Maintenance & Refurbishment
Roofing & Cladding Feature
It is incumbent upon those overseeing the safety, security, and standard of social housing provision to ensure such expectations are met
GOVERNMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY Social housing tenants – like private renters – believe sustainability objectives need to be invested in, and they are looking to landlords to deliver the answers. In fact, 28% think that sustainability and energy efficiency measures are important when it comes to their home, and one in ten said this had become ‘more important’ to them over the past year. Recycling, turning off appliances, limiting water wastage, and limiting
heating are among the top sustainable actions social housing tenants are taking, and nearly one in ten say their landlord or housing association is actively considering the installation of green energy efficiency measures such as solar PV.
HOME SAFETY EXPECTATION One clear message from tenants is the rightful expectation that the property they inhabit is safe and secure, including effective protection from the potential threat posed by hidden roof fires. Indeed, home safety is one of the seven key commitments set out in the Social Housing White Paper. Building regulations require that new homes be built with fire protection
measures to delay the spread of fire and allow crucial time to escape. So, when a roof is compartmentalised between adjoining homes, fire barriers are seen as an integral safety feature to prevent the spread of flames and smoke in case of a fire.
Recent Reports from the BRE and BBC Watchdog have raised concerns that
some modern homes could have inadequate, incorrectly installed and, in some cases, no fire barriers at all. In terraced or semi-detached properties, this increases the risk that fire could spread rapidly through roof voids from one home to the next. The findings are relevant for social housing portfolios overseen by housing associations, with specifiers commonly presuming that fire barriers are present and installed properly on completed properties. It is important that social housing providers investigate new product
solutions that can counteract the threat of hidden fires spreading in the roof space. Fire barrier installations that offer guaranteed protection against the spread of hidden roof fires are available. With social housing tenants clearly expressing a desire to see the creation of
better standards for the fabric of the homes they have been forced to spend more time in than ever before, it is incumbent upon those overseeing the safety, security, and standard of social housing provision to ensure such expectations are met. A copy of Marley’s research contained in a new report ‘Raising the roof:
Homes and communities in a post-Covid UK’ can be downloaded on its website.
Stuart Nicholson is roof systems director from Marley 58 | HMM August/September 2021 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
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