Tenants of Tower Hamlets Community Housing (THCH) embroiled in a long-running dispute over mismanagement, the managed decline of their homes, and serious overcharging for services, are now voicing staunch opposition to a proposed takeover by Poplar HARCA, another local housing association. Peter, a tenant of THCH explains: "We have real worries about the financial situation… Continue reading THCH Tenants Protest Against Merger
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
Rohana* has contacted SHAC. She tells us about the appalling conditions that her sister and her severely disabled nephew are having to endure. Her landlord is Peabody and they are refusing to repair the leak causing the damp and mould. The photos show the kitchen ceiling before and after it collapsed. The kitchen is no… Continue reading Action on Disrepairs Protest
A group of A2Dominion tenants from the Bridge Court estate in Harrow are to suspend payment of rents and service charges indefinitely pending remedial actions to fix pest infestations, potentially discriminatory processes, and disrepairs. They describe their housing association’s actions as “negligent, inhumane, and ableist”, and assert that the problems have dragged on for years.… Continue reading A2Dominion Tenants’ Indefinite Rent Strike Over ‘Inhumane’ Treatment
In August 2022, SHAC began to survey members to capture the range of problems they experience with service charges, and the impact on their physical, emotional, and financial well-being. Our aim is to show the extent of service charge abuse by housing associations, and we have now published an initial report based on the first… Continue reading Trapped, Stressed and Impoverished: SHAC Research on Service Charge Abuse
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
We won, and it's worthy of a celebration. It took 54,000 signatures on a petition, and a threatened mass mobilisation to picket & protest at the event. It also took an increased media focus on the failings of the social housing sector which was triggered by a coroner confirming that a two year-old boy had… Continue reading Protests Force Cancellation of Housing Executives Awards Extravaganza
Staff at housing association support project Hounslow Hestia LIFE have voted to take strike action over pay, conditions, and workloads. They will walk out on 12th and 13th of December after their ballot for action was carried by 90% of members. They are being supported by Unite the Union. Hounslow LIFE is one of Hestia’s… Continue reading Hestia Care & Support’s Disregard for Staff is a Red Flag for Service Users
Soaring energy costs and the groundswell of anger against energy companies' vast profits forced the Conservative government to announce in April 2022 that it would discount household energy bills. The announcement proclaimed: The Energy Bills Support Scheme provides a £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households to help with their energy bills over winter 2022 to… Continue reading Housing Solutions Tenants’ Long Wait for Energy Rebate
Awaab Ishak died in 2017 in a home infested with mould which had a catastrophic effect on his breathing. His parents complained to their housing association landlord, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), but the landlord repeatedly failed to address the causes. No-one in authority seemed able to force them to make the necessary fixes. Michael Gove… Continue reading Damp and Mould: Gove’s Double Standards
