Regulator of Social Housing finds London borough breached consumer standards amid outstanding fire safety work

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has found Camden Council in breach of its consumer standards, with more than 9,000 fire safety actions overdue in social homes owned by the London borough.

In a regulatory notice published on 21 July 2023, the RSH also found that more than 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 RSH said.

It added that it expects Camden to take urgent action to address these failings.

Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, described the failure to address thousands of fire safety actions in tenants’ homes as “unacceptable”, putting them 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.”

The regulator added that the findings also “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 the RSH will take action when landlords breach their standards.”

In response to the regulatory notice, Camden said an extensive programme of fire safety works was under way, which would address the RSH’s findings and deliver the highest standard of safety for residents.

Cllr Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden, 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."

Cllr Gould added: "I won’t be content until every action is complete and that’s what our teams are working on delivering right now.”

Camden’s Leader also called on the Government for backing “after years of underinvestment nationally in council housing. This includes direct cuts to rental income.”

She said: “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.”

Camden insisted that it had made a clear and public commitment to achieving the highest standard of resident safety and, since 2017, had invested significantly in improving the safety of its housing.

In July 2021 it introduced its Fire and Building Safety Charter which it said guides this work. It added that it is an active participant on the Early Adopter groups set up by Government and the Health & Safety Executive to develop best practice and shape regulations in relation to Fire and Building Safety.

Following the RSH report it will also:

• Introduce monthly reporting to members of the Housing Scrutiny Committee and Fire Safety and Compliance Advisory Panel which the council will publish on its website
• Provide detailed updates each quarter to its Fire Safety and Compliance Advisory Panel
• Strengthen existing processes so it can address all high-risk actions within their recommended timescales.

The council added that it would work to engage with residents and find new ways to improve access to homes, suggesting that it was currently finding it difficult to access up to 40% of homes to apply its smoke detector programme.

Harry Rodd