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Landlords of damp, mice-infested houses are building Burnham’s new homes
Developing
In Short: The investigation highlights the pressure on social landlords to meet Labour’s target of building 1.5 million new homes.
An investigation by The i Paper reveals that landlords with a history of maladministration are receiving taxpayer funds to build new homes under the Government’s Social and Affordable Housing Programme (SAHP).
The programme is allocating £9.5 billion to thirty-three organisations, almost all of which are housing associations. Six of these organisations had more than 100 findings of ‘maladministration’ in the past year, according to the Housing Ombudsman.
Professor Janice Morphet, an expert on social housing at University College London, criticised the government’s decision, stating, “The Government is dishing out money to organisations that are demonstrably failing their tenants.”
Common complaints include leaks, damp, mould, faulty heating, and infestations of mice and rats. Andrea Keenoy, Interim Housing Ombudsman, noted that these issues are still prevalent among social housing providers.
The investigation highlights the pressure on social landlords to meet Labour’s target of building 1.5 million new homes. Chris Coghlan, the Lib Dem MP for Dorking and Horley, Surrey, cited repeated rat infestations and serious damp and mould issues in properties managed by Clarion.
Clarion, Sanctuary, and Hyde each had 10 or more findings of ‘severe maladministration,’ with common failures including poor record-keeping, customer service, and response times.
At Labour’s annual conference, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the “biggest council housebuilding programme since the post-war era,” pledging to address the housing crisis.
Burnham criticised previous governments for treating housing as a market of ‘winners and losers’ and promised to introduce leasehold reform legislation before Christmas.
He also pledged to grant councils powers to take control of empty homes and return them to public housing stock, and to target landlords who rent out low-quality accommodation.
What's still developing
- The ombudsman makes a “maladministration” verdict if failures are found to have “negatively affected” the resident, and a “severe maladministration” ruling when landlords make “serious or multiple” failures that cause “significant harm”.
- Andrea Keenoy, Interim Housing Ombudsman, said this showed that “landlords continue to learn and improve by using their complaints as early warning indicators of something going wrong”.
- A Clarion spokesperson said that the company is “proud” to have been awarded Strategic Partner status by Homes England to help tackle Britain’s “severe housing crisis” and that it had “made significant investments to improve services and ensure residents receive the support they need”.
- “We don’t let people who sell food damage health, so why do it with homes,” Burnham said during his speech.
- “To the millions of leaseholders, you have my word, the days of you being squeezed for every penny are coming to an end,” he stated.
- Burnham indicated a 10-year plan for housing would be published later this year.
- He also outlined measures targeting landlords who rent out low-quality accommodation, stating they would receive warnings to improve properties or face acquisition by local authorities.
Sources
- Propertywirelink