Industry News


Publication of Social Housing White Paper expected before the year-end


Ministers have indicated that the long awaited Social Housing White Paper will be published later this year. It is expected to redress the balance of power in the all- important relationship between landlords and tenants. The themes in the Social Housing Green


Paper, published more than two years ago in August 2018, are understood to be the basis of the new piece of draft legislation. One of the five principles set out in the


green paper was 'improving and speeding up how complaints are resolved'. The Government has already given the revamped Housing Ombudsman Service strengthened powers and resources to speed up the resolution of complaints and investigate systemic issues. These are likely to feature more highly in the regulator’s views on social landlords as well. The Government is also looking to carry


out a focused survey to better understand how residents currently experience the complaints process. This will be used to assess whether residents understand the whole system and find it easy to navigate. This may see stronger opportunities for residents to obtain redress when things go wrong. The National Housing Federation


acknowledges that there is more housing associations can do to ensure the voice and experience of residents is listened to and valued. It has recently published a Together with Tenants Charter, which has a strong focus on complaints and redress. The charter states: "When things go


wrong – tenants and residents will have simple and accessible routes for raising issues, making complaints and seeking redress. Tenants and residents will receive timely advice and support when things go wrong." The NHF is now actively working on


plans for a rollout of the charter later this year. This will include sharing it’s learning from the 130 early adopters who worked with their residents to test the plan. Of course we have been in a similar place


in the last three years but regular changes in personnel at Secretary of State and Housing Minister positions has disrupted the progress made. We can but hope that this time the draft legislation actually makes it to Parliament.


Landmark draft Building Safety Bill published, with aim of reforming the construction sector


fire which killed 72 people and prompted demands for a fresh and more professional approach to building design, construction and maintenance. The draft legislation is now being consulted on


T


ahead of its introduction to Parliament. It is intended to solve the widespread and systemic issues that have blighted the country’s construction sector in recent decades and ultimately led to the shoddy working practices on the botched refurbishment of Grenfell Tower in west London. Among its headline making changes are:


• the creation of a national Building Safety Regulator, led by a chief inspector of buildings;


• a requirement for building safety managers to make sure all high rise residential buildings are up to standard; and


• an overhaul of the building control process. Tower block residents will have a “louder voice”


under the new regime, the Government has claimed, with the power to challenge inaction on safety issues from building owners. This will address one of biggest complaints made by Grenfell residents, who were raising concerns about refurbishment work and safety standards with their landlord and the council. Failure to comply with the new rules could lead


to unlimited fines or prison sentences of up to two years. The Health & Safety Executive is leading the work on setting up the Building Safety Regulator (the BSR), for which it is receiving a budget of £16.4m this year. At the launch of the draft Bill, Housing Secretary


Robert Jenrick said: “This is a significant milestone on our journey to fundamentally improving building safety and delivering real changes that will keep people safer in their homes. “I am calling on the industry to actively prepare


for these changes now. It is vital that the sector moves in step with us, to provide confidence and reassurance to residents that their safety is firmly at the heart of everything we do.” Lord Greenhalgh, the building safety and fire


minister, said: “These are the biggest changes to building safety legislation for nearly 40 years, and they will raise standards across the industry and ensure building owners have nowhere to hide if they break the rules.” Some of the early responses from property


owners have highlighted several difficulties they envisage in complying with the draft legislation,


18 | HMM October/November 2020 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


including its complexity, the absence of clarity, competing organisational priorities and the sheer volume of high-rise buildings some would need to submit to the new regulator. The potential high cost of becoming compliant


with the new safety regime is also featuring as a major issue with building owners and residents, particularly leaseholders who fear they will have to bear the cost of any works considered to be necessary. The new regulatory body will oversee the new,


more stringent building safety regime for higher- risk buildings, which prioritises blocks of flats more than 18m high or more than six storeys tall in England. It will also have a broader oversight role in the


safety and performance of buildings; and in promoting improvements in the competence and organisational capability of all those working in the built environment. HSE Chief Executive Sarah Albon said: “HSE


fully supports the measures set out in the draft bill to move forward and enhance building safety across England. We are working with other parts of Government, key regulators and industry to establish how the new legislation can be implemented in a practical way and create a new regime that improves building safety standards and competence across the industry.” The HSE will also lead the Government’s Joint


Regulators Group (JRG), which will provide coordinated leadership to local authority and fire & rescue regulators during the transition to the new regulatory regime. It will support the development of close working arrangements between the BSR and local regulators, while continuing to work with early adopters to trial new safety approaches.


he long awaited Building Safety Bill has been published by the Government, more than three years after the Grenfell Tower


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52