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Gove writes to Clarion over failure to meet ‘fundamental standards’
The housing secretary has written to the boss of the housing association, saying he is “deeply disappointed” that it is not meeting “fundamental standards” for its tenants.
In a letter to Clare Miller, chief executive of the UK’s largest housing association, Michael Gove referred to two severe maladministration findings by the Housing Ombudsman against Clarion in the space of just over two weeks. He warned he will intervene if it fails to improve.
He also criticised the 120,000-home landlord’s response to the watchdog’s findings, after the housing association said it was “disappointed” with the most recent judgement and disputed some of it.
Mr Gove said a “defensive response” was the wrong approach to ombudsman reports.
The ombudsman hit Clarion with a finding of severe maladministration in April, when it was found to have repeatedly failed to respond to a tenant’s complaints about widespread disrepair in her property.
In May, the watchdog announced it was planning a wider investigation into Clarion after it made another finding of severe maladministration.
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In the letter, which Mr Gove published on Twitter today, he wrote: “I am writing to you about the recent Housing Ombudsman reports into your housing, which finds serious problems with leaks, damp, mould, pest control, communal areas, tenancy succession and complaint handling.
“This follows on from the concerns that were raised last year in relation to the Eastfields estate in Merton,” he said in reference to the estate that featured in an ITV News investigation into poor housing conditions.
“No one should have to live in a home with these conditions – and it should not take years to put them right,” the housing secretary added.
“I am deeply deeply disappointed that as one of the largest social housing landlords, who should be setting an example, you have not been able to meet fundamental standards for your tenants.”
He said he fully supports the ombudsman’s decision to conduct a wider investigation and said he would “pay close attention” to the findings.
Mr Gove intends “to take a personal and direct interest” in the landlord’s approach to housing conditions, engagement with residents and “vulnerable complainants in particular”.
Responding to the letter, Ms Miller said: “We can confirm we have received a letter from the secretary of state, relating to the ombudsman ruling, where we failed to provide the service our residents have a right to expect.
“As chief executive of Clarion Housing Group, I will never shirk our responsibility to provide and maintain good quality homes.
“We have not got every decision right as an organisation, but we are making good progress and recently published a detailed update on the actions we have taken to significantly improve our service.
“There is no quick fix to the housing crisis and the UK has some of the oldest housing stock in the world.
“As a charitable organisation, we will continue to do all we can to meet this challenge and we hope the government will work with us on our common goals.”
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