By Elizabeth Campbell It was a lovely May afternoon and the sun was shining. We stood outside Fortress Clarion, just a small group of protestors in the shadow of the landlord's palatial waterfront head offices. We had gathered under the slogan 'Clarion: See Us, Hear Us'. We had protest flags, cardboard eyes and ears, a… Continue reading Limelight Falls on Fortress Clarion
Residents in some of the poorest areas of the country are being further impoverished by expensive heating systems, or face living in freezing conditions without hot water. Their housing association landlords are claiming that they have no influence with the heating provider companies. "Heat networks are supposed to provide a low cost, and potentially low… Continue reading Peabody Highlighted in Fuel Poverty Report
Leaseholders of Clarion living on an estate in west London are withholding payment of service charge increases after they were sent bills raising costs by up to 382%. The group is being supported by SHAC to take action, and their list of grievances include a sudden and unreasonable increase in service charges, lack of transparency… Continue reading Clarion Leaseholders Hold Service Charge ‘Strike’
Tenants and residents of Tower Hamlets Community Housing (THCH) have begun a campaign to fight back against appalling service charge rises amounting to 100% on the previous year in some cases. No valid reason has been provided by the landlord as to why such a hike is being threatened. The most recent shock relating to… Continue reading THCH: Drop the Service Charge Hike Now!
Gilbeys Yard and Juniper Crescent are a community of 200 homes adjoining a Morrisons supermarket in Camden. The community’s landlord, One Housing Group (OHG) balloted residents in November 2020 asking: "Are you in favour of the proposal for redevelopment of Juniper Crescent and Gilbeys Yard?”. When the ballot result was published, it was clear that… Continue reading OHG: Respect the Ballot!
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
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
Hexagon Housing spent almost £7m on repairs and maintenance in 2019, an increase of nearly 14% on the previous year. But does it receive value for money? Or is too much being squandered through outsourced sub-contractors? The landlord owns or manages around 4,300 houses and flats in south-east London. The organisation promises to deliver decent,… Continue reading Outsourced Repairs: A False Economy
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
Repairs to Newham’s London Plane House, owned and neglected by One Housing Group (OHG) are now being completed after SHAC became involved in the case. It was originally reported to the landlord by tenants two years ago. We reported previously on London Plane House in Newham, where a lump of metal falling from an upstairs… Continue reading SHAC Victory – OHG Building Faults Fixed!
