Opposition Lib Dem motion called for an apology over recent investigation finding that thousands of Haringey homes do not meet minimum standards, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

The investigation into housing standards followed the insourcing of Homes for Haringey by the council

Haringey Labour councillors have rejected calls from opposition Lib Dems to formally apologise to housing tenants for a litany of health and safety failures.

During a full council meeting last night, the opposition group tabled a motion calling on the Labour administration to say sorry for failings that, according to a watchdog, put thousands of social housing tenants at potential risk.

But members of the Labour group amended the motion to remove both the apology and a further proposal for a compensation scheme. Instead, they pledged to work with tenants on a repairs charter and to ensure repairs and major works are a “key priority”.

Earlier this month, the Regulator of Social Housing found the council had failed to complete 4,000 high-risk fire safety works and did not have up-to-date electrical safety reports for thousands of homes. It also found more than 100 properties had serious hazards and nearly 5,000 did not meet minimum social housing standards.

The findings came after the council referred itself to the watchdog in January following the insourcing of its housing management service, Homes for Haringey. When the findings were published, council leader Peray Ahmet and chief executive Andy Donald said they were “very sorry” that residents “have not been receiving the quality of service that they should have done”.

The council is also being investigated by the Housing Ombudsman for “persistent poor performance over damp and mould complaints”.

Lib Dem housing spokesperson Dawn Barnes told the full council meeting tenants had been treated with “contempt” and that an apology would be “a reasonable place to start”.

Cllr Barnes said residents deserved to have a repair undertaken “just once” and not “multiple times”, adding: “A service level agreement with automatic compensation would help focus on quality repairs in a timely manner and make the resident feel a little better if it didn’t happen – although money is no compensation for extra time spent living in a home of disrepair.”

Her Lib Dem colleague Scott Emery gave several examples of problems that had not been properly dealt with in his Highgate ward, including residents at one housing block reporting raw sewage backing up into their homes on four separate occasions, without the problem being fixed.

Cllr Emery said another resident recently told him that a damp problem in the room where her child slept had still not been resolved, despite being first reported in 2019, and that she and her partner were now sleeping in the affected room.

Dana Carlin, the council’s cabinet member for housing services, private renters and planning, said it was “no secret” that the housing service needed to improve. She added that the establishment of a housing services improvement board demonstrated the council was taking the problems seriously.

Cllr Carlin said: “There is a lot to do to improve our housing service, including our repairs service, and it is a priority for us and for the executive.”

The cabinet member told the meeting that the council would co-design a repairs charter with residents that would allow them to “design and shape” the borough’s housing service.

Cllr Barnes welcomed the repairs charter but said that unless the council’s bureaucracy was “penalised for failures” the opposition had “no faith” that anything would change for residents. She added: “We really do believe that an apology to residents is a small step in the right direction before we then ask for co-production […] Many people simply want their homes fixed.”

Labour councillors voted in favour of their amendments, with the Lib Dems voting against. The amended motion was then passed on the back of Labour votes, with the Lib Dems again voting against.

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