Major leaks and rat infestations on Mitcham estate did not break standards rules, says regulator

By Tara O’Connor, local democracy reporter

Major leaks and rat infestations on a Mitcham estate did not break standards rules, a government regulator says.

The shocking conditions faced by residents on the Eastfields Estate were exposed in June.

The flats are run by Clarion Housing and provide homes for Merton Council tenants.

The block is one of three set to be knocked down as part of the authrority’s £1 billion estate regeneration plans.

The homes are now allowed to remain below legal standards, because the High Path, Ravensbury and Eastfields estates are set to be regenerated, Merton Council and the Social Housing Regulator allowed a waiver of the decent homes standard.

Despite the terrible conditions the government’s Regulator for Social Housing has concluded that the shocking conditions did not breach consumer standards.

An August 3 letter to Clarion was published on September 3 in council documents.

Regulator chief executive, Fiona MacGregor, wrote: “Notwithstanding our conclusions, there is no denying the level of shock that the footage aired by ITV News (and previously BBC) has prompted, which has been widely expressed both within and beyond the sector.

“As regulator, we have found it disappointing to see the poor conditions for tenants that were highlighted.

“In line with the Governance and Financial Viability standard, registered providers are required to safeguard the reputation of the sector, and it is clear that this has been damaged by recent media coverage.

“In the case of Clarion, as the largest housing association in the country, that reputational responsibility is particularly acute.”

She added that Clarion should make tenants aware that they can complain to the government’s housing ombudsman and publish findings of investigations into just what went wrong at Eastfields.

Clarion bosses were questioned by Merton councillors at a meeting on Thursday night (September 2).

John Ferman, regional director of Clarion said that since June 25 – 601 repairs on the estate have been carried out with 150 still left to do.

Clarion CEO Michelle Reynolds said: “[We will be] writing to all our residents about how to report repairs and encouraging them to report through the different channels, having those door knocking exercises so we get into our homes.

“One of the lessons was the importance of contacting our customers, which we’ve done at Eastfields, to make sure when reports are raised making sure customers are satisfied with the quality of that work and that we post-inspect that work, we are recruiting more technical surveyors to help with that process.”

She added that the housing provider will publish it’s “lessons learned” report by the end of this month.

Similar issues, including thick black mould in flats, were exposed at the High Path Estate in South Wimbledon this week.