SHAC’S Response to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman Housing Report for Disabled People In June 2025, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman published a report aimed at reducing barriers for disabled people accessing council housing and homelessness services. The report is written with recognition of the national housing crisis, which includes the… Continue reading Access Denied – SHAC Responds
By Carl Davis The ongoing struggle for reasonable adjustments and the normalisation of adversarial landlord-tenant relations. Securing reasonable adjustments remains an uphill battle for disabled tenants, largely due to landlords’ entrenched resistance. According to the Housing Ombudsman’s Attitudes, Respect, and Rights report, 68% of tenants consulted reported that their landlords had refused to provide reasonable… Continue reading The Ongoing Struggle for Reasonable Adjustments
Or: The passive optionalisation of the Equality Act 2010 and the need for proactive Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance and enforcement. By Carl Davis The passive ‘optionalisation’ of the Equality Act 2010 within social housing is a subtle but dangerous form of regulatory failure. It occurs where laws designed to protect disabled residents are… Continue reading The Equality Act: Option or Obligation?
During the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024, we learned of numerous impending legislative changes for the housing sector. Perhaps most relevant to SHAC’s new antisocial behaviour (ASB) campaign is the Hillsborough Law. This law will place a duty of candour on public servants and authorities. It is expressly designed to ‘address the unacceptable defensive… Continue reading ASB and the AntiSocial Social Landlord
By Carl Davis Fiona Fletcher-Smith, chief executive of London and Quadrant (L&Q), who also chairs the G15 group of large landlords, recently wrote to Michael Gove, the UK's Secretary of State for Housing, to address concerns about the alleged widespread misuse of service charges in social housing. (Inside Housing 10/05/24 and Housing Today 10/05/24). Her… Continue reading G15 Chair wags finger at Michael Gove over service charge abuse
Carl Davis reviews David Renton's new book ‘Discrimination in Housing Law’ on behalf of SHAC. Mea culpa. I must confess I am a non-legally qualified disability and housing activist. So when I was asked by the Social Housing Action Campaign (SHAC) to review David Renton’s new book ‘Discrimination in Housing Law’, Legal Action Group (LAG)… Continue reading Book Review: Discrimination in Housing Law
Tenants and residents of Home Group’s Douglas Bader Park (DBP) estate in Colindale, North West London claim the housing association is flouting both criminal and civil laws in order to push through a redevelopment scheme. The regeneration is partially funded by £17 million from the Mayor of London. Home Group has woken up to the… Continue reading Greedy Home Group Prefers Profits to Social Purpose
Behind the Facade: L&Q, the G15, and the Fractured Reality of UK’s Social Housing by Carl Davis In the intricate tapestry of the UK's social housing landscape, few threads stand out as starkly as L&Q housing association. Boasting a rich history and grand ambitions, the association is today a microcosm of the very challenges that… Continue reading Behind the Facade
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
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
