Updates from the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry (11-21 July 2022)

By Danielle Aumord. The final moments of the Grenfell victims presented at the inquiry (11 – 21 July 2022) National guidance in place at the time of the Grenfell fire stated that it was “usually unrealistic” to expect landlords to … Read more

Housing Ombudsman finds severe maladministration for Clarion’s failings on resolving leak

The Housing Ombudsman found severe maladministration for Clarion’s cumulative failings in handling repairs to resolve a leak and the problems that followed with the resident’s shower and electrics. The resident had consistently reported leaks into his shower room from the … Read more

8.2 million households could be in fuel poverty in October

National Energy Action is predicting that 8.2 million UK households will be in fuel poverty, if bills increase by 60%. That amounts to one in three households. Energy experts Cornwall Insight predicted that when the price cap rises in October, … Read more

Lack of social housing ‘no excuse’ for disrepair and poor conditions

The lack of social housing in the country needs addressing but is “no excuse” for housing people in squalor, says social housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa. Speaking at HQN’s annual conference in London, Kwajo said the conditions he’s seen are “inhumane … Read more

Social housing tenants’ complaints of ‘uninhabitable homes’ must be addressed, say MPs

The condition of some social housing in England has “deteriorated so badly as to be unfit for human habitation”, and social housing providers “must significantly improve their complaint handling process”, says the cross-party Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee. The … Read more

Government launches new ASB panel for social housing

Social housing landlords will be “given support to tackle anti-social behaviour through a new advisory group”. Housing Minister Eddie Hughes has announced a new panel of experts to advise on the best approach for dealing with anti-social behaviour from tenants … Read more

Housing Ombudsman finds severe maladministration for council’s delayed repairs

The Housing Ombudsman found severe maladministration for Birmingham City Council’s delays in repairing an extensive water leak that caused damage to the resident’s property. The landlord failed to offer any compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident, … Read more

Housing association and local authority agree new housing partnership 

The Hyde Group and Chichester District Council have agreed a new partnership, which aims to continue improving housing standards and increasing affordable housing across the district. As the largest provider of social housing in the district, Hyde has also developed … Read more

Government launches guidelines to protect victims of ASB and make communities safer

The government are to launch new guidelines to encourage more people to take a stand against anti-social behaviour and help make communities safer. The Home Office is using the launch of ASB Awareness Week to publish a new set of … Read more

Housing association says customer data ‘not accessed’ in cyber attack

Clarion Housing Group has given an update on the recent cyber security incident, saying that “we are now confident that our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, which is our main store of customer data, was not accessed”. The housing association … Read more

Regulator of Social Housing sets out consumer regulation lessons from past year

The Regulator of Social Housing has published a review of its consumer regulation work between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022. This year the regulator received more than 650 referrals from tenants, registered providers of social housing and other sources. … Read more

Let’s not be distracted by political upheaval – our tenants want us focused on better services

By Tim Cowland, Senior Consultant, Socitm Advisory The housing sector is used to political turmoil. So as the government wrestles with its future direction, we must continue to focus on the changes and challenges that will impact our tenants and … Read more

Updates from the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry (27 June – 7 July)

By Danielle Aumord. Islamophobia is tackled head on at the inquiry (27th June – 7th July 2022) “Racism and discrimination, we say, played a very real part in the response to this tragedy. The playing field was not level. It … Read more

Regulator finds Yorkshire-based housing association in breach of Rent Standard

The Regulator of Social Housing has concluded that Incommunities has breached the Rent Standard. Following a self-referral, RSH found that Incommunities had set rents incorrectly for hundreds of tenants. The housing association had wrongly classified some of its homes as supported housing. … Read more

Housing Ombudsman planning systemic investigation into record keeping

Poor record keeping features among the latest decisions published by the Housing Ombudsman. “Strong record keeping practices are core to good services,” the body says, and will be the focus of a future systemic investigation by the Ombudsman. Also included … Read more

Opinion: Let’s not be distracted by political upheaval — our tenants want better services

By Tim Cowland, Client Services Director for Housing, Socitm Advisory. The housing sector is used to political turmoil. So as the government wrestles with its future direction, we must continue to focus on the changes and challenges that will impact … Read more

Greg Clark appointed as new Housing Secretary

Boris Johnson has appointed a new Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Greg Clark. Clark used to be in charge of the department when it was the Department for Communities and Local Government. Between 2015 and 2016, … Read more

@housing2022 – Jon Daley, Asset Sustainability & Data Manager, Magenta Living

@housing2022 – Jasmine Tansur, Resident liaison officer, PA Housing

@housing2022 – Cym D’Souza, Chief Executive, Arawak Walton Housing Association

@housing2022 – Alison Inman, Tpas

@housing2022 – Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman

Housing Quality Magazine July 2022

@housing2022 – Rebecca Bryant OBE, CEO, Resolve ASB & Andy Moore, Partner, MSB Solicitors

Worries about the rising costs of living, Great Britain: April to May 2022 – ONS

The ONS has published its latest research into the impact of the rising cost of living in Great Britain. Here are some of the main findings: Around three in four adults (77%) reported feeling very or somewhat worried about the … Read more

Opinion: Could we have prevented Grenfell by learning the lessons from Clanricarde?

By Alistair McIntosh, HQN CEO. We’re thinking of Grenfell today, as you will be too. Everyone says they’ll learn the lessons. I hope that we do because that hasn’t always been the case. Clanricarde Gardens is about a ten-minute walk … Read more

Two severe maladministration findings for housing association’s ‘significant failings’ on roof leak case

The Housing Ombudsman made two severe maladministration findings in a case about Shepherds Bush Housing’s failings in dealing with a resident’s reports of a roof leak. The resident, a shared owner, had reported a roof leak many times over several … Read more

Police record 1.8 million incidents of anti-social behaviour in 2020/21

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that police recorded 1.8 million incidents of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the year ending June 2021. Following consistent decreases over the past 10 years, this was an increase of 7% (excluding British … Read more

Johnson: Building safety fears could ‘unnecessarily undermine the confidence of the market’

Boris Johnson has batted away concerns about building safety, after being quizzed on it at yesterday’s Prime Minister’s Questions. Questioned by Paul Blomfield around whether he would meet his constituent regarding the cladding scandal, the Prime Minister said: “I have … Read more

Hyde launches free Universal Credit support tool

The Hyde Group has unveiled its new Universal Credit Helper, which will help those applying for Universal Credit for the first time. The online tool is being made available for free to organisations wanting to use it as part of their advice … Read more