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 SHAC with additional commentary by Carl Davis KIM in this context stands for knowledge and information management, and is the subject of a new Spotlight report by the Housing Ombudsman. The report is a combination of casework data and fresh, specially commissioned research. The report is well-evidenced and reaches 21 logical recommendations for social… Continue reading Housing Ombudsman on Good KIM
Tenants and residents of Leeds Jewish Housing Association (LJHA) have reported to SHAC with further concerns about their landlord’s conduct, and have announced that they have begun a service charge strike. SHAC published an article in May 2022 (Leeds Jewish HA: a Cause for Concern) which highlighted concerns over the landlord’s service charging mechanisms. The… Continue reading Service Charge Strike Starts at LJHA
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
A seasonal satirical offering from Carl Davis It was Christmas Eve and snowing heavily as Capital Quarter housing association boss Briona Arrowsmith-Wright tumbled out of the Bolt taxi and lurched up the steps of her Chelsea town house. She fumbled in the dark with the door keys to let herself in. The journey home from the… Continue reading A Christmas Social Housing Carol
By Carl Davis In their ground-breaking report Stigma and Social Housing in England, Dr Amanze Ejiogu and Dr Mercy Denedo looked at the nature and extent of the previously little understood stigmatisation of social housing. Those involved in the social housing sector in England, including politicians and social landlords, contribute to the construction of stigma.… Continue reading Ending Social Housing Stigma Together
By Carl Davis A lot of the recent shocking media coverage on disrepair in the social housing sector focussed on huge remote and faceless corporate providers like Clarion, L&Q, and Notting Hill Genesis. But this fails to capture the experience of people housed by smaller, rogue and failing social landlords. For example, Chantele – not… Continue reading Little Rogue Landlords
By Carl Davis The National Housing Federation (NHF), a membership organisation representing more than 800 housing associations, recently teamed up with housing association Aster Group's diversity and inclusion lead to share Twitter tips on becoming a ‘Disability Confident’ employer, posted under the hashtag #NHFDiversity. The Disability Confident Employer scheme is a voluntary, government accredited initiative… Continue reading National Housing Federation’s Feeble Action on Equalities
The Equality Act 2010 requires housing associations to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ which allow disabled people to access the same opportunities and services as non-disabled people. It requires employers and providers to consider disability in everything they do and to actively anticipate the need for reasonable adjustments as far as possible. The onus is on landlords… Continue reading Disability Dossier: A Catalogue of Shame
By Carl Davis Not just an issue of staff training .. Last week Eddie Hughes, Minister for Rough Sleeping & Housing confirmed the launch of the Social Housing White Paper Professionalisation Review. The review will look at the qualifications currently available for staff, with landlords, residents and trade bodies invited to put forward recommendations. The… Continue reading Gaming the System
