This was what the Minister for Housing said in a letter sent to social housing residents this week. The letter was sent to “update residents on the steps the Government is taking to reopen society” and support residents and their families to “move on with their lives”. It contains links to government guidance on a wide range of initiatives connected with Covid-19 (this e-briefing comments only those aspects of the letter that are relevant to repairs).
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many social landlords have had to limit repairs to emergency repairs and compliance work, such as gas servicing and fire equipment testing. Some social landlords have also been able to undertake external maintenance.
A letter sent directly to their residents by the Government saying that social landlords will now be carrying out routine repairs may, therefore, come as a surprise. Although the letter recognises that the backlog of repairs that built up during lockdown may cause landlords to be slower than usual in responding to new, non-essential repairs, the encouragement to report all repairs means that social landlords should now prepare for an influx of routine repairs requests.
However, while the Government’s letter indicates a move to recommence carrying out non-urgent repairs, this is still far from “business as usual”. The letter confirms that only repairs to remedy a “direct risk” should be carried out where households are self-isolating or containing an individual who is shielding. Repairs will invariably take longer to complete due to tradespersons having to comply with social distancing and hygiene guidance. This will increase repairs costs for landlords and/or their contractors.
Delays in repairs being completed will inevitably result in more complaints and referrals to solicitors looking to bring claims against landlords for tenant compensation. The increased expectations created by the letter are unlikely to be helpful in managing this process.
For advice on repairing obligations, please contact Baljit Basra.
For advice on health and safety issues, please contact Tim Coolican.
For advice on repairs and maintenance contracts, please contact Andrew Millross.
Commercial and local authority landlords could benefit from urgently reviewing their legal options.
The Cabinet Office has published guidance asking for people to act responsibly, fairly and “in the national interest”.
To help our charity clients look to the future, we summarise key guidance and updates over the last week.
On 18 May 2020, the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) wrote to all social housing residents in England (residents).
For anyone who is currently restrained from holding their General Meeting or have held such in breach of their governing documents, help is on the way!
Social landlords may be surprised to learn that “landlords should be able to carry out routine as well as essential repairs for most households”.
Many housing providers are now re-thinking about gathering information to complete their data return to the Regulator of Social Housing, with the initial exercise having been delayed by Covid-19.
With many premises being left unoccupied (or minimally occupied) during the lockdown, both Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive have warned of the increased risks of Legionella.
The Court of Appeal judgement in Booth and another v R [2020] EWCA Crim 575 will be welcome news for local authority prosecutors and their investigation teams.
The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 came into force on 4 April.
To receive invitations to our events, as well as information and articles on legal issues and sector developments that are of interest to you, please sign up to Newsroom.