Just one year ago, a community of women from mainly Bengali migrant and refugee backgrounds living in the east end of London would probably not have described themselves as grass-roots housing activists. Yet their substandard housing conditions left them keen to fight for better, and their ESOL (English language) class gave them both the perfect… Continue reading SHAC and English for Action: Empowering Community Housing Action
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?
SHAC has heard many accounts of victimising by landlords when things go wrong. Typically, this arises when tenants and residents report leaks, damp and mould in their homes and are told that their own 'lifestyle choices' lie at fault, and that action may be taken against them for failing to properly maintain their homes. On… Continue reading Clarion’s Victimisation Culture
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
Housing associations have long understood the benefits of drawing political figures into their orbit. Clarion Housing Group snagged ex-housing minister Gavin Barwell when they invited him to join their board in December 2019, where he continues to govern. If the tenants and residents of Clarion, Britain's largest housing association at the time, had been asked… Continue reading Labour Snagged in Golden Web
By Rona Jones* Residents in shared ownership flats in the new Circus Street development, Brighton have found themselves trapped in properties that they can no longer afford due to unexplained service charge increases of up to 170%. The block of flats that I live in are new builds, consisting of a mix of flats that… Continue reading Clarion Housing’s Circus Street: Unaffordable Housing
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
Around 70 residents have notified their landlord, Clarion, that they will be partially withholding payments in a dispute over rent and service charge levels, plus contested service charge items. The residents have formed a collective of some 60-strong households covering their estate in Southall, West London. Shana, a striking resident has explained that the group… Continue reading Clarion: Over 70 Southall Residents Start Service Charge Strike
Behind the Facade: L&Q, the G15, and the Fractured Reality of UK’s Social Housing by Carl Davis In the intricate tapestry of the UK's social housing landscape, few threads stand out as starkly as L&Q housing association. Boasting a rich history and grand ambitions, the association is today a microcosm of the very challenges that… Continue reading Behind the Facade
Tenants and residents of the UK's largest housing association, Clarion, have written an open letter containing a five point plan and 33 recommendations to improve the landlord's performance after it ignored their appeal for a meeting. Addressed to chief executive, Clare Miller, the letter covers service issues and service charges, complaints handling, disrepairs, routine and… Continue reading Clarion Tenants’ Five Point Improvement Plan
