WHEN IMPACT HAD MORE IMPACT

A rescue

merger with 
under-fire
landlords

The holiday season is just about over and Riverside Housing Associaton back to work on Merseyside has just added another 2,700 more to its massive porfolio of 55,000 homes.

Riverside gets its latest boost from what it calls a merger with Workington (Cumbria) housing association, Impact. Some people say it is a takeover of Impact. The social housing press decribed it as “ a rescue merger with a troubled  landlord.”

It was also a controversial merger. Impact was accused of secrecy, spin and failure to properly consult tenants during the months of negotiations with Riverside.

All these accusations came  after Impact was put in the dock by the national housing regulator for failure to show “an appropriate degree of skill, diligence, effectiveness, prudence and foresight”.

Now, seven months after that damning verdict, Impact hopes for  better days ahead and a secure future with Riverside. This future, according to interim managing director Bryonie Shaw will include “the support of our tenants, shareholders and local partners”.

LANDMARK EVENT: Carol Matthews (left), Mark Costello Chairman of Impact, and Bryonie Shaw

Ms Shaw says she is “thrilled” about the merger and the Riverside chief executive Carol Matthews talks of the merger as “a  landmark event.”

Thirty two miles away in Carlisle it  a different story.  It is in Carlisle where Riverside has the bulk of its Cumbria property- 6,500 homes.

And it is in Carlisle that Riverside has had quite a bulk of complaints, particularly recently from the city council. Relations with the council have not been good and a planned new liaison group arrangement with the council is struggling to get off the ground in face of criticism by councillors.

There is no talk of thrills or landmark events in  the city council chamber.The councillors are standing up for tenants who they say have no say in the running of their homes.

No talk of thrills or landmark events either among the Riverside tenants according to the Carlisle newspaper, the News and Star. The paper devoted four and half column inches to damning social media comments about Riverside and its merger with Impact.

Here are some of those comments:

***“Why on earth is Riverside  investing in Impact Housing? Riverside can`t cope with its own demands for home improvements and never repair anything correctly, always just patching stuff up- and that`s if you are lucky enough  to get them out to repair anything.”

***“What a joke. Maybe they should come and finish the work you started and take a couple of staff to Specsavers. You`re still waiting to change the kitchen cupboard fronts-there`s not one right one.. Even better, instead of sending young boys who stand there rubbing their heads, employ people who know what needs to be done there and then”.

***“Six months for Riverside to repair my rotten back door. My nana could have kicked it in by the end”.

***“ Riverside can`t cope  with the houses it already has. Gardens and houses both are a disgrace”.

***“Hope they don`t need  repairs done in a hurry”.

***“Absolute joke. Maybe now they will get more jobs done.”

Thrills, landmark events and now, highly critical social media comments.

Yes, impact!

Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation publishes this blog. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803

TENANTS GET A RAW DEAL NORTH OF THE BORDER

League tables: a warning from Scotland

League tables are not the answer to keeping a check on landlords despite what the government says warns Scottish tenant activist David Young.

He says the government should look at the performance of league tables in Scotland before introducing them in England.

League tables are featured in last week`s social housing green paper to asses landlords against a series of performance indicators

 

 David has had many years experience of dealing with housing association landlords  and  now urges leading figures in the housing sector to take a critical  look at the Scottish Housing Regulator`s league tables.

He says this in a message to Community Voice Carlisle blog:

“ From these league tables you can compare different aspects of the operations of each social housing supplier from rents, complaints, repairs etc.

“But the the housing regulator allows  only the social housing supplier to provide the information. The housing regulator does not require the tenants of the social housing supplier to confirm that the information is correct or even scrutinised.!

“AND THERE`S THE RUB

“The housing regulator does not converse with any tenants directly or even with their tenant representatives / associations. The housing regulator was set up about five years ago with sole remit of protecting the tenants and yet has no protocols in place for consulting or contacting them. And the tenants are actively discouraged from contacting the regulator !

“The same applies to the Scottish Tenant Information Service. It was  set up by the government to be seen to be protecting the tenants but actually it provides a "legal" portal for housing providers to claim that they are conforming when actually the government does no checks on the information provided!

“DONT LET THE SAME HAPPEN IN ENGLAND

“As for the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman he simply admonishes the failing housing suppliers with a rap on the knuckles .He has never fined any social housing supplier.”

David is a council tenant in Irvine.He was previously secretary of Carlisle and Rural Tenants` Federation, the predecessor organisation of Carlisle Tenants and Residents` Federation which publishes this blog.

David`s criticism comes after warnings from some English housing association leaders that league tables could be ‘blunt’ and ‘counter productive.`


Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation publishes this blog. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803