The Regulator of Social Housing has concluded that the London Borough of Camden has breached its consumer standards.
The regulator’s investigation revealed that over 9,000 fire safety actions are overdue in social homes owned by the council.
The regulator also found that over 9,000 homes do not have a smoke alarm installed and around 4,000 homes do not have a carbon monoxide detector fitted.
The evidence demonstrates a failure by the council to complete all fire safety actions in a timely manner and to mitigate the risks to tenants in the meantime, the regulator said.
The regulator added that it expects the council to take urgent action to address these failings, and that the council is currently engaging with it as part of its efforts to return to compliance.
Kate Dodsworth, chief of Regulatory Engagement at the Regulator of Social Housing, said: “Through our investigation, we found that Camden Council has failed to address thousands of fire safety actions in its tenants’ homes.
“This is unacceptable and has put tenants at potential risk of harm.
“The council needs to act urgently to put things right, and we will scrutinise it closely as it does this.
“Our findings send a clear message to all social landlords that meeting health and safety requirements is of paramount importance.
“Tenants deserve to live in safe and decent homes, and we will take action when landlords breach our standards.”
Response: Camden Council
Commenting on the regulator’s conclusion, Georgia Gould, leader of Camden Council, said: “There is nothing more important than the safety of our residents, and we are taking this notice very seriously.
“Six years ago, I said fire safety was our first priority and that we would invest in a new era of resident safety – we have done exactly that.
“We are investing more than £200m in a wide range of safety improvements; we’ve published all fire risk assessments (FRAs) and carried out more than 40,000 individual safety improvements and repairs.
“But we know that there is still more work to be done to complete all remaining higher risk actions, along with all other lower risk actions.
“A programme of work is in place for delivery this year and next.
“I won’t be content until every action is complete, and that’s what our teams are working on delivering right now.
“We recognise that many of the remaining actions outlined by the Regulator are difficult for residents, such as the removal of security grilles.
“We will be working alongside residents to complete these.”
She continued: “Our focus has been on meeting the standards required by FRAs, but we also want to get to an even higher standard across the board, a standard of excellent housing that our residents deserve.
“To do this, we need government to back us after years of underinvestment nationally in council housing – this includes direct cuts to rental income.
“We want every resident to live in a safe, damp-free, high-quality home.
“We won’t wait for government to act; rather, we will continue to push our stretched resources to focus on even faster action to keep residents safe.”
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