GRENFELL: WHY NO SOCIAL HOUSING REGULATOR?

   Four million households that demand inspect

The Grenfell Tower disaster daily poses more and more questions about building and other regulations(or lack of them) that may have played a part in causing the massive fire.

Roger Jarman,(left)  one of the country`s leading  housing consultants has  recently drawn attention to one of these  questions:

 Why is there no inspection regime for the 4 million households living in housing association or local authority housing such as that at Grenfell Tower?

Mr Jarman knows a lot about inspection regimes. He was was  head of housing at the government`s Audit Commission which for ten years inspected the organisations responsible  for those 4 million households.

In those ten years 1,400 inspections were carried out including inspections of  Liverpool based Riverside Housing Association which owns 50,000 homes including 6,000 at Carlisle.

(Mr Jarman`s report had  critical things to say about Riverside. Sadly, that criticism never reached the public because Riverside spin doctors played it down and insisted  that Riverside was smelling of roses.)

Sadly also, a short time later in 2010 the Audit Commission inspections ceased and the commision was abolished by David Cameron`s coalition government .

Since then there has been no effective social housing regulator says Mr Harman in a letter to The Guardian.

He adds that the present regulator, the Homes and Communities Agency focuses its resources on “financial viability” and “governance” of housing associtions;

 Its service delivery is almost non-existent says Mr Jarmam.

He adds that the Homes and Communities Agency still has the powers to inspect housing associations and local authority housing departments.

 He says these powers should be invoked  to assess whether systems are in place to protect tenants from future disasters.


 
  Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation publishes this blog. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277 or 01228