directly between a landlord and tenant, it can be addressed effectively, independent and fairly,” she added. In a joint statement, Mark Hayward, Chief
ensure all residents have access to a redress scheme. For the first time private landlords will be legally
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required to become members of a redress scheme, with a fine of up to £5,000 if they fail to do so, giving extra protections to millions of private renters. To safeguard the interests of homeowners
ousing Secretary James Brokenshire has announced a complete overhaul of the broken housing complaints system to
who buy new homes, the Government repeated its commitment to set up a New Homes Ombudsman to hold developers to account. Brokenshire said legislation will be brought
forward at the earliest opportunity to require all developers to belong to the Ombudsman. Developers will have to belong to the new body by 2021 if they wish to participate in the Help to Buy scheme.
Executive, NAEA Propertymark, and David Cox, Chief Executive, ARLA Propertymark, said: “We are very pleased the Government has listened and accepted our recommendation to establish a single ‘front door’. We welcome this approach and are pleased to see a holistic approach to redress being taken right across the property industry, creating the beginnings of a more integrated housing strategy rather than the piecemeal, sectoral and issue-specific approach that we have all had to deal with for too long.”
Councils are putting increasing numbers of vulnerable young people into ‘risky and unsuitable’ homes
Growing numbers of children as young as 16 are being housed alone in bed and breakfast rooms, bedsits and even caravans by councils struggling to cope with growing demands on the care system. A joint investigation by the Observer newspaper
and the BBC’s 5 Live radio programme found there has been a 28 per cent increase in the number of under-18s placed by councils in so-called independent living accommodation, which lacks live-in staff support and includes unsupervised B&Bs, over the past eight years. Figures obtained from the Department for
Education through Freedom of Information Act requests showed that the number of looked-after children placed in independent living arrangements by English local authorities rose from 2,420 in 2010 to 3,090 in 2018. In Wales, the figure went from 75 to 130 in the same period, a rise of 73 per cent.
Responses to FOI requests revealed that
four local authorities had placed up to 14 children in caravan parks and 17 councils placed up to 133 children in B&Bs over the past two years.
UNSUITABLE ACCOMMODATION While some independent living arrangements with dedicated social-work support are appropriate for those aged under 18, other types, such as B&Bs, are prohibited by statutory guidance because they are considered “too risky”. Although social services are meant to assess and,
in most cases, care for homeless teenagers, some authorities are placing under-18s in B&Bs and adult hostels without any checks or support. In October, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found that Cornwall council
12 | HMM February/March 2019 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
failed to provide appropriate accommodation to a 17-year-old boy, who was placed in a tent, a static caravan and B&Bs during 2016. Plymouth City Council said it was hard to find
suitable placements for older teenagers. A spokesman for the council said: “Sadly, there is a national shortage of foster placements willing to take 16 to 18 year-old young people, which severly limits the options available to local authorities.” The Children’s Commissioner for England,
Anne Longfield, has said she will be investigating the housing of vulnerable children this year. “None of us would choose for our own children to live alone in caravan parks, B&Bs or adult hostels, yet I often hear from young people in care who have been dumped into substandard housing under the guise of ‘independent living’.”
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