Regulator finds RP in breach of health and safety standards
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has concluded that a newly merged registered provider (RP) has breached its Home Standard, in relation to health and safety failings.
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The breach at GreenSquareAccord, which formed in April this year, relates to fire safety, electrical issues and asbestos in the housing stock that originally belonged to legacy organisation Accord Housing Association.
GreenSquareAccord said that in the wake of these health and safety breaches, its chair Elisabeth Buggins has offered her resignation and will stand down with effect from 31 October, with deputy chair Robin Bailey acting as interim chair until the role is filled.
Ms Buggins said: “I believe it is in the best interests of the new group, GreenSquareAccord, to have a new chair to oversee what I know is a robust recovery plan.
“Having dedicated much of my life to helping those who are less fortunate than myself, such as homeless people and others who struggle to access housing and support, it is disappointing to me that the former Accord board has been found wanting in some important aspects.”
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The newly merged group, which manages 25,000 properties across the country, self-reported the issues to the regulator after carrying data checks on its stock following the merger.
The RSH said they found that hundreds of properties do not have a current fire risk assessment and that a small number of homes have never had an assessment. GreenSquareAccord said COVID-19 restrictions had impacted their ability to conduct fire risk assessments.
The regulator also found that more than 10,000 properties have never had an electrical inspection, including “thousands of individual homes and hundreds of housing blocks”.
The evidence provided to RSH also showed that there had been no asbestos surveys carried out in Accord’s communal areas.
In its findings, the regulator said: “For these reasons, the regulator has concluded that GreenSquareAccord has breached the Home Standard, and as consequence, there was the potential for serious detriment to tenants.”
Since the findings were reported, GreenSquareAccord has told the regulator it has initiated a “data cleanse” and a “recovery programme” in order to remedy the health and safety breaches. The RSH said it accepted the RP’s programme to rectify the failures and would not be resorting to enforcement action at this stage.
In April this year, Accord Housing Association merged with GreenSquare after a 14-month negotiation. The group’s properties stretch between the West Country and the North East of England, and it plans to build 1,000 new homes a year.
In October 2020, the RSH upgraded GreenSquare back to G1 after it was downgraded in 2019 for “a clear lack of leadership around health and safety issues”.
Commenting on the regulatory notice today, Ruth Cooke, chief executive at GreenSquareAccord, said: “When we discovered this breach, we self-reported all details to the Regulator of Social Housing. We are genuinely sorry about this breach of standards.
“Our teams of internal and external surveyors and engineers are assessing all the properties where we need assurance that assessments are correct and up to date, and we are carrying out any identified remedial work as a matter of urgency.
“In light of the regulatory notice, our board chair has decided the time is now right for a new chair to oversee our recovery plan, and we’re increasing resource in our assets team to make sure we can deliver.”
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