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London council admits ‘fundamental flaws’ after regulator finds electrical and water safety failures

News24 Apr 2023James Wilmore

Harrow Council has admitted “fundamental flaws” after the regulator found that around 70 per cent of it homes do not have a current electrical safety report, leading to a breach of the Home Standard.

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Harrow Council has admitted “fundamental flaws” in the way it has managed electrical inspections and communal water tests #UKhousing #SocialHousingFinance

The local authority reported to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) that 3,500 of its 5,000 homes did not have a current electrical report.

 

Harrow Council also did not have valid water safety risk assessments in place for a “number of properties”, the regulator found.

 

As a result, the RSH said the council had breached part 1.2 of its Home Standard, which meant the potential for “serious detriment” to tenants. 

 

The findings emerged after a tenant referred the council to the regulator. 

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The council has started to put in place an “urgent programme” to fix the failures, the RSH said. 

 

Kate Dodsworth, director of consumer regulation at the RSH, said: “The council needs to address the issues that led to this situation, and we will monitor it closely as it puts things right for tenants.”

 

Mina Parmar, Harrow Council’s portfolio holder for housing, and Dipti Patel, corporate director of place, said the regulator’s statement shows “fundamental flaws in the way the council has historically managed electrical inspections in our tenants’ homes and communal water tests”.

They added: “All families deserve to live in well-maintained homes that are safe and warm. We are very sorry that the council has failed to deliver the quality of service that our tenants should expect in their homes.

 

“We are determined to address this quickly and have already taken action to change this.”

 

The council said it will carry out more than 2,000 electrical tests over the next 12 months and the remainder the following year. It added that all outstanding water tests will be completed by next month.

Local AuthorityLondonRegulation and Governance
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