Chair of troubled landlord steps down
The chair of a troubled housing association has stepped down following complaints about poor governance.
Maria Jennings, chair of Hornsey Housing Trust, told a meeting of the 400-home landlord’s board on Monday she would not be standing for re-election as chair.
The Homes and Communities Agency served a statutory notice on HHT in June ordering it to provide documents about how it was dealing with complaints of poor governance. This has since been complied with.
Fourteen of HHT’s 16 employees had reportedly filed grievances against Ms Jennings and the organisation has had five interim chief executives since February 2011. The organisation’s annual general meeting was adjourned by Ms Jennings on the advice of a solicitor after a motion from a former board member accused her of presiding over a ‘dire staff situation’. The motion was not put to the vote.
Ms Jennings will be succeeded by board member Greg Gordon, who was unanimously elected.
A HHT spokesperson said: ‘Greg is a former chief architect for Haringey Council, with extensive experience as a senior manager in both the public and private sector. He has been a Hornsey resident for more than 30 years and is committed to playing an active role in the local community.’
