Written evidence submitted by W Morris [FSS 001]

The current state of financial resilience of social housing providers

Evidence concerning

• Other additional costs placed on the finances of social housing providers and the impact on viability.
• What impact have changes in the housing market in recent years had on the strength of housing associations’ balance sheets? Weakened the funding and future resilience.
• Maintaining and improving the existing stock is being made more difficult/challenging on receipt of shoddy new builds needing greater future spend. Improving would simply address standards of build and increase life of property maintenance free. No visible improvement on the past?
• What are the policy and regulatory challenges to the Department and the Regulator?
• That affordable homes are built to evidenced standards, not just documented standards, having future resilience, guaranteed through stronger power for VFM evidence. Risk assessment needs to be evidence based.

My personal experience of a developer new build, with affordable homes and help to buy.

• Without transparent monitoring and certification  public funding for housing is jeopardised.
• Allocation of capital is reduced by repair to shoddy newly built homes,
• diminishing the funding for future homes.

“Construction Industry Council Approved Inspectors Register (CICAIR) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the approval process it operates, provides applicants with a route to registration as an Approved Inspector,” operating under a seemingly strong conduct code and guidance. 

However it cannot be seen that there is any oversight of working Inspectors, paperwork is monitored, not practice, is the norm in the construction Industry. Approved Inspectors are commonly employed by (NHBC,) National House Builders Confederation, itself an approved inspector company.  There is no separation of inspector and producer.

This has led to failure to comply with the most basic Building Regulation, meaning properties are lacking insulation, adequate damp proofing, have unsafe trailing wires, floods from missing waste installations, leaks from sewers into homes, main sewers incorrectly angled for purpose and more.. 

Any building regs breach reported, is disguised by my developer with claims of “meeting specifications” which themselves are not updated to meet current Building Regulations.

A loop exist where certification bears no relation to the actual/physical evidence. Then each signatory relies on the earlier certification as basis to create further documentary ‘certification.’ A paper charade within a construction industry monopoly.

Building regs compliance is only on paper. Requests for documentation and photos are ignored. Application to CICAIR(wholly owned construction subsidiary appointing Building inspectors, NHBC (wholly owned subsidiary of construction  industry) and local Trading standards have each been ignored, not even an automatic acknowledgement.

The system to monitor/regulate is broken, housing is substandard as a result.

https://www.cicair.org.uk/about-ai/

“Approved Inspectors are the only Building Control Bodies to be approved, independently monitored and regulated by CICAIR under the Building Act 1984 to carry out building control work in England”

This is interpreted by my Council as preventing any other Inspector (Council) reviewing CICAIR appointees work. A unique designation for the UK where Solicitor, Doctors etc are all open to review by peers.  Local Councils, who approve developer Plans, refuse to be involved, claiming Approved Inspectors are immune from any review. The Commons Library has been unable to find and case law to support this stance.

Local Councils then ignore their statutory duty to investigate building Regulation breaches ( which affect the standards of all homes built, including those using public funds). They rely on a discretionary power for Planning Enforcement and decline to act.  Public housing, the housing stock is being built without meeting Building Regs – sub standard. Owners and tenants are at the mercy of the constructors.

• Homes are being built as cheaply as possible without any monitoring of building regulation physical compliances.
• CICAIR as designated 1984 issuer of licenses, suggests my certification from NHBC is adequate despite the evidence to the contrary  and the essential several remediation made by the developer (after sale) and  months of persistent pressure from me, to rectify missing Building Regs  compliance.
• I paid privately to remedy many met with intransigence from the developer and NHBC.

There is clear evidence in email audit trails and photos of non compliances but no external capture of this data and no external oversight to inform the Secretary of State and Parliament.

• Any remediation is in the gift of the constructor, the home owner/tenant is without any rights.
• The Ombudsman service is not retrospective.
• NHBC self certificates its inspectors, demonstrably not a transparent or accountable process.
• Certificates are issued but any query for evidence i.e. photos of work in progress/installation completed or the records of install test and record (Section 7 B.Regs) are refused by the constructor.
• The easy option for a constructor complying with Building Regs would be to produce the mandatory records not use avoidance tactics. If no records actually exist in direct contravention of Section 7 the action is logical, but illegal.
• Public funds are being spent on homes that will need unexpected remedial work as they do not in practice comply with Building Regs.
• Homes are sold with missing waste pipes, mine and two neighbours in my personal experience. Both neighbours had floods ruining carpets, taking out the electric, freezer contents etc.
• Affordable housing will create a greater drain on resources shrinking the sector further.
• The NHBC warranty only covers 10 years which will not cover any future repairs major and minor.

NICEIC informed me that my developer was in breach of regs. Sending an email or the relevant  Building Reg. I copied this to the developer who replied that my home met the developer specification.  NICEIC response to me was a question “ what do you expect us to do?” NICEIC is powerless to ensure legal compliance of its members.

Gas safe has inspected the boiler mounting,

• nail gunned onto Orientated strand board- cheap and weak, further weakened by any heat when it then emits formaldehyde. (OSB is then particle board, used to board up broken glass)
• As some/any form of wood has been used Gas safe checklist will pass this. 

Lack of monitoring of compliance during installation and Gas safe powerless to censure  members.

The housing sector operates on a trust model allegedly supported by records as per section 7.

Where cost/profit, speed and quantity are paramount, the trust is misplaced and abused.  Quantity is the mantra of housing but quality and basic Building standards are ignored?

Any funds are not demonstrably VfM for any housing, including the publicly funded. Homes are shoddy, contractors are universally employed without any monitoring of compliance to the specification or Regulations. The construction sector has control of every aspect of what may be seen as checks and balances on it. Government seems intent on permitting this, wakening the future housing stock provision and wellbeing of the electorate.

April 2023