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Welsh government asks social landlords to provide assurance over disrepair issues following ITV investigation
The Welsh government has written to all social landlords in Wales asking them to provide assurance that they have structures in place to deal with any disrepair issues, after an ITV News investigation highlighted the squalid conditions in some social housing properties in England.
The letter was sent by Jess Pearce, deputy director of housing safety, regulation and improvement, and asks boards to provide written assurance that their organisations have “appropriate systems, processes and monitoring in place to ensure that when complaints are received, they are fully investigated and acted on, and that there are robust escalation mechanisms which ensure issues can be brought to the attention of the right people, including the board, if urgent action is needed”.
The letter follows a series of stories from ITV News which highlighted the poor conditions that some social housing tenants in England have been forced to live in.
Croydon Council, Clarion and The Guinness Partnership have all come under fire for the conditions in which their tenants have been housed in.
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In her letter, Ms Pearce said: “The recent TV and press coverage of tenants of social housing living in conditions described as squalid, with widespread disrepair and seemingly being ignored when raising concerns will no doubt have troubled you as much as they have troubled me.
“I am keen that as a sector we take the opportunity to reflect on our policy and practice to ensure in Wales, we are doing all we can to prevent such conditions and the practices that might allow them to occur.”
Ms Pearce has also asked social landlords to “confirm what actions or plans, with associated timescales, are in place to resolve the issues” within any of their stock they may have concerns about.
Boards must also provide a breakdown of all disrepair claims in progress, including the street address of the property, the date and nature of the disrepair claim, and a brief summary of the current position.
“I accept that from time to time there will be disrepair issues to deal with, which can prompt complaints and dissatisfaction from tenants. However, no social landlord in Wales should be in a position where they have systemically failed their tenants and not provided the service they paid for and deserve, even where properties are being considered for disposal or there are pending large-scale regeneration plans,” the letter said.
Social landlords in Wales have until 23 July to submit this information.
Two weeks ago, Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, apologised for the conditions uncovered by ITV News.
She said: “The stories we’ve seen on ITV News are just not acceptable, not only because of the levels of disrepair in these homes, but also because the residents have not felt listened to.
“I’m sorry that these residents have been let down. They deserve better.”
