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Grenfell survivors: green paper does not go far enough
Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have said the measures published in today’s Social Housing Green Paper “do not go far enough” to rectify issues in the social housing sector.
The long-awaited and much-delayed green paper will be published later today and will set out plans for housing association league tables and “sharper teeth” for the Regulator of Social Housing over tenant-related issues.
The paper was proposed in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire – which killed 72 people in June last year, despite residents repeatedly raising issues of safety with Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO).
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Ed Daffarn, a survivor of the fire and member of the Grenfell United group of survivors, said: It’s good to see the government recognise the social housing system is failing but the ideas for improvements don’t go far enough.
“The paper makes a good start in identifying the problems people in social housing face and how the system is failing residents. Grenfell happened because when we raised issues we were ignored and bullied, and those whose job it was to care for us simply didn’t.
“But the solutions needed are much bigger than proposed here. Our housing system isn’t just broken, it’s killing people. It’s time to rip up the rule book and rewrite it. Social housing is not like choosing a doctor – you can’t just up sticks and move if your housing association gets a low rating. Much more is needed to put power in residents hands.
“We need a new regulation system that will be proactive and fight for residents, with real repercussions for housing associations or councils that fail in their duty. And we need to see a whole cultural change in the sector, to put care for residents first.
“There’s now a consultation period before a white paper. We’ll be speaking up for big change to social housing in this country, so no community can ever be treated the way we were. The 72 lives we lost deserve nothing less.”
The green paper was originally proposed by then-communities secretary Sajid Javid in September last year, who said it would represent a “top-to-bottom review of the issues facing the sector” in the aftermath of the fire.
KEY PROPOSALS IN THE SOCIAL HOUSING GREEN PAPER
- New 'league tables' of housing providers based on key performance indicators, surrounding services such as repairs and neighbourhood management. This could be linked to housing grant.
- Consideration to scrapping of the current 'serious detriment' test, to allow 'Ofsted-style' tougher consumer regulation
- New home ownership options such as allowing tenants to buy as little as 1% of their property each year through shared ownership. This would only apply to new shared ownership purchases.
- Ditching of plans to force social landlords to offer fixed term tenancies rather than lifetime tenancies in social housing
- Ditching of plans to force councils to sell off their most valuable social housing when it becomes vacant
- The potential introduction a new stock transfer programme from councils to 'community-led' housing associations
- The return of guaranteed debt funding to help the development of affordable homes, and longer term 'strategic partnerships' for developing housing associations
