Regulator raps Greenwich Council
The Tenant Services Authority has upbraided Greenwich Council for the way it has sought to repossess homes on an estate the London borough wants to knock down.
The council will lose £21.5 million funding if the homes on the Ferrier estate are not empty and redevelopment work can begin before April.
A Tenant Services Authority investigation, seen by Inside Housing, found that the council was taking court action against residents at the same time as it looked to carry out its pledge to make them reasonable alternative housing offers.
It said that the council could have reduced the stress placed on tenants if it had acted to make offers earlier.
Ferrier Residents’ Action Group asked the TSA to look into issues around the decanting of tenants from the 1,910-home Ferrier estate in Greenwich in September. It wanted the regulator to demand the council withdrew legal notices issued in September to 78 tenants threatening court action if they did not vacate properties by 4 October.
The investigation confirmed that phase two of the £1 billion regeneration of the Ferrier estate needs to start in the current financial year to secure £21.5 million allocated by the Homes and Communities Agency.
Jane Smith, tenant standards manager at the TSA, wrote to FRAG last week saying that while the TSA understands ‘the pressures and risks’ the council faced, it felt that ‘any uncertainties and distress for tenants that have arisen could have been mitigated by earlier and clearer communication and action’.
‘While LBG has expressed its continued commitment to the two reasonable offers of council accommodation, as set out in the Ferrier rehousing strategy, the current circumstances have resulted in some individual cases where offers and court action are proceeding concurrently,’ she added.
The council took 31 tenants to Woolwich County Court on Tuesday, where most of the cases were adjourned until 23 December. One case, where a tenant needs a home adapted for his disabled stepson, will not be heard until the second week of February.
Nineteen tenants have now accepted offers.
Nick Russell, chair of FRAG, said the TSA should have asked the council not to use possession proceedings. ‘There’s no need to take 31 people to court who could have been rehoused through the normal proceedings’, he said.
Ms Smith’s letter adds that the TSA has asked it to ‘review its plans for securing vacant possession of the remainder of the estate by October 2011 and as part of this, to establish, following consultation with FRAG and other stakeholders, a plan with a clear timetable for offers, notices and court action’.
In general, Ms Smith’s letter stated that the TSA is satisfied that the council is ‘adopting an approach that seeks to provide satisfactory offers of alternative accommodation based on individual tenants’ needs.’
The redevelopment will ultimately create 4,000 new mixed-tenure homes.
Greenwich Council was unavailable for comment.
A war of words
‘It is necessary to ensure the property is vacated in order for the next stage of demolition to proceed and to minimise risk and ensure health and safety of residents as blocks become empty.’
Advance notice of possession served by Greenwich Council
‘There is no need to take 31 people to court who could have been re-housed through the normal proceedings.’
Nick Russell, chair, Ferrier Residents’ Action Group
‘While we fully understand the pressures and risks that LBG now faces, we feel any uncertainties and distress for tenants that have arisen could have been mitigated by earlier and clearer action.’
Jane Smith, standards manager, Tenant Services Authority
