The petition of the residents of the constituency of Ealing Central and Acton,
Declares that numerous constituents residing in homes which are managed by the housing association Clarion including Pankhurst house and neighbouring blocks are seriously concerned with the poor level of service and delayed responses they have been provided regarding repairs, for example, a broken window for years on end; further declares that residents are unsatisfied with transparency around how service charges are calculated; further declares that residents are displeased with the allocations policy by which residents are assigned which they fear is leading to it becoming a “dumping ground” for undesirables when the original nucleus of the estate was women's keyworker accommodation.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with the council to compel Clarion to ensure that concerns are listened to and actioned in a timely manner, that more transparency is enacted with service charges, to commit to working with the council for improvements in the system of allocating residents so that existing tenants have a say in who their neighbours are, to provide a better balance of tenant and reverse the current system which is cumulative and having a detrimental effect on the community.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Dr Rupa Huq, Official Report, 09 July 2025; Vol. 770, c. 1085.]
[P003084]
Observations from the Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook):
Social housing tenants deserve to live in safe and decent homes, to be treated with fairness and respect, and to have their problems quickly resolved. Alongside our commitment to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, the Government are determined to drive a transformational and lasting change in the safety and quality of social housing.
All registered providers of social housing, including large housing associations like Clarion, must deliver the outcomes of the regulatory standards set by the independent regulator of social housing. These include ensuring that their homes meet the decent homes standard, which is a technical standard specifying minimum criteria that social landlords must meet to ensure their properties are decent. Registered providers must also provide a repairs, maintenance and planned improvements service that is effective and timely.
The regulator’s transparency, influence and accountability standard requires registered providers to communicate openly with their tenants and provide them with the necessary information to understand what to expect from their landlord and hold them to account. Providers must also give tenants a wide range of meaningful opportunities to influence and scrutinise their landlord’s strategies, policies and services.
Under the new consumer regime introduced in April 2024, the regulator will inspect all large landlords over a four-year cycle. As a large landlord, Clarion is in scope of this inspections regime. Following inspection, the regulator will issue the landlord with a regulatory judgement, which will set out its view of whether the landlord is meeting the standards and will include a consumer grading.
Service charges are financial contributions requested by a landlord for the costs of day-to-day management, maintenance, and sometimes improvement of leasehold properties. They present a significant financial outlay for many leaseholders and tenants. At a time when costs are rising, they need assurance that the money is well spent, as well as fair access to redress when things go wrong. The way service charges are organised, including what services are paid for, individual contributions, and payment schedules, are set out in individual leases or tenancy agreements. By law, variable service charges must be reasonable, and the works or services must be of a reasonable standard. Leaseholders and housing association tenants may contest the reasonableness of their service charges by applying to the first-tier tribunal, or leasehold valuation tribunal in Wales. Service charges, administration charges and other management matters in the property tribunal can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/service-and-administration-charges-and-management-matters-t541/service-charges-administration-charges-and-other-management-matters-in-the-property-tribunal
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 includes measures designed to drive up the transparency of service charges and to make them more easily challengeable if leaseholders consider them to be unreasonable. On 4 July, the Government published a consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections for charges and services. The consultation closed on 26 September, and responses are currently being analysed.
All social housing tenants in England should be supplied with clear information on how service charges are set. When new or extended services are introduced, registered providers are expected to consult with tenants. The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 gives the regulator of social housing new standard-setting powers relating to the provision of information by private registered providers (PRPs) to tenants in England. On 30 October 2025, the Government directed the regulator of social housing to introduce new social tenant access to information requirements (STAIRs) that will enable tenants of PRPs to access information held by their landlords about the management of their homes.
At present, with over 1.3 million households on social housing waiting lists, and 165,000 children in temporary accommodation, demand for social housing is greatly outstripping supply. This demand impacts allocations, as landlords must balance maintaining sustainable communities with ensuring that social housing is made available to those most in need. Registered providers allocate their properties directly to tenants via direct lets or nomination agreements with local housing authorities who refer tenants from their housing register.
In relation to individual complaints, the housing ombudsman can investigate and determine individual cases from residents against their landlord which cannot be resolved locally. The ombudsman’s complaint handling code sets out requirements for member landlords to respond to complaints effectively and fairly. The Social Housing Regulation Act put the code on a statutory footing and gave the housing ombudsman powers to also issue orders to landlords that seek to prevent the recurrence of issues identified during an investigation.