Don't forget PRS
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Last week communities secretary Sajid Javid asked if a Grenfell-type fire could happen in a privately owned block of flats. On the same day, one of his civil servants revealed that government is aware of 62 private residential blocks and 27 student blocks with ACM cladding – the type that burned so readily on Grenfell Tower.
This number will be an underestimate, since it is drawn only from those building owners who voluntarily sent samples for testing. This week Glasgow City Council stated that there could be up to 57 private rented sector (PRS) blocks with ACM cladding in the city.
The British Property Federation has noted a 37% increase in the number of build-to-rent homes planned, in construction or completed since the first quarter of 2017, up to 95,918.
Many PRS homes are high quality, but not all. Councils are increasingly playing a role in improving private sector standards. Manchester City Council chief Joanne Roney wrote for Inside Housing that in one area 30% of applicants to its licensing scheme had to seek a gas certificate in order to apply.
It is clear that quality, and fire safety, is a PRS issue. Government mustn’t sweep it under the carpet.
Emma Maier, editor, Inside Housing
