Industry News


Shocking reality of homelessness exposed


T


o expose the devastating impact of homelessness on children’s health, education and wellbeing, the charity Shelter recorded


the experiences of more than 800 families with 1,600 children living in temporary accommodation throughout England. Te ground-breaking survey of homeless


families, which is the largest ever conducted and funded by Trust for London and Joseph Rowntree Foundation, reveals the terrible toll of life without a home: • Sharing beds: More than a third (35%) of homeless parents say their child(ren) do not have a bed of their own and are forced to share a bed with another family member.


• Education: Almost half (45%) of school age children have arrived at school tired, late or hungry as a result of living in temporary accommodation. B&Bs and hostels are oſten not equipped with suitable or any acilities for parents to cook meals for their children, and noise from other residents and bed-sharing means children oſten struggle to sleep.


• Play: Six in 10 (61%) children lack space to play in their temporary accommodation.


• Mental health: One in four parents (26%) report their child or children being oſten


Thousands of homeless children are turning up to school too tired to learn – hardly surprising when one in three have to share a bed


unhappy or depressed as a result of living in temporary accommodation.


• Social isolation: More than one in four parents (28%) say their children are finding it hard to make or keep friends as a result of living in temporary accommodation. Tis can be the result of feeling embarrassed or ashamed of where they live, or because they are unable to have friends to play due to a lack of space or rules that forbid visitors.


Temporary accommodation is provided by councils to eligible families who become homeless. It is supposed to be a temporary measure until the council can find a settled home. It can take the form of emergency hostels, B&Bs, one room bedsits and cramped flats. It is not designed for permanent living and families can be asked to move numerous times with short notice. Unless the government reverses the freeze


on housing benefit, Shelter expects thousands more families will become homeless this


winter as the cost of living crisis worsens and rents rocket. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter said: “A


grotty hostel or B&B is not a home, but this is where thousands of homeless children are forced to live. And many more children will be thrown into homelessness as their parents can no longer afford to keep a roof over their head.’ “Te housing emergency is robbing children


of a secure childhood. Tousands of homeless children are turning up to school too tired to learn – hardly surprising when one in three have to share a bed. Something has gone very wrong when children cannot play because their temporary accommodation is too cramped even for toys, and no friends are allowed to visit.” Shelter’s analysis of the latest government data


shows 5,030 families are living in emergency B&Bs and hostels – widely considered the worst type of temporary accommodation. Families are oſten crammed into one room and forced to share bathroom facilities with strangers.


Severe


maladministration finding over lengthy delays on fire doors


South London based Wandle has been ordered to pay a tenant £700 compensation aſter taking more than 18 months to deal with a safety query over a flat’s fire doors. Te Ombudsman also made a severe


maladministration finding against Wandle, a social landlord with more than 7,000 homes, aſter it failed to confirm whether the doors in the tenant’s flat were fire-rated or needed replacing, despite staff making numerous visits to the property. Te tenant first requested confirmation that all


the doors were fire doors aſter moving in following a mutual exchange. However, four visits later over a period of nine months and the landlord still had not


clarified, prompting the resident to send another letter seeking confirmation. Te tenant also voiced concerns about the front door missing a fire strip and not fitting the frame. Te tenant, who has vulnerabilities including


Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, raised a stage one complaint, in response to which the landlord said it would assess the doors in the property. Subsequent visits still did not establish whether or not the doors in the property were fire doors and the resident asked if the landlord had responsibility for fixing the faulty doors she had previously raised concerns about. Te landlord escalated the complaint to stage


two and arranged for a window and door survey to be carried out and to finish works which were incomplete. Te survey found that the front door needed a new fire door, that a new fire door was needed for the lounge and that other door defects needed repairing. But 18 months aſter the resident had first moved


in, the landlord had still not replaced the front door. Te inspection at mutual exchange was found


to be unsatisfactory as the missing kitchen door should have been identified. Cumulative failures meant the fire safety issues in the property went unaddressed for a significant period and caused the tenant worry and frustration.


12 | HMMFebruary/March 2023 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


Following the Ombudsman’s investigation,


the landlord reviewed both its mutual exchange policy and complaint handling process, as well as making it easier for staff to identify when a resident has a vulnerability. Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman,


said: “Given the intense focus on building safety following the tragic events at Grenfell, it is deeply concerning and unacceptable that the resident had to go to extraordinary lengths to resolve the issues with the fire doors.” “Te landlord should have been aware that


the kitchen door, which was supposed to be a fire door, was missing. It would be expected that the landlord would have undertaken an inspection of the property at the time of the mutual exchange applications, as standard good practice, if not part of its mutual exchange procedures.” “Not only was the landlord potentially remiss in


relation to its duties in relation to fire safety but the resident was put to the trouble, inconvenience, and stress of pursuing the issue.” Wandle released a statement saying it had


apologised unreservedly to the tenant affected, has fully complied with the orders and reviewed its policies and procedures to prevent anything like this from happening again. It has also improved its training in complaint handling.


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