By Samantha Jones-
The Regulator of Social Housing finds Haringey Council in breach of consumer standards
The Regulator of Social Housing concluded that the local authority breached its consumer standards.
RSH promotes a well-governed social housing sector designed to deliver and maintain homes of appropriate quality that meet a range of needs. It says it does this by ”undertaking robust economic regulation focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer”
In a regulatory notice published today (6 March 2023), the Regulator of Social Housing concluded that Haringey Council breached the Home Standard and, as a result, there was potential for serious detriment to tenants.
Following a self-referral, RSH confirmed that the council breached health and safety requirements. It had failed to complete a significant number of remedial fire safety actions, including 4,000 that were high risk. In addition, it did not have up-to-date electrical safety reports for thousands of homes.
Through its investigation, the regulator also found that over 100 of the council’s homes had serious hazards (known as ‘category one’ hazards) and nearly 5,000 of its homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard.
Haringey Council is undertaking a full condition survey of its tenants’ homes and has put a programme in place to rectify these issues.
Kate Dodsworth, Director of Consumer Regulation at RSH, said:
”Haringey Council put thousands of tenants at potential risk by failing to meet health and safety requirements for fire and electrical safety. Our investigation has also revealed that a significant number of Haringey Council homes do not meet the decent homes standard.
The council needs to act urgently to put things right for tenants, and we are monitoring it closely as it does this.