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Fire experts ‘warned of risks’ at blaze flats
Housing association
A not-for-profit housing association has become one of the first in the UK to partner with a software provider that helps tenants report repair issues. Co-op Homes has introduced Fixflo to help streamline and improve its service to customers. The software currently copes with more than 100,000 repairs a month for private housing management companies. Neil Tryner, managing director of Co-op Homes, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Fixflo. Continuously improving the experience our customers have of our service is at the heart of all we do.” partners with software firm you. It makes you feel a failure, that you can’t do anything. I couldn’t even be in that flat any more because it depressed me so much. “I’m struggling, I’m on antidepressants, I’m going to a therapist, everything’s just drowning me. “It came to a point where I did want to commit suicide and my anxiety went completely off the rails.”
E xperts had already warned of fire risks at a block of flats where a blaze broke out and destroyed 20 flats and damaged 10 others. Samual Garside House, in Barking, east London, was badly damaged by the fire on 9 June – almost two years to the day of the Grenfell Tower disaster. Residents at the six-storey block in De Pass Gardens claim the fire alarm and sprinkler system hadn’t worked properly for months. Fifteen fire engines and about 100 firefighters attended the blaze, which tore through wooden balconies. The Guardian newspaper reported that it had seen an independent fire risk assessment of the block, built by Bellway L easeholders who have had issues with their lease in the past feel so anxious about their future that some have considered taking their own life. A survey by the National Leasehold Campaign revealed that 72% of people who have had problems are “very worried and anxious” about their future. A total of 17% said they had had suicidal thoughts as a result of their fears, M ore than one third of landlords want the government to introduce fast-track housing tribunals if Section 21 “no fault” evictions are abolished. At the moment, a landlord can evict a tenant without good reason at short notice once their fix-term tenancy period ends. But the government says it wants to abolish the “no fault” Section 21 evictions to “protect
believed to have been started by a barbecue. But residents say fire safety concerns had been raised. Sonia Sahata and her husband, Rav were in their top-floor flat with their two children when a neighbour alerted them to the fire. Mrs Sahata said: “When we got out I looked back and our flat was already on fire. There was no alarm and the sprinklers did not work.” Mr Sahata said that he had raised concerns about a faulty control board that was supposed to operate the fire alarms on several occasions. A spokesperson for Bellway said: “We are taking the matter very seriously and working with all parties to help in establishing the cause of the fire.” freeholder should legally have consulted the leaseholders. But the freeholder went to a tribunal to request that the consultation be scrapped because building was in such a state. Lisa’s mortgage provider covered the cost, but her monthly mortgage bill was hiked by £600 a month, which she couldn’t afford and her home was repossessed. She said: “It absolutely drains guaranteed way to cover their costs, while 7% wanted to be able to submit evidence online. Meanwhile, 84% said they felt the maximum time from serving notice to taking possession should be no longer than eight weeks. The National Landlords Association said its members were forced to use Section 21 notices because they had “no confidence” in the courts to settle
Homes, which was carried out in January. It warned that the wooden structures may not be fire-resistant and could “accelerate fire spread … and this will put residents and visitors at risk of smoke inhalation and burn injuries”. Pete Mason, chairman of Barking Reach Residents’ Association, told reporters he had been assured by Bellway Homes that the external wood had been treated so that it would not catch fire for 30 minutes after a fire started. “There is a tremendous amount of wood used on the buildings but I don’t think they took my concerns seriously,” he said. Bellway had reportedly carried out some remedial fire safety work just weeks before the fire, which is the study of 1,150 people found. One resident explained to the BBC that she felt unable to do anything when her freeholder served 21 residents in her block with a £100,000 invoice for major works. But the work spiralled to £600,000, which left each leaseholder with a bill of almost £50,000 each. Lisa – not her real name – told the Victoria Derbyshire that the renters from unethical” landlords. It announced plans to consult on new legislation in April. A total of 39% of 200 landlords surveyed in a report for Paragon’s PRS Trends Report said they wanted fast-track housing tribunals to replace the “no fault” evictions. Almost a quarter of respondents (24%) called for a shorter court process. Some 15% would like a
Leaseholders’ anxious about their future
Landlords call for fast-track tribunals
possession claims.
John Heron, director of mortgages at Paragon, said: “Some of the main concerns for landlords around a move to the Section 8 eviction process relate to the efficacy of the existing court process. “What we see here is widespread support for a fast- track housing tribunal that can deliver a fair and timely solution for both landlords and tenants.”
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ISSUE 102
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