The Week in Housing: sector edges towards ‘long overdue’ independent national tenant body

Good afternoon.

More than a dozen senior figures from across the sector met this week to discuss the establishment of a new national tenant body.

At the round table event, housing ombudsman Richard Blakeway said it was “long overdue for there to be a vehicle through which tenants, leaseholders and others are able to express and engage”.

A total of 16 representatives discussed future plans for A Voice for Tenants, a steering group aimed at establishing a permanent, independent body for tenants.

Nic Bliss, campaign director at Stop Social Housing Stigma, explained why such a body could improve the quality of leadership in the housing sector.

As part of this push, A Voice for Tenants has commissioned the Health Creation Alliance to conduct a study on the ways tenants can have greater influence on national policymaking and how this could be funded over the long term.

A lot of air time has been devoted to the Renters (Reform) Bill this week. Many commentators pointed out that it was a chance for the Conservatives to show they are not the party of backhanders and backbench landlords, but a government looking to redress tenant power and drive up standards.

Did they take this chance? Given many MPs pointed out that “all of the key housing charities” had withdrawn their support for the bill as the legislation passed its third and final reading in the House of Commons, I’m not so sure.

The other major piece of legislation being debated was the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, which reached committee stage in the House of Lords.

The Chartered Institute of Housing has said that reports of leaseholders having to pay ground rents for another 20 years are “disappointing”. However, the member body said a planned ￡250 per year cap “will provide some protection and certainty”.

For bills already passed, Inside Housing has reported an issue that has been raised time and again since the Building Safety Act 2022 was introduced: what about the cladding bills faced by people who live in buildings not covered by the provisions set out in the act?

The short answer is they are?being left to foot the bill. Inside Housing heard the story of Jackie Warner, who was one of hundreds of residents contacted by Barnet Council in March about cladding issues on their terraced homes.

The council has asked freeholders and shared owners to pay for remediation on their homes, which it estimates to be between ￡14,000 and ￡23,000 per property.

“It was a complete shock,” Ms Warner told Inside Housing. “I had no idea there was a fire.” The council became aware of safety issues on 586 mid-20th century homes after a fire in Finchley in summer 2023.

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