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National tenants’ panel launches to raise quality of social housing
More than 250 tenants from across England met over the weekend for the launch of a panel to improve the quality of social housing.
The new panel will mean social housing tenants will no longer be “denied a voice”, according to housing secretary Michael Gove, speaking ahead of its first session on Saturday.
The government announced in March that it was launching the Social Housing Quality Resident Panel, after Inside Housing revealed the plans the week before.
It forms part of a series of reforms, including the new Social Housing Regulation Bill, to improve tenant engagement and the regulation of the social housing sector in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
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After the 2017 tragedy, it emerged that residents in the tower repeatedly raised safety concerns but were ignored by their landlord, the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation.
The bill includes a plan to broaden the remit of the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), but there are also a number of measures to try to get landlords to listen to their tenants.
The resident-led panel will be made up of 250 tenants from across England who will scrutinise measures to strengthen the Decent Homes Standard, training and qualification for staff, a new ‘access to information scheme’ and other reforms.
The launch of the group comes amid a national debate over the quality of social housing triggered after a coroner ruled that a toddler in Greater Manchester, Awaab Ishak, had died from exposure to mould in a flat run by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH).
In the wake of Awaab’s death, Mr Gove has been clamping down on poor standards, and last week announced he had blocked RBH from accessing around £1m in new taxpayer funding for housing.
The housing secretary said this should “serve as a warning” to other housing providers that are letting tenants down.
Mr Gove added: “This government will not stand for any tenant being mistreated and we are acting to ensure they get the safe and decent homes they deserve.
“For too long, tenants have been denied a proper voice – this ends today. Our new residents panel will ensure that tenants are at the heart of reforms to social housing.
“I look forward to working with the panel to drastically raise the standard of social housing across the country.”
