Industry News


Few tower blocks have water sprinklers fitted despite fire risk


Only five per cent of council owned tower blocks are protected from fire by water sprinkler systems despite strong support for their effectiveness in saving lives and property. The shadow housing minister Sarah Jones


has found that only 112 of a total of 2,107 council owned tower blocks taller than 10 storeys, have had sprinklers fitted to them. Sprinklers have been legally required in


all new high-rise buildings of 10 storeys and above since 2007, but the regulations do not apply to blocks built before then. This is despite the existence of National Fire Chiefs Council research from 2013 which found that deaths from fires have been almost eliminated in blocks with sprinklers. Not surprisingly the National Fire Chiefs


Council, as well as many fire and rescue services across the country have since said they believe water sprinklers to be a crucial safety measure in tower blocks. Ms Jones is now calling on the


Government to spend £1bn installing sprinklers in social housing tower blocks and to carry out other fire safety measures. In the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire (where sprinklers were absent) a number of councils requested financial help from the Treasury to fit sprinklers in their tower blocks, but their requests were rejected. “It is simply a contradiction in terms for


the Government to suggest that sprinklers are essential in new buildings while ignoring calls for them in older buildings. This creates a two-tier, hierarchy of harm in which social housing tenants are disproportionately affected,” claimed Ms Jones. Back in 2013 the coroner who oversaw


the inquest into six deaths at Lakanal House in south east London recommended that social landlords should consider retrofitting sprinklers in their tower blocks. Other recommendations to the then Secretary of State Eric Pickles to take proactive measures to improve fire safety of tenants’ homes were not acted upon. Instead Pickles criticised the Welsh


Government when they introduced a requirement for sprinklers in all newly built housing in 2013. His department failed to change building regulations and continued its drive to reduce health and safety requirements, often described as ‘unnecessary redtape’.


Social housing tenants being failed by poor repairs and regulation


resolved, according to a national housing charity and campaigning group. Two years on from the Grenfell Tower fire,


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Shelter is warning the Government it must listen to the third of families with children in social housing who feel less safe in their homes and take urgent action to prevent further tragedies. Shelter fears a new building safety regulator will


not go far enough to ensure the health, safety and well-being of all tenants is protected. Instead it is calling on the Government to introduce a tough, new consumer regulator that protects tenants and proactively inspects social landlords. New figures released by Shelter show that over


half (56 per cent) of social renters in England, equivalent to five million people, have experienced a problem with their home in the last three years, including electrical hazards, gas leaks and faulty lifts. Of those with a problem, one in 10 had to report it more than 10 times, suggesting tenants are still being failed by poor regulation. A survey carried out by YouGov showed that over


the same period more than 400,000 people encountered an issue with fire safety, which also affected their neighbours in over two-fifths of cases. Shelter is concerned that the current regulator of


social housing exists mainly to oversee finances and is not exclusively focussed on addressing the concerns of residents or tackling problem landlords head on. Almost three-quarters (72 per cent) of social tenants in England have never heard of the current regulator.


COMPLAINTS AND VIEWS IGNORED The research also reveals a deep mistrust in Whitehall since the Grenfell Tower fire, with half saying they have less trust in the Government to keep social tenants safe in their homes. Another third says the Government’s response has made no difference, which is why Shelter and Grenfell United believe that only a new consumer regulator can protect tenants and rebuild trust. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said:


“Social tenants living in Grenfell Tower raised serious safety concerns before the fire, but they were ignored. Two years on, social renters are still being failed by poor regulation and people are still fighting to be heard. “It cannot be right that scores of complaints and


problems that affect whole blocks of flats, like faulty lifts or gas leaks, go unheard. We need a new regulator that’s firmly on the side of tenants. “Tinkering with the current system just isn’t good enough when people have lost trust in it to keep


10 | HMM August/September 2019 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


ne in 10 social housing tenants are forced to report the same problem with their home more than 10 times before it is


Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Social tenants living in Grenfell Tower raised serious safety concerns before the fire, but they were ignored. Two years on, social renters are still being failed by poor regulation and people are still fighting to be heard.”


them safe. That’s why we stand with Grenfell United in calling on the government to establish a new consumer regulator, which inspects social landlords and listens to groups of tenants when they say something isn’t right.” Natasha Elcock, Chair of Grenfell United, the


bereaved families and survivors’ group said: “People were raising the alarm about fire safety in Grenfell before the fire, but they were ignored and belittled. The current housing regulator did nothing for us, it was entirely invisible. And two years later, despite all the promises, we still hear from people across the country who are not being listened to about their homes. “If we want to stop another Grenfell fire, we


need serious change – change that will genuinely make a difference to people living in social housing. We need a new system, not a rebrand of the current one. The government introduced a new regime for the banking industry after the financial crash, it should be doing the same for the housing sector. After all, what could be more important than people's homes.”


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