Tower Hamlets Labour Group has accused the council of rushing ahead with its renovation of social housing under the national Decent Homes scheme, without keeping in mind quality standards.
Labour claims that Lutfur Rahman, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, is seeking to make a political gain by maximising the number of homes being renovated, rather than doing a quality job of each house.
The Decent Homes Standard was introduced on a national level in 2000 and is aimed at bringing all social housing up to minimum levels of quality. Labour alleges that little is being done to improve energy efficiency in home, which will produce cheaper energy bills for residents. Instead it says the council is focusing on improvements to kitchens.
Councillor Sirajul Islam, Labour’s spokesperson on housing, said: “When Labour introduced the Decent Homes scheme it was all about improving the quality of housing stock and boosting residents’ living standards. The Mayor on the other hand has sacrificed the quality of work in a cynical political drive for numbers”.
“Councillors across the borough have had complaints from residents that recent Decent Homes work has been substandard and is being done on the cheap,” he said.
Joshua Peck, leader of the Labour Group, added: “We are very concerned about how badly the work is being done and how it is being reduced in scope. The Mayor is obsessed by numbers, so homes are not getting the work they need”.
Labour’s accusations were denied by Councillor Rabina Khan, Lead member for Housing for Tower Hamlets Council, who said that the council was also putting its own money into the scheme to top up the allocation given by the government. “The Decent Homes Standard is set by central government and all the work that has been carried out meets this national standard,” she said.
“The Mayor and I are delighted to be able to invest this money into our social housing and we know how pleased residents have been with the work.”
Problem is if a shabby job is done everybody ends up paying out more in the future…bad attitude as i NEVER saves money….We have a problem with damp on ground floor corner flat here at flansham house clemence street. The lovely bengali family living in number 4 have black mold in every room. their eldest son has Ashtma…probably due to the mold!! The council sent guys to clean it off a couple? years ago but obviously they didnt sort out the cause of it. Its highly dangerous and people shouldnt be living in these conditions! Her neighbour has taken photos and complained to the council sending an email…they ve lived here since 2004 i think! I spent an hour in there and was surprised how bad and widespread it was…I felt sick when i went back up to my flat!! Ive since found out from the neighbour the drain used to get cleaned every year and hasnt been done for years!!?? I can see what looks like rising damp on areas
of the outside walls, maybe this is the main drainage system…another example of council trying to save money at the expense of tenants health! i mean look what happened to Grenfill towers………Last year the roof above my falt was supposed to be repaired but neighbour observed as guy going up for 15mins without any tools????? we had ceiling leaks and a wall corner that was v.damp on main front room…. I am thinking of going to local papers or maybe consumer programme on radio /TV. …im getting fed up with tower Hamlets council as nobody seems to complain anymore