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From the archive – regulator agrees to set up high-rise database following Lakanal
Inside Housing looks at what was making the headlines in housing 10, 20 and 30 years ago this week
30 years ago
Two reports into escalating levels of rent arrears blamed changes to the housing benefit system for the rise.
A survey by the Audit Commission found that rent and rate arrears rose by a third in the previous year to £450m. Arrears almost doubled in 17 council areas, while nearly two out of three tenants were found to be behind on rent in inner London.
The commission warned that the situation could worsen as community charge officers and water authorities were set to have more direct powers of debt recovery, which could make tenants see rent as the last debt to be settled.
Meanwhile, an Association of London Authorities (ALA) report found that arrears in the capital had reached £130m. The ALA said that the accumulation was partly due to London councils failing to write off previous arrears.
20 years ago
The government ignored the advice of its own social exclusion unit by refusing to increase spending on council housing management.
Changes to the £3.1bn Housing Revenue Account for 2000/01 revealed an extra £67m available to councils for maintenance but no additional funds for management. This was despite one of the unit’s policy action teams demanding more spending on management to help community regeneration.
Management allowances had been frozen in 1995, meaning that up until this point there had been a 13% drop in spending in real terms.
Paul Lautman, head of housing at the Local Government Association, warned that continuing the freeze could make it “extremely difficult” for some councils to provide services.
He added: “It [the unit] recommended the management element should be unfrozen, but the DETR (Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions] has continued to ignore that.”
John Perry, policy director at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said that the continuing freeze was “disappointing news”.
Picture: Getty
10 years ago
The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) agreed in principle to create a national register of tower blocks in the wake of the Lakanal House fire.
The creation of a database of high-rise blocks was one of the key demands of Inside Housing’s Safe as Houses campaign, which was launched in response to the fire that claimed six lives.
Research by Inside Housing since the July blaze found that many social landlords had not carried out fire risk assessments for all their tower blocks, despite a legal requirement to do so.
Phil Morgan, executive director of tenant services at the TSA, said the campaign had persuaded the body to look into setting up a register, which would initially contain detail of association-owned high rises.
