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Housing association judged non-compliant following fire safety failures
Knowsley Housing Trust (KHT) has been downgraded to non-compliant status by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) following major fire safety failures “potentially affecting hundreds” of tenants.
The 13,000-home Merseyside landlord was handed a G3 grading for governance in a regulatory judgement issued today – indicating “that there are issues of serious regulatory concern”.
It is the first time a housing association has been deemed non-compliant on fire safety grounds since the Grenfell Tower atrocity in June 2017.
Inside Housing revealed in June that KHT was being investigated after receiving enforcement notices from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service on three of its tower blocks and uncovering health and safety concerns through an internal audit.
The RSH later confirmed that the association’s grading was under review after it discovered “a number of high-risk fire safety actions outstanding following fire risk assessments” of other blocks which “potentially affected hundreds of tenants for a number of months”.
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In the judgement, the regulator said “it lacks assurance that the board of KHT has been managing its affairs with an appropriate degree of skill, diligence, effectiveness, prudence and foresight”.
It added that while “the immediate issues have been resolved”, the regulator uncovered “weaknesses in governance, and in the effectiveness of board oversight and scrutiny including incidents of inadequate reporting”.
And it said services provided in KHT homes by other companies in its parent group First Ark “were a contributing factor to the failings”. The group also includes Vivark, which provides repairs and maintenance to KHT.
First Ark has appointed a new group chief executive after previous boss Bob Taylor left the organisation in late May. KHT has also undergone a board shake-up as it develops “a comprehensive recovery plan”.
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The RSH said First Ark and KHT have been “open and transparent” and demonstrated a “commitment to putting things right”.
Helen White, chair of KHT, said: “Our key focus at this time will be to return to our previous G1 status as a model of good governance whilst ensuring we provide our tenants the highest quality homes that offer a safe and secure environment in which they can thrive.”
A spokesperson for the association added: “We will continue to work with [the RSH] to provide them assurance that the recovery plan we have in place will ensure that in the future we will operate in full compliance with the regulatory standards.”
KHT’s previous grading based on a November 2016 judgement was G1, the highest possible rating. It has retained its V1 grading for financial viability in today’s judgement.
