Croydon Council is trying to bring together all the housing associations who manage homes in the borough – it says that there are more than 60 – in an effort “to improve housing standards across the borough”.
Social housing: in recemt years, Croydon’s 60-plus housing associations have done more to provide social housing than the local council
The council says that the first Croydon Housing Association Partnership event will “bring together key housing partners, including representatives from the Greater London Authority and the council to work together to strengthen the landlord offer and meet the borough’s housing needs”.
The dysfunctional council’s press release failed to provide any information on when or where this event might take place.
Croydon Council has previously tried to improve the standard of housing in the borough by using a form of coercion, through a landlord licensing scheme introduced under the previous Labour council administration.
It drew all the expected belly-aching and wailing from hard-done-by private landlords, but ultimately proved entirely ineffective at protecting tenants’ interests: while the council happily banked the landlords’ registration fees, it did next-to-nothing in terms of conducting inspections or carrying out enforcement. The Tory government refused permission for Croydon’s landlord licensing scheme to have a second term, after council officials failed to include the necessary business plan with the application.
And then along came the Regina Road scandal, where Croydon Council was exposed as a rogue landlord…
Of the Croydon Housing Association Partnership event, Mayor Jason Perry reckons: “By working closely with housing associations, whilst also providing a platform to discuss the challenges and pressures we are jointly facing, we can not only increase the supply of affordable homes but also improve the overall quality of housing in the borough.”
The council’s detail-lite and late-notice announcement has given housing associations until tomorrow, January 30, to apply to attend the event, by emailing CHAP@Croydon.gov.uk.
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Surely any self-respecting housing association wouldn’t touch closer ties with a rogue landlord and dysfunctional council like Croydon with a bargepole ?!
I’d have thought a lot of due diligence is required before engaging with Croydon Council – something Croydon Council itself seems largely incapable of.
If ever a word was totally devoid of meaning, it’s ‘partnership’. I know there are different kinds, but I wonder if Croydon has ever heard of the phrase ‘jointly and severally liable’ as it applies to real people? Might make them sit up and think and take responsibility for something. Anything..
Walking through Croydon at night I can see ½ the multi-story, hi-rise apartments are empty. Some are to buy, some are part rent / part buy. Others are …… I dunno … so what’s going on ? Can we have a housing stock audit before we plunge into ‘partnership’ …. Maybe it’s too difficult for the electorate (plebs) to understand??
A commercial partnership is not what is being proposed here, Terry, but a collaborative working group (although the council has released precious few details).