Martin Ford 06 March 2023

London boroughs taken to task over housing failings

London boroughs taken to task over housing failings image
Image: I Wei Huang/Shutterstock.com.

Haringey and Lambeth LBCs have pledged to take action to address housing shortcomings.

The Regulator of Social Housing found Haringey breached health and safety requirements by failing to take action over fire risks and not having up-to-date electrical safety reports for thousands of homes.

More than 100 homes also had serious ‘category one’ hazards and nearly 5,000 did not meet the Decent Homes Standard.

Director of consumer regulation Kate Dodsworth said: ‘The council needs to act urgently to put things right for tenants and we are monitoring it closely as it does this.’

Haringey apologised to residents, adding: ‘The council has taken a series of actions to ensure the number of overdue actions starts to rapidly come down since we initially reported the figures to the regulator in December.’

The Housing Ombudsman has also named Haringey as the landlord that received the most complaint handling failure orders in the past quarter, with four.

Of a total of 38 orders, 14 went to local authorities.

The ombudsman is carrying out a separate wider investigation at Haringey.

Housing secretary Michael Gove has separately ‘demanded answers' from Lambeth LBC about its 'failure to handle complaints’.

The council was recently the subject of a severe maladministration finding from the ombudsman regarding complaints over damp and mould.

A council spokesperson said it had assigned 10 new firms and a new in-house team to repairs and maintenance.

They added: ‘This is part of our wider work to proactively reduce instances of disrepair and resolve them in partnership with our residents, including home health checks and a rapid response team to respond to any reports of damp and mould.

‘We’re committed to continuing these improvements and acting quickly to resolve problems when they are brought to our attention.’

This article was originally published by The MJ (£).

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Makaton Tutor - Part Time / Term Time

Essex County Council
£25821.00 - £30377.00 per annum + + Pension
Makaton Tutor - Part Time / Term TimePermanent, Part Time£30,377 per annum, full time equivalent / equal to £15.74 per hour.Location
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Assistant Urban Design Intern

Essex County Council
Up to £25081.00 per annum + + 26 Days Leave & Local Gov Pension
Assistant Urban Design InternFixed Term, Full Time£25,081 per annumLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Wellbeing and Independence Practitioner - Safeguarding Team

Essex County Council
£31931.00 - £36423.00 per annum + + 26 Days Leave & Local Gov Pension
Wellbeing and Independence Practitioner - ASC Centralised Safeguarding TeamFixed Term, Full Time£31,931 to £36,423 per annumLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Financial Strategy Manager (Revenue)

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council
Negotiable
Bring clarity to complex decisions and help shape how we invest in our borough's future.Bring clarity to complex decisions and help shape how we inves England, London
Recuriter: The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council

Team Manager - Locality

Wakefield Council
£55,979.00, Grade 13
Wakefield Children’s Services have been rated by Ofsted as GOOD with outstanding leadership. Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recuriter: Wakefield Council
Linkedin Banner