By Jess Owen A major Social Landlord has claimed that housing associations are not bound by some provisions of the 2010 Equality Act. Peabody Trust, which operates over 100,000 Social Homes and “provide care and support services to around 25,000” people in England, claims that, as they are not listed in a schedule of the… Continue reading Housing Associations and The Equality Act 2010
More than 100 activists gathered in person and online on the 11th October to plan a national tenants and residents (housing) union. The event was organised by SHAC as the basis for forming an independent action group that can transform the vision into reality. Attendees included those leading local action on their estates, regional groups… Continue reading Conference Agrees to Build a Housing Union
By Carl Davis The ongoing struggle for reasonable adjustments and the normalisation of adversarial landlord-tenant relations. Securing reasonable adjustments remains an uphill battle for disabled tenants, largely due to landlords’ entrenched resistance. According to the Housing Ombudsman’s Attitudes, Respect, and Rights report, 68% of tenants consulted reported that their landlords had refused to provide reasonable… Continue reading The Ongoing Struggle for Reasonable Adjustments
Or: The passive optionalisation of the Equality Act 2010 and the need for proactive Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance and enforcement. By Carl Davis The passive ‘optionalisation’ of the Equality Act 2010 within social housing is a subtle but dangerous form of regulatory failure. It occurs where laws designed to protect disabled residents are… Continue reading The Equality Act: Option or Obligation?
Democratising social housing : health and wellbeing, tenants' rights, resistance, and collective action. By Carl Davis Last week, I found myself wandering round the Hard Graft exhibition at the Wellcome Collection. Hard Graft looks at the impact of work on health. It mainly considers the physical impact on exploited and underrepresented workers, who they are,… Continue reading Hard Graft – Challenging Social Housing Conditions
During the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024, we learned of numerous impending legislative changes for the housing sector. Perhaps most relevant to SHAC’s new antisocial behaviour (ASB) campaign is the Hillsborough Law. This law will place a duty of candour on public servants and authorities. It is expressly designed to ‘address the unacceptable defensive… Continue reading ASB and the AntiSocial Social Landlord
Carl Davis reviews David Renton's new book ‘Discrimination in Housing Law’ on behalf of SHAC. Mea culpa. I must confess I am a non-legally qualified disability and housing activist. So when I was asked by the Social Housing Action Campaign (SHAC) to review David Renton’s new book ‘Discrimination in Housing Law’, Legal Action Group (LAG)… Continue reading Book Review: Discrimination in Housing Law
By Carl Davis As England's social housing sector undergoes significant regulatory and policy transformations, a crucial opportunity presents itself—one that must not be missed. It's time for focused action on disability visibility and the elimination of discrimination in social housing. This is not just a matter of compliance with the Equality Act 2010; it's about… Continue reading Seize the Moment: A Call for Disability Visibility in Social Housing Reforms
By Carl Davis The Housing Ombudsman's finding of severe maladministration against Clarion Housing Group, the largest housing association in Britain, over the preventable death of Mark Pearce went almost uncommented upon within the social housing sector. There were no hastily convened press conferences of executives apologising for the mistreatment of Mark. No outpourings of horror… Continue reading No Warning Flags from Disabled Resident’s Death
Our Statement on the Government’s New ‘Action Plan’ to Tackle Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) By Jacqueline Parkes, SHAC Disability Visibility Group Lead In January, we held our first DVG meeting for 2023. During this session, we stated our intention this year to focus on disabled residents’ experiences of ASB in social housing, and to raise the… Continue reading Disabled Victims of Anti-Social Behaviour in Housing Associations
