Richard Hill became One Housing Group’s (OHG) new chief executive in 2017. Steve Douglas was appointed as Chair of the Board a year later. It took the pair just a couple of years to turn a pre-tax surplus of £82 million as at March 2017 into a deficit of £8.6 million in 2020. This shocking… Continue reading One Housing Passes the Buck for Financial Failings
Category: HA Service Charges
Clarion Compelled to Review Service Charges
Clarion Housing Group, the largest housing association in England, has been compelled to review its service charges after publication of SHAC's report into apparent sharp practice across the sector. Resident Involvement Officers have written to tenants and residents saying: Clarion are carrying out a review of our Service Charge management. We want to identify ways;… Continue reading Clarion Compelled to Review Service Charges
Clarion Tenants Consider Service Charge Strike
What happens when attempts to get your housing association to make your building safe are unresolved after years, and engagement with them is torturous – what do you do? What happens when the helpline promises that someone will ring you back, but no-one ever does? When you are asked to explain your case in detail… Continue reading Clarion Tenants Consider Service Charge Strike
Hyde’s Mission: Service Charge Surpluses Not Social Housing
A damning report by the Housing Ombudsman published in October 2020 picked out Hyde Housing as one of five cases featured for gross failings. The Housing Ombudsman declared Hyde guilty of “maladministration regarding the landlord’s communication about service charges, severe maladministration for its formal handling of [a] complaint, and service failure in relation to its… Continue reading Hyde’s Mission: Service Charge Surpluses Not Social Housing
It Pays to Hyde
How Hyde Housing Retrospectively Increased Service Charges by 100% Robert* was disconcerted to open a letter from landlord Hyde Housing which arrived in September. It explained that he was deeply in arrears. This came as a shock to Robert who had been struggling to maintain payments (largely successfully) despite the squeeze on his income. As… Continue reading It Pays to Hyde