Hackitt Review Update: Government Commits to Major Building Safety Reforms

As a part of a vision to set out a more robust regulatory future for the construction and private rented sector, the government has committed to:

·         launching a consultation on banning the use of combustible materials in cladding systems on high-rise residential buildings

·         banning desktop studies if the current consultation does not demonstrate that they can be safely used

·         ensuring residents have a better mechanism for blowing the whistle on landlords who do not maintain safe buildings

·         changing the law to achieve meaningful and lasting reform of the building regulatory system

·         inviting views on how the government could implement reform of the regulatory system

·         restructuring building regulations fire safety guidance to ensure it is clear

Read more on the NLA website.

https://landlords.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/hackitt-review-update-government-commits-major-building-safety-reforms

HCA Calls On Social Housing Providers to Be More 'Open and Transparent'

The HCA has called on social housing providers to be more open and transparent about potential problems they face as it does not have the powers to intervene apart from in the most serious cases. The HCA said registered providers were expected to make the regulator aware "in a timely way" of likely breaches of the consumer standards. It used a recent gas safety case involving Liverpool-based Your Housing Group as an example of where a "whistle-blower" had raised concerns with the regulator rather than the landlord. In its Consumer Regulation Review, the HCA said: "The case highlights an important sector-wide issue about openness. As we do not proactively collect information relating to the consumer standards, we are most likely to become aware of issues via referrals.” Download a copy of the Review from the HCA website.

Council House Evictions In Lambeth Are Symptom of 'Profit Making Culture'

The borough of Lambeth is gripped by a 'profit making culture' over the emptying of council houses, a whistleblower has claimed in a new documentary. The decision to sell more than a thousand homes in Lambeth is hurting the most vulnerable people in society because of a wider focus on “short-term gain”, according to claims made by the former council policy officer. He said residents had been evicted even after taking decades to repair derelict homes. The claims were aired in a new documentary directed by Chris Hersom called Home, which was recently screened at the British Film Institute. The whistleblower said: “What’s happening now is that there is this attitude that everything needs to make a profit – even in local government services. And it’s meaning that whether by accident or design people using social services are being pushed out.” Read more on the Evening Standard website.