Housing association residents ‘felt pressured’ to return to homes after Barking fire

The review, which has been published today, said that most residents praised Southern’s response in the immediate aftermath of the fire, calling them professional and helpful. The landlord had more than 11 staff members at the emergency centre on the night of the fire, compared with just one from private building manager RMG.

The review notes that Southern was quick to set up emergency hotel accommodation for their tenants and were able to house all of their tenants on the night of the fire.

However, a number of residents interviewed for the review said that they were uncomfortable with how early Southern wanted to move residents back into their apartments. In one example, a resident said the association tried to move her back into her home within three days of the fire, despite safety concerns.

In the end she had to instruct a solicitor, working pro bono, to tell Southern she would not return. This resident spent time in hotels before being moved into temporary accommodation in September.

Another interviewee said she felt forced to return despite not feeling safe. Although she was offered alternative accommodation, she said this was at a higher rent that she could not afford and as a result felt she had no choice but to move back in.

The review, which was authored by former Lewisham mayor Steve Bullock and Diarmaid Ward, cabinet member for housing at Islington Council, looked into the events of the fire and the response from authorities and stakeholders including the building managers.

The review paints a picture of confusion after the fire, particularly for private leaseholders in the block. The report said that complex ownership structures of the private blocks meant it was hard for residents to access information and caused a lot of stress during the rehousing efforts.

As part of the report, the authors made a number of recommendations to be implemented, including a requirement for freeholders to lodge a statement of ownership with the Land Registry which sets out who holds the head leases for the properties and who owns the building.

It also suggested that this should be accompanied by a statement of responsibilities which residents receive annually and lays out clearly which organisation is responsible for what, including in the event of an emergency such as a fire, and include contacts for different stakeholders.

The report called for councils to have more powers in emergencies such as this, including the power to declare a ‘local housing emergency’ situation, which gives them the opportunity to take what they see is necessary action to support residents and reclaim costs from the building owners. This came after LBBD had to step in support residents at a number of points during the Barking fire recovery, despite it not necessarily being their role.

Suzanne Horsley, director of building safety at Southern, said: “We are pleased that the report recognises the work of our dedicated colleagues in quickly ensuring that our residents were properly supported from the moment of evacuation. We know how difficult the decision to return to homes in Barking Riverside has been for some, even with the LFB’s assurance that it was safe to do so.

“As an organisation, the safety and well-being of our residents is our highest priority. While it would not be appropriate for us to comment on the individual circumstances, we have continued to work closely with all affected residents to reassure them and support their individual needs.

“This includes offers of permanent alternative accommodation for anyone who did not wish to return for any reason, offering all affected residents a range of options based on their circumstances and the available housing stock.”