London mayor warns HAs could lose access to GLA funding due to poorly maintained homes

News31 Oct 2022Michael Lloyd

London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned affordable housing providers that they could lose access to funding if they fail to maintain their properties to a high standard.

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London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned affordable housing providers that they could lose access to funding if they fail to maintain their properties to a high standard #UKhousing #SocialHousingFinance

Mr Khan said that while parliament is debating the government’s Social Housing Regulation Bill, Londoners should expect high standards of homes immediately.

He also called for additional affordable housing funding and reforms from government, such as a commissioner for social housing residents.

“Most social housing in London is well managed and maintained,” Mr Khan said. “However, this is unfortunately not always the case, and I am determined to use my funding powers to drive up standards in both new build and existing homes.

“I will continue to call on the government to also take responsibility for pushing for higher standards, including by making much-needed additional funding available. We owe it to all Londoners to provide better, safer, and fairer housing in the capital.”

Mr Khan’s intervention comes amid extra scrutiny of the social housing sector following a series of damning ITV reports in the past 18 months, which have highlighted appalling conditions in some homes. The Housing Ombudsman has also published a string of cases where residents have been let down by poor services.

The mayor’s new £4bn 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme already requires higher standards on design, safety and environmental performance for new homes than those funded outside London.

In February, an analysis from Mr Khan’s office revealed that 115,000 of London’s social homes, or one in seven, fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard.

Mr Khan’s warning followed a letter from Tom Copley, deputy mayor for housing and residential development, to City Hall’s housing investment partners on what the Greater London Authority (GLA) could do to non-compliant registered providers.

Mr Copley said that if providers are not compliant with a regulatory standard or have an active regulatory notice, where it considers it to be “appropriate and proportionate” the GLA reserves the right to take action.

In extreme circumstances, the GLA may limit access to funding for a specific set of projects in the Affordable Homes Programme, including those already under way, Mr Copley said.

In the most severe cases, it may withdraw all funding and revoke investment partner (IP) status to the programme.

“Any changes to IP status would be reflective of the nature and seriousness of the regulatory issue and would always include discussions with providers to understand remedial actions being taken,” Mr Copley said in the letter.

Mr Copley said that the GLA would be monitoring regulatory compliance throughout the year.

He said the GLA is also introducing extra scrutiny of the housing maintenance track records of newly qualifying investment partners, and in the requalification process for partners which have had their investment status restricted.

New applicants face additional questions covering housing management experience.

And for those reapplying following a regulatory breach, there will be questions on changes made to internal processes since the breach occurred.

Mr Copley said that the GLA “understands the pressures” that investment partners are under to deliver housing in what are currently “extremely challenging circumstances”, but that it is crucial to ensure that housing is of the quality Londoners “deserve and expect”.

“We know that providers share our commitment to raise standards in social housing,” he said in the letter.

“The mayor and I would also like to assure you that decision-making relating to the processes described in this letter will be guided by robust and consistent principles and based on clear and transparent communication.”

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