Cllr Peray Ahmet, Haringey Council Leader and Andy Donald, Haringey Council Chief Executive, have issued a joint statement following a report that has been published by the Housing Ombudsman today.
“We fully recognise that residents in Haringey deserve the best possible housing services and after binging our ALMO in-house last summer, it became clear that we were not managing or maintaining our homes as well as we should have been.
“This is why we took the bold decision to invest almost £5m, one of the largest of its kind in the country, to improve the quality of our services, and introduced a far-reaching Housing Improvement Plan that will act in the best interests of our residents.
“Key amongst the changes is to adopt a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to damp and mould, with a comprehensive policy in place, a proactive action plan up and running, and the worst cases already being tackled.
“Other major priorities include a complete overhaul of the repairs service so that tenants do not have to wait long periods for issues to be resolved and ensuring improved performance in respect of building safety compliance. At the same time, we are upskilling our staff, making sure they are actively visible to residents, and that systems are upgraded and easy to use.
“Running through the entirety of our Housing Improvement Plan is a focus on putting our residents at the heart of everything that we do. After all, nobody knows our homes better than those who live in them.
“The plan is examined and monitored by an Improvement Board, chaired by our Chief Executive. This high-level involvement underlines the determination of the entire council leadership to transform council housing in Haringey.
“We are focused on giving our tenants and leaseholders good quality, secure homes, so they can have the best chance of a healthy, fulfilled life. Residents want to see action being taken and that’s exactly what will happen over the coming weeks, months and years.”
