Industry News


Deputy PM demands faster remediation of residential buildings


T


he Housing Secretary has committed the Government to agreeing a remediation acceleration plan with the housing and


construction sectors this Autumn, in a determined effort to speed up the removal of dangerous cladding from buildings. Te commitment to a speeded up remediation


plan came weeks aſter the damning findings of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Report were published and a series of fires broke out in blocks of flats where remediation work was still in progress. Angela Rayner said that working with the Prime


Minister on the inquiry was “the most sobering moment of my career”, describing it as “a fatal failure of market and state”. “It is completely unacceptable that we have


Orbit increases spending on existing homes


One of the country’s biggest social landlords has seen its surplus fall by 39% as it focuses more of its activity on improvement works to its existing housing stock. Orbit owns and manages 47,000 homes across


the Midlands, East and the South-east of England. In the past year it has put additional investment into its repairs and maintenance service, particularly in tackling damp, mould and condensation related issues, as well as progressing with net zero carbon works. At the same time Orbit’s development work has fallen 31% year-on-year with 870 homes built in the year, compared to 1,257 the previous year.


Former tenant ordered to pay back £260,000 in RtB fraud case


A former tenant of Islington Council in North London has been ordered to repay £260,000 aſter fraudulently trying to buy the council home through the Right to Buy scheme. Gouranga Deb took on a council tenancy in 2011


without telling the council he had bought a home in nearby Haringey in the time between applying for council housing and being offered a home. Troughout his time as a tenant, Mr Deb failed


thousands of buildings still wrapped in unsafe cladding seven years aſter Grenfell,” she continued. “Tat’s why we will bring forward a new


remediation action plan this Autumn to speed up the process and we’ll pursue those responsible – without fear or favour.” Te Housing Secretary has also set out other


measures to address the housing crisis, including the Renter’s Rights Bill, which received its first reading on 11 September, consulting on a new Decent Homes Standard for the social rented and private rented sectors and bringing forward legislation on Awaab’s Law. Te latter will allow tenants to request action


on mould and leaks within a specified timeframe. Under previous Tory plans it would have applied


only to the social rented sector, but Labour intends to extend its application to the private rented sector. She also set out plans to apply new access


to information requirements to social housing landlords, which are intended to help tenants get improvements for their homes, and promised to introduce a competence and conduct standard for the sector to ensure staff have the right skills and experience. As well as promising improvements to the quality of existing homes, Rayner has committed the Government to a “council housing revolution”. She said that, while new social housing “plummeted” under the Tories, Labour would “reverse that tide”, setting out an ambition to build more social homes than are lost within the first financial year of the government.


Tis marks the second-lowest number of homes delivered by the association in the past five years, with the lowest being 848 new homes during the pandemic in 2020/21. In 2021/22, Orbit delivered 1,013 homes. Te group invested £119.4m in existing


homes, including capitalised spend, up from £88.8m the previous year. Te association said it has delivered major works and improved energy efficency of its stock. A spokesperson for Orbit said: ”We have introduced a five-year planned investment programme which enables us to plan and deliver capital investment works in collaboration with our supply chain in a more efficient and effective manner.” Te association’s turnover decreased by £27m


year-on-year to £391m, down from £418m in 2022/23, driven by a decrease in market and shared ownership sales, though partially offset by increased income from social housing rent. Its overall surplus


fell 39% from £89.6m to £54.9m. Its surplus from social lettings decreased from £90m to £83m while its surplus on the sale of properties fell from £30m to £21m. Income from market sales fell from £85m to £61m, while shared ownership sales turnover decreased from £63m to £41m. Earlier this year, the Housing Ombudsman


reviewed seven cases of damp and mould at Orbit and issued 15 recommendations ordering the association to address these issues. A spokesperson for Orbit said they fully accepted


the findings of the Housing Ombudsman and have striven to put things right and learn from them. Tis has included undertaking an independent review of its damp, mould and condensation approach, implementing organisational-wide training to increase understanding of customer vulnerability, launching a You and Your Home customer check-in pilot and revising its complaint handling programme.


to tell the council he owned the three-bedroom Haringey property, which was big enough for his family’s needs. Instead, he let it for up to £2,000 a month while claiming full housing benefit for the council tenancy. Islington Council discovered the fraud when


Mr Deb applied to buy the council home, through the RtB scheme. Te council said as demand for council homes vastly outstrips the number of properties available, Mr Deb’s actions deprived others of a home. Mr Deb has previously been given a suspended


sentence of two years, plus 30 rehabilitative activity days and 250 hours of unpaid work aſter pleading guilty to four counts of fraud at Snaresbrook Crown Court in December 2022. Islington Council was then able to recover the money by pursuing financial recompense under the


Proceeds of Crime Act. Mr Deb was ordered to pay back £242,705 plus £18,000 in costs at Snaresbrook Crown Court. Una O’Halloran, executive member for


homes and neighbourhoods at Islington Council, said: “Council homes change lives, and we will not tolerate any activity that deprives people in genuine need of a safe, decent and affordable place to call home. “Our housing investigations team work tirelessly


to deliver results like this and will always take action against the small minority of people who try to cheat the system, to make sure council homes are going to people who really need them.” In the past six months, the council’s housing


investigation team has recovered 36 properties that were being fraudulently let. Tey will now be offered to people in genuine need.


19 | HMMOctober/November 2024 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


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