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Shelter warns tenants ‘ignored’ on safety issues as it launches new commission

Nearly half of all families in social housing who reported problems with the safety or condition of their homes that were not fixed felt ignored, Shelter has warned, as it launches a commission to investigate tenant engagement post-Grenfell.

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Half of social housing families ignored on safety fears, says Shelter #ukhousing

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Research carried out by YouGov on behalf of Shelter revealed that 48% of social renting households with a child in England who reported an issue that was not resolved felt ignored by their landlord or were refused help.

Problems reported include fire safety fears, gas leaks, electrical hazards, and mould and pest issues, the housing charity said.

And almost a quarter of those surveyed (24%) said they feel looked down on because of where they live, compared with 8% of private renter and homeowner families.

Engagement of social tenants was brought into sharp focus after the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June last year.

In the wake of the tragedy, it emerged that residents had repeatedly raised safety concerns with their landlord, Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation.


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Shelter has today launched a commission into the future of social housing, which it said will try to give the Grenfell community and other tenants a bigger say on policy.

Commissioners will include Baronesses Doreen Lawrence and Sayeeda Warsi, Ed Miliband and Grenfell survivor Edward Daffarn.

It will be chaired by Reverend Mike Long of the Notting Hill Methodist Church next to Grenfell Tower.

The commission will hold a series of roadshows across the country and carry out research with social housing tenants before presenting a report to prime minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn before the end of 2018.

Mr Long said: “We need to take a long hard look at why communities such as Grenfell have felt ignored, forgotten and too often like second-class citizens. The experiences of residents here in Grenfell are sadly common in many other parts of the country, too.”

Mr Daffarn said: “Everyone who lived in Grenfell Tower knows just how devastating the consequences are when the well-being of social housing tenants and leaseholders are disregarded – more than 70 members of our community needlessly lost their lives in a wholly avoidable tragedy.

“If we are ever to achieve any kind of justice and recompense for what happened, it will come through genuine social change and by ensuring that people living in social housing will never again be treated like second-class citizens or experience such neglect and institutional indifference at the hands of housing providers.”

Update: at 10.50am, 25/01/18: Based on information available from Shelter, a previous version of this article did not make it clear that the 48% figure relates to tenants who reported issues that were not resolved, as opposed to all those who reported issues. This has now been corrected.

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