The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has published a regulatory notice which has exposed the London Borough of Harrow as they failed to complete electrical safety reports for over 3,000 homes.
Published today, the RSH have concluded in a regulatory notice that the London Borough of Harrow has breached the Home Standard and, as a result, there was the potential for serious detriment to tenants.
Following problems being flagged by a tenant who lived in the area, the regulator investigated the London Borough of Harrow and discovered it had failed to meet statutory health and safety requirements for electrical and water safety.
Harrow Council had been unsuccessful in completing electrical safety reports for 3,500 homes in the region and had not finished water risk assessments for every site requiring a re-inspection.
After receiving the news, the council, in agreement with the regulator, has now put a plan in place to address the issues.
Kate Dodsworth, Director of Consumer Regulation at RSH said: ‘We investigated the London Borough of Harrow after a tenant referred the case to us, and found that the council has breached our standards and put tenants at potential risk.
‘The council needs to address the issues that led to this situation, and we will monitor it closely as it puts things right for tenants.’
In addition to the local authority failing to ensure tenants safety within their homes, last month the RSH found that Haringey Council breached the Home Standard after they failed to complete a significant number of remedial fire safety actions, including 4,000 that were high risk – suggesting that council’s in the capital need to get a better grip on ensuring their homes are safe to live in.
Image: Bruno Martins