Industry News


London council self refers itself to regulator over safety breaches


A


west London Council has been found to be in breach of the regulator’s Home Standard aſter referring itself over a failure


to provide assurance it was delivering the full range of safety measures to tenants and their homes. During internal audits of building safety work


Ealing Council identified a series of shortcomings in its record keeping, compliance checks and follow up actions in the areas of fire risk assessments, gas services, asbestos checks, electrical inspections, liſt inspections and legionella checks. It referred itself to the regulator and in May


the Regulator of Social Housing determined that although the council was taking action to deal with the shortcomings, the lack of assurance presented a


potential serious detriment to its tenants. A council spokesperson said “Several factors have


led us to this point, and the COVID-19 pandemic played a substantial part. For example, lockdowns and social distancing rules made it impossible for us to complete annual gas safety checks in the homes of some residents who were isolating. Tat created a backlog in completing checks, which immediately put us in breach of the necessary standards.” Tey added that the council was fully up to date


on inspections, had completed the necessary gas and fire safety checks while 6,000 follow-up checks on various technical aspects of our buildings will be completed over the coming year. Ealing is the latest council to refer itself over health and safety issues.


It is also working on improvements to its data


systems, policies and processes to ensure that all required safety checks including gas, electricity and water are recorded and monitored properly in the future. Te regulator’s statement concluded: “As Ealing


is putting in place a programme to rectify these failings and assured the regulator that it fully understands the work that is needed to rectify these failures, we will not take enforcement action at this stage. Te regulator will work with the council as it continues to address the issues which have led to this situation, including ongoing monitoring of how it delivers its programme.”


Plight of older tenants forced to cut back on spending revealed


Research by the charity Independent Age has highlighted the struggles of older tenants who are reliant on benefits to pay their housing and living costs, with campaigners demanding a rent freeze to prevent an upsurge in evictions. Tere are 382,000 households in the private


sector headed by a person aged 65 or older, and 1 million in the social rented sector. Many of these are living on fixed incomes, with recent rent rises outstripping pension increases and housing benefit


levels remaining frozen at 2020 levels. Dan Wilson Craw, the deputy director of the


campaigning group Generation Rent, responded to the survey findings, saying “We need a freeze on rents and another suspension of evictions to protect tenants during this crisis.” Te charity’s research found almost two-thirds


of older tenants have cut back on their general spending as a result of the cost of living crisis. Older people who do not own their homes are particularly vulnerable to rising bills. Some 62 per cent of renters over 65 were having


to cut back on their general spending and a quarter said they would not be able to afford a £10-a-month increase in their living costs, while 71 per cent said they would not be able to cover a £50 rise. More than half said they felt anxious about their finances. Independent Age’s survey of 2,000 adults in


England over 65, of whom 391 were renting, found 57 per cent of tenants were cutting back on heating,


42 per cent said they had reduced how much food and drink they were buying and 29 per cent were buying less vehicle fuel. Morgan Vine, the Independent Age head of


policy, says older renters are “leſt in increasingly precarious financial situations” and need help and protection from the Government. “Our research found that older renters are one


of the most at risk groups of dropping into poverty past state pension age and are more likely to experience long-term poverty,” she said. “We also know older renters are at increased risk of living in poor-quality homes and face higher costs and greater financial insecurity than other groups.” Vine says older renters have shared their


concerns with the charity about high rents and that their landlord could sell up at any time. “With the cost of living crisis squeezing people’s budgets from every angle, these worries are only going to get worse,” she warned.


Council brings housing management in-house after wrongful use of HRA money


Nottingham City Council will bring its housing service back in-house aſter discovering that millions of pounds intended for tenants’ homes and services were spent on other council run activities and services. Council leader David Mellen has written to


council tenants and leaseholders advising them their services will be transferred back from the ALMO by May 2023. “We will ensure this is done with no negative impact on the services you receive and how you access them,” he wrote.


An investigation found that upto £40 million


intended for services like housing repairs had been misused. Te money was transferred from the Housing Revenue Account over a period of years from 2014 but will now need to be repaid. Te HRA is funded from council house rents and


is meant to be ring-fenced, with money only spent on housing services. Te investigation discovered money was regularly transferred to the council’s General Fund, which pays for all other services and expenditure.


An independent investigation resulted in eight


recommendations, including bringing housing management back in house, paying back the £40m to the HRA, bringing in external support to guide the council’s finance team, and reviewing the council’s constitution. All recommendations were accepted by the council’s executive board. Many councils which set up ALMOs in the


period 2000 to 2010 did so to access funds to improve their housing stock and deliver the Decent Homes Standard. Most have since transferred management of the stock back to their host council. Winding up the ALMO, Nottingham City


Homes, and transferring the service back in-house will cost an estimated £750,000. Mr Mellen has promised to consult tenants and leaseholders on further steps and that housing management patchs and ways to access the housing service will be unaffected by the transfer.


www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMMJune/July 2022 | 17


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