By Paul Kershaw, Chair of the Unite Housing Workers Branch
Sanctuary housing may have become the model of a successful housing association from the point of view of the big financial institutions that invest in housing and the politicians of both big parties. They support the deregulated private finance based model for ‘social’ landlords.
But the residents and workers at Sanctuary have a different view. Recently the London maintenance team voted 100% for strike action. Naturally enough, management refuse to negotiate with them or even to ‘recognise’ the workers union, Unite.
Workers and Tenants Unite
Local Sanctuary tenants have made common cause with the workers supporting their demonstrations and telling workers they back them. Tenants make a comparison between the association’s often high-handed treatment of them and management’s refusal to formally recognise the union.
Sanctuary Housing’s surplus this year was 73% higher than last year. The pre-tax figure was £101.3 million with a healthy operating margin of 21.1%. The CEO and former finance director, Craig Moule, was paid £380,213 in 2022-23.
The financial performance is good. But in August, the Housing Ombudsman ordered them to pay a resident over £5,600 compensation after it ignored a contractor’s advice and left damp to “fester”. Workers aften express frustration that financial pressure means they cannot do the professional job they would want.
Sanctuary has a history of swallowing up smaller associations when they run into trouble. It collaborates in this with the Regulator of Social Housing. Last year it took over the troubled Swan housing whose ambitious expansion plans ran into financial trouble. It also swallowed up Johnny Johnson Housing, justified with bland comments about financial strength and investment potential.
Swan was found to have breached the ‘Home Standard’ over safety related issues last year. The Housing Ombudsman made three findings of severe maladministration for Johnnie Johnson Housing reflecting significant failings in responding to a resident’s complaint about anti-social behaviour, together with its record keeping and complaint handling in 2022. This story is absolutely in line with reports from SHAC members living in Sanctuary homes.
Service Failures Multiply
Absent from the reassuring sounding official statements about the mergers was any reference to multiple service failures or cases of severe maladministration affecting residents by these landlords as identified by the Housing Ombudsman.
Sanctuary repeatedly claims to ‘put customers first’, but it would seem the customers they are really concerned about are banks and financial institutions not tenants and residents.
Housing associations like Sanctuary received huge amounts of public funding in the past and they now grow on the basis of massive private borrowing against the value of their historic housing stock; currently housing associations have huge borrowing facilities of £125.3 billion.
The priority for the bosses of ‘not for profit’ housing associations like Sanctuary is pleasing the banks and other lenders. It is true that they don’t distribute profit to their shareholders, but the financial institutions make sure they are profiting. Management drive up rent and squeeze services to focus on this priority. Tenants and workers have a common interest in fighting back.
While social housing is hard wired to the needs of the FIRE (Finance Insurance Real Estate) industry residents and workers need to organise and fight hard to defend their interests.
Find out more about the campaign to get justice for Sanctuary workers here.
21 February 2024
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