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Gove ‘names and shames’ six housing associations that ‘let tenants down’
The UK’s largest housing association and five others that “let tenants down” have been singled out for criticism by housing secretary Michael Gove as he steps up his offensive over poor-quality social housing.
Mr Gove revealed in parliament on Monday that he had written to a group of social landlords to reinforce that their behaviour was “unacceptable”. The providers were confirmed as Clarion, Southern Housing Group, Onward Homes, Catalyst, PA Housing and Johnnie Johnson Housing.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said it was “naming and shaming” these landlords as they had all recently been hit with severe maladministration judgements by the Housing Ombudsman.
“The secretary is absolutely clear: he will not stand for poor housing conditions in 21st century Britain,” DLUHC added.
The intervention from Mr Gove follows outcry over the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died after prolonged exposure to mould in a housing association one-bed flat in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
In the wake of the coroner’s verdict, Mr Gove has written to housing associations and local councils, warning they are “on notice” and that to “go further than the letter” of the Decent Homes Standard.
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Landlords must not hide behind legal process when dealing with damp and mould complaints, Gove warnsAmong the landlords publicly admonished by Mr Gove was Clarion, the UK’s largest social landlord that manages more than 120,000 homes.
This followed a special investigation by the Housing Ombudsman, published last month, which found multiple failings of damp and mould, complaint-handling and record-keeping.
Earlier this year, Mr Gove told Clarion chief executive Clare Miller that he was “deeply disappointed” after the association was handed two severe maladministration findings by the ombudsman in the space of just over two weeks.
In response to the recent Housing Ombudsman’s report, Clarion admitted that it has not provided the quality of service it aims to provide or that its residents deserve in each case.
The landlord said: “We have learnt from these cases and in every instance, we have made changes to our approach so that we reduce the chance of a similar issue arising.”
In a statement, Clarion said the “terrible tragedy” of Awaab Ishak’s death underlined the need to resolve “condensation, mould, damp and disrepair issues” promptly and effectively.
The provider said it was working on a number of new initiatives for tackling the problem, including increased investment in humidity and ventilation monitoring devices and referring repeat cases to specialist surveyors.
Catalyst, which has 37,000 homes in London and the Home Counties, was called out by Mr Gove after the ombudsman found severe maladministration last month over failures dealing with complaints about cold and draughty rooms in a tenant’s property.
The G15 landlord was ordered to pay £1,650 in compensation.
In response to the findings, Catalyst apologised and said it had commissioned an inspection of the property and was liaising closely with the customer to resolve outstanding issues.
“As an organisation that supports the ombudsman’s complaint-handling code, we are disappointed to have fallen short of the standards expected on this occasion and have already made improvements to our service,” a spokesperson said.
Another G15 landlord, Southern Housing Group, was on the list after it was hit with two severe maladministration findings in September. These were related to one incident of repeated damp and mould at a property in east London.
In response, Southern said it had committed to making some process changes to address the ombudsman’s findings, as well as conducted a deep dive to assess all damp and mould cases on its system.
Mr Gove also sent a letter 35,000-home association Onward Homes. The North West landlord was hit with two findings of severe maladministration in October over damp and mould issues.
Onward landlord apologised to the resident, and said that it fully complied with the ombudsman’s order and that it had learned lessons.
Earlier this month, PA Housing was served with a severe maladministration finding after a leak forced a disabled woman to sleep in her living room for more than 18 months.
In the wake of the case, which was highlighted by ITV News in June as part of its long-running investigation into poor social housing conditions, PA introduced “empathy training” for staff.
It also apologised to the tenant and said it was reviewing its policy and procedures for managing complex cases to ensure there is the “correct ownership and management throughout to completion”.
The last landlord singled out by Mr Gove was Cheadle-based Johnnie Johnson Housing. Earlier this month, the association was found responsible for significant failings in responding to a tenant’s complaint over anti-social behaviour as well as issues with record-keeping and complaint-handling.
In a statement at the time, Johnnie Johnson Housing said: “We apologise for any upset this might have caused our resident and their relative, and we thank our Housing Ombudsman for raising this with us to give us a continued opportunity to improve and learn.”
Full responses from housing associations
Dilip Kavi, chief executive of PA Housing: “We absolutely understand the increased scrutiny we are all under as a sector following the tragic death of Awaab Ishak.
“We equally acknowledge why we have been named by the secretary of state, along with five other providers, because of a recent finding of severe maladministration by the Housing Ombudsman regarding our handling of a customer’s repair.
“We did make mistakes throughout this case, and we are deeply sorry for the distress it has caused our resident. We’ve made a number of changes following the feedback we’ve received from our resident and the Housing Ombudsman.
“Our aim is always to provide the best possible service to our customers, and while it’s clear this did not happen in this instance, we’re continuing to work to improve services for all our residents.”
Alan Townshend, chief executive of Southern Housing Group: “We received a letter from the secretary of state, reminding us of our obligations to listen to our residents and to act where they raise issues about the decency of their property, particularly when issues can impact their health.
“We wholeheartedly agree with his views and will reply with the reassurance that the safety, health and well-being of our residents remains a priority in all that we do.
“We’ll also take the opportunity to provide evidence of the action plan we’ve had in place for several months now that targets damp and mould cases across all our properties, along with demonstrating how we have been trialling technology that allows proactive monitoring of the air quality in residents’ homes, so we can act before any issues arise or are reported.”
