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KCTMO to hand over control of housing to council
Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) will temporarily hand over control of the housing stock it manages to the local council following the Grenfell Tower fire.
Kensington and Chelsea Council is carrying out a “thorough and far-reaching” review into KCTMO, which was responsible for maintaining Grenfell Tower and around 10,000 homes owned by the council.
The council will now have direct control over the services previously managed by KCTMO on a temporary basis. There will be a consultation early this year with residents to decide a long-term solution for how housing will be managed in the borough, including looking at investment, repairs and maintenance.
The KCTMO board will continue to exist as a legal entity so that directors can still be questioned by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, be prosecuted by the police if evidence of wrongdoing emerges or be sued as part of a civil claim.
In a letter to residents Kim Taylor-Smith, deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, stressed that the handover of responsibility for housing to the council is “not a way for the KCTMO to avoid accountability”.
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Some local residents had raised concerns that changing the management of the homes would mean KCTMO would not face questioning as part of the inquiry. There are also concerns that if a large housing association took over the management of the homes there would be less accountability to residents.
Mr Taylor-Smith said: “I am pleased today to be able to announce a wide-ranging and comprehensive review of the work of KCTMO, as we eventually regain control over the management of our houses in the wake of the tragic Grenfell fire.
“The TMO has lost the trust of residents, the council and government, so today’s news should go some way towards restoring confidence that the management and maintenance of social housing in the borough is being thoroughly reviewed and reformed.
“We’ve listened to residents and are taking back control of delivering services on an interim basis before we consult with all residents on a long-term solution for how they would like housing to be run in the borough.”
A KCTMO spokesperson said: “The TMO has informed residents that its board has reluctantly decided that, in current circumstances, it can no longer guarantee the delivery of services to a standard that residents should expect.
"Therefore, in the best interests of residents, services which the TMO currently provides are to be temporarily handed back to the council while the consultation about the future management of its housing stock is completed.
"This hand-back process has a target completion date of 31 January 2018.
"The resident-led board will have an ongoing role in scrutinising the delivery of services, as well as ensuring ongoing assistance to the public inquiry and criminal investigation. It remains a priority that the answers, which we all want, about the Grenfell tragedy are obtained.
Never Again campaign
Inside Housing has launched a campaign to improve fire safety following the Grenfell Tower fire
Never Again: campaign asks
Inside Housing is calling for immediate action to implement the learning from the Lakanal House fire, and a commitment to act – without delay – on learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy as it becomes available.
LANDLORDS
- Take immediate action to check cladding and external panels on tower blocks and take prompt, appropriate action to remedy any problems
- Update risk assessments using an appropriate, qualified expert.
- Commit to renewing assessments annually and after major repair or cladding work is carried out
- Review and update evacuation policies and ‘stay put’ advice in light of risk assessments, and communicate clearly to residents
GOVERNMENT
- Provide urgent advice on the installation and upkeep of external insulation
- Update and clarify building regulations immediately – with a commitment to update if additional learning emerges at a later date from the Grenfell inquiry
- Fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all tower blocks across the UK (except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so)
We will submit evidence from our research to the Grenfell public inquiry.
The inquiry should look at why opportunities to implement learning that could have prevented the fire were missed, in order to ensure similar opportunities are acted on in the future.
