Councils and housing associations could get unlimited fines if they are found to have provided damp, cold, and unsafe homes for tenants, under new legislation being laid before Parliament on Wednesday.
The legislation is being introduced in the run-up to the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire in Kensington, west London, which killed 72 people.
The Social Housing Regulation Bill will give greater powers to the regulator, which will be able to implement emergency repairs where there is a serious risk to tenants, with the tab being picked up by their landlords.
In May 2021 the Housing Ombudsman launched an investigation into “unlivable” housing conditions after ITV News revealed tenants in Croydon, south London, were getting little or no help from their local council over damp and mould in their homes….