On the 25th November, the social housing sector will hold the UK Housing Awards ceremony to congratulate itself on the great job it has done over the last year. The event is sponsored by Inside Housing Magazine and the Chartered Institute for Housing. The Wrong Awards This is the wrong thing to do. The sector… Continue reading The Wrong Awards
By Mary Carter, Notting Hill Genesis tenant My landlord, Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) has published its annual report for the last financial year. The document is full of self-congratulation and positive affirmation about how well the landlord is performing. But read between the lines and you’ll also spot some small pointers to the truth. In… Continue reading Flooded: A Notting Hill Genesis Tenant’s Soggy Story
Tenants and residents from a wide variety of housing associations have agreed to hold a coordinated service charge 'strike' under SHAC's banner. Action is being taken by residents frustrated at their landlords' failings in relation to extortionate or erroneous service charges, disrepairs, shoddy maintenance, and cladding. No Other Choice Residents described how their problems are… Continue reading Tenants and Residents Hit Back
Poor repairs are regularly highlighted to SHAC, with tenants and residents feeling helpless when they try to get their housing association landlords to address them. This week, a group of tenants have successfully compelled their local council, the London Borough of Lambeth, to take three housing associations to court for the condition of their properties.… Continue reading Lambeth Council Sues HA Landlords
It's time for housing associations to open their books on health and safety, both for their tenants and their workers. In one day (19th October) two worrying articles appeared in the press. Firstly, there was the evacuation of 1,059 homes in a Brentford tower block owned by Notting Hill Genesis due to safety concerns. The… Continue reading Open the Books on Safety
HAs can generate larger profits by developing for market sale and rent than from any other activity. Inevitably, the profits are greatest in London where house prices are higher. The boards of HAs increasingly gravitate towards construction, and especially in the South East. Driven by government policy, institutions such as the regulatory bodies and the… Continue reading A Sector That’s Lost Direction
it is 52 years since the BBC first screened Cathy Come Home. This created a sensation at the time and is credited as advancing the causes of what were, at that time, charitable housing associations such as Notting Hill Housing Trust, (NHHT, founded in 1963), and Paddington Churches Housing Association, (PCHA, founded in 1965).
