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Essex MP lambasts G15 landlord in parliament for ‘tin-eared’ approach to fire safety
A Conservative MP has launched a blistering attack on Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) and called for the housing association to be “taken over by someone else who knows what they are doing”.
Mark Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, claimed in parliament that the 66,000-home landlord was providing “very poor management” to tenants in his Essex constituency.
Mr Francois highlighted the case of a 30-home retirement complex in the market town of Rayleigh, where residents raised concerns over safety. A subsequent inspection by Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) revealed “multiple serious deficiencies”, Mr Francois said.
“I have highlighted the poor management of a sheltered housing unit in Rayleigh named Sangster Court, which has been nicknamed ‘Gangster Court’ by locals because of the way in which Notting Hill Genesis extorts money from its tenants for what they believe – as residents have told me – is a very poor service in return,” he told MPs.
Inside Housing has put these specific comments to the landlord.
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The MP also criticised the housing association, which provides homes across London and the South East, for how long it was taking to complete the required works. He claimed that NHG told him it would take 16 weeks to replace fire doors.
“I would much rather that those vital safety improvements were undertaken in 16 days. That illustrates the tin-eared approach that, in my experience, is characteristic of Notting Hill Genesis and its senior management”, Mr Francois said.
ECFRS wrote to NHG in September informing the association that it was failing to comply with fire safety legislation at Sangster Court. Its report highlighted issues, including a lack of fire doors for eight flats and faults with two existing fire doors in communal areas.
The building also has an “inadequately maintained” fire alarm system and there is no copy of the fire risk assessment on site, the letter said. There was also no emergency lighting on the escape routes.
In response, NHG said residents’ safety was its highest priority and that it had resolved all the issues raised in ECFRS’ report.
Many of the failures identified had arisen because document and certificates were held at a central location rather than at Sangster Court, the landlord said.
A spokesperson added: “Prior to Essex County Fire and Rescue Service’s visit, we were already working on a testing and replacement programme for fire doors. All other issues identified in the report have been resolved and we have received confirmation from the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex that no further follow up is required.”
It is not the first time that Mr Francois has taken social landlords to task in parliament. In 2019, he criticised Sanctuary and claimed it “consistently provided a poor maintenance service to many of my constituents over a period of many years”.
At the time, chief executive Craig Moule said he disagreed with many of Mr Francois’ comments.
This week, Mr Francois told parliament that Sanctuary was “gradually getting better”, with new leadership and plans under consideration to require tenants to sign off repair work.
Mr Francois’ comments on NHG came during his contribution to the debate on the new Social Housing Bill earlier this week. In his speech, he explained that as a constituency MP, he had a “poor experience” of how social landlords treat tenants and called for a “tougher regulator” to drive up standards.
He added: “Ofsted, which inspects schools, and the Care Quality Commission, which inspects hospitals, other medical facilities and care homes, are clearly taken seriously and even respected by those whom they seek to regulate. I believe that we need an organisation that displays equal rigour in the regulation of social housing.”
