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Morning Briefing: four more tower blocks evacuated
Four tower blocks in London are to be evacuated over gas safety fears, it was revealed last night, and The Independent has produced shocking figures on the private rented sector.
In the news
Hundreds of residents will be temporarily moved out of blocks at the Ledbury Estate in Southwark, south London.
Safety concerns have been raised about gas supply to the buildings, which are constructed in a similar way to Ronan Point, a tower block in Newham that partially collapsed in 1968 due to a gas explosion, killing four.
Read Inside Housing’s full report on the story here.
Elsewhere, The Independent reports this morning that nearly a third of private rented homes fail government health and safety standards.
Analysis by the paper of last month’s English Housing Survey shows that 29% of homes in the private rented sector do not meet the national Decent Homes Standard because of safety hazards or inadequate facilities. That equates to 1.4 million households living in unsafe or unsuitable accommodation, it says.
In Grenfell-related news, Charity Commission figures show that less than 15% of the £18.9m raised through donations for victims has reached the people it was intended for, the BBC reports.
Campaign group Justice 4 Grenfell said the money is not getting to survivors quickly enough.
And in case you missed it, Inside Housing has produced a special feature looking back at seven years of Kensington and Chelsea Council papers, taking a closer look at the events which led up to the tragedy.
On social media
That Independent story sparked an involved debate about regulation on Twitter between Giles Peaker (or Nearly Legal as he is better known) and Victor da Cunha, chief executive of Curo:
Really want to know the source of these figures and what is being referred to, but blimey! t.co/s6U6wipApX
— Nearly Legal (@nearlylegal)Really want to know the source of these figures and what is being referred to, but blimey! https://t.co/s6U6wipApX
— Nearly Legal (@nearlylegal) August 10, 2017
Social housing is the most regulated #ukhousing sector & things still go wrong. Private landlords need more effective regulation. Full.Stop.
— victor da cunha (@victor_dacunha)Social housing is the most regulated #ukhousing sector & things still go wrong. Private landlords need more effective regulation. Full.Stop.
— victor da cunha (@victor_dacunha) August 10, 2017
Social housing is actually less regulated. On the basis social landlords are presumed to be decent.
— Nearly Legal (@nearlylegal)Social housing is actually less regulated. On the basis social landlords are presumed to be decent.
— Nearly Legal (@nearlylegal) August 10, 2017
Not true. We have regulator assess us proactively. When did PRS have national regulator enforce standards proactively, consistently?
— victor da cunha (@victor_dacunha)Not true. We have regulator assess us proactively. When did PRS have national regulator enforce standards proactively, consistently?
— victor da cunha (@victor_dacunha) August 10, 2017
Take a look at their tweets and replies for the whole discussion.
