Industry Viewfinder: Revisiting the approach to Fire Safety in Social Housing
What percentage of your properties have a Category LD2 fire detection system installed?
Trust in product manufacturers also remains a barrier for a minority of respondents, and fortunately this had reduced in the last two years. When asked how respondents’ trust levels had changed recently, 8% said it had changed negatively or very negatively (down significantly from 35% in the previous study). Similarly, 67% reported their trust is unchanged (+16%), 18% positively (+9%) and 7% very positively (+4%).
CONCLUSION Te imperative nature of fire safety in housing cannot be overstated, as evidenced by tragic incidents like the Grenfell Tower fire that have leſt a lasting stain on the national consciousness, and the social housing sector. Housing associations and private landlords carry both a legal and moral
responsibility to ensure the safety of residents within their properties, yet despite efforts to enhance building safety standards, Housing Management & Maintenance has highlighted persistent deficiencies in fire safety practices, even four years aſter the tragedy. A substantial portion of failed fire risk assessments still take an
extended period to be addressed, some respondents still feel uncomfortable reporting safety concerns to authorities, and a concerning proportion of
What percentage of the housing you’ve worked on in the last six months would you estimate has unsafe cladding?
respondents still lack understanding of fire safety regulations. Moreover, despite some advancements, a sizable number of housing professionals continue to struggle with implementing vital safety measures, including unsafe cladding yet to be remediated. A number of barriers remained problematic for our respondents and
were hindering the adoption of fire safety measures, with cost remaining a significant impediment, while issues such as uninformed tenants, lack of government support, and poor product quality were further contributors to the ongoing challenges. Despite the continued experience of these barriers however, it is imperative
that the sector as a whole finds ways to overcome them to ensure a safer living environment for their residents. Regulatory changes and enhanced practices have driven improvement, but the pressing need to address lingering challenges and enhance collaboration across the housing industry remains. Te majority of respondents may be acting accordingly, but the minority who
aren’t is still far too high. Lives are at risk. Te housing sector has to tackle the issues acknowledged in our survey, and well known across the industry.
Te full white paper can be downloaded free of charge at
housingmmonline.co.uk
What do you think are the main reasons these risks remain present? g Major Reason g Minor Reason g Unsure/Don’t know
32 | HMMAugust/September 2023 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
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