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Regulator considering whether Clarion breached standards following ITV reports
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is again considering whether the UK’s largest housing association has breached its standards, just three months after clearing the landlord following a previous lengthy investigation.
Clarion Housing Group, which manages a stock of around 125,000 homes across the country, was the subject of an ITV News expose last month, which revealed squalid conditions at its Eastfields Estate in Merton, south London.
The landlord apologised to residents on the 500-home estate over the issues and said the service provided “had not been to the standard that the association would have liked”.
During a debate in the House of Commons yesterday evening, regional growth and local government minister Luke Hall said the RSH is now “considering information received from Clarion Housing Association about the Eastfields Estate”.
“It will form a view on whether there is evidence of systemic failure that would indicate a breach of regulatory standards,” he added.
The RSH’s investigation comes hot on the heels of a five-month probe into Clarion, which centred on repairs and complaint-handling concerns raised by a group of councillors in Tower Hamlets earlier this year.
In late March, the regulator concluded that while it found “individual incidents of service failures”, there was no “evidence of systemic failings by Clarion which would necessitate regulatory action”.
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Clarion was previously hit by a regulatory notice in 2016 over repairs failings in Tower Hamlets, around the time it was being formed through the largest merger in the sector’s history between Circle Housing Group and Affinity Sutton.
In May, Croydon Council was declared in breach of two RSH standards having also been the subject of an ITV News report on shocking living conditions faced by some of its tenants.
Yesterday’s debate in the Commons was tabled by Mitcham and Morden MP Siobhain McDonagh.
She claimed that the Eastfields Estate issue “is by no means an isolated case” and detailed the stories of other Clarion residents in her constituency facing poor conditions and services.
“My inbox is bursting with Clarion cases to the point that a weekly meeting now takes place between my office and Clarion’s to monitor the progress on each individually,” she told the house.
“To make a complaint and see it through to its conclusion at Clarion requires the patience of a saint, the tenacity of a five-star general, an endless amount of phone data, a laptop to email, and a post-graduate degree in bureaucracy.”
“Sometimes I feel like I work for Clarion,” Ms McDonagh added.
She also claimed that in its previous investigation of Clarion, the RSH “did not meet directly with a single tenant or leaseholder”.
But she argued that the “ultimate blame” lies with the government, pointing to cuts to social housing funding and deregulation since 2010.
She called on ministers to introduce legislation implementing proposals in the Social Housing White Paper – which envisioned a move to a proactive consumer regulation system – during the current parliamentary session.
Responding, Mr Hall said the government “were appalled to hear and learn about the conditions on the Eastfields Estate”.
“It is clear that some landlords have significant work to do to improve the standard of their homes and the service they provide to their residents,” he added.
But he was unable to commit to a date for legislation to be introduced.
“We share her urgency and passion to get this done, but we want to develop our reforms and get them in the right place.
“We will legislate as soon as we can, but of course we understand the urgency of the issues that she has raised.”
A spokesperson for Clarion said: “There are cases at the Eastfields Estate in Merton where we have fallen short of the standards our residents have a right to expect.
“Our immediate priority has been to dedicate more staff to the estate and increase the speed at which we complete both communal and individual repairs.
“We have undertaken a detailed action plan and are listening and engaging with our residents.
“We will continue to prioritise repairs and do all we can to ensure residents at Eastfields are comfortable in their homes.”
The RSH declined to comment.
Update: at 9.30am 05/07/21
The wording in the headline and first sentence of this story was altered following clarification being received by the RSH
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