Page 9 - ISHA Annual Report 2019-20

Passionate commitment to customers
Trusted to make the difference
Keeping our homes safe in future
We continue to carry out routine gas safety checks and are checking entrance doors across our stock to ensure fire safety. We’ll also regularly remind you through our newsletters and social media about what you can do to keep yourselves safe.
Our Building Safety team has been boosted with the appointment of a Building Safety Officer to assist in our Building Safety Programme.
We have legal responsibility for seven buildings (11 blocks) above 18 meters and are leaseholders in seven more, where we are partners with our leaseholders. During 2019-20 forms developed by surveyors and the mortgage industry (EWS1 forms) to shield both from financial recourse have had profound impacts on many of our leaseholders, leaving many now unable to move or re-mortgage their homes. Achieving this certification, is not straightforward, but our dedicated Building Safety Team are working towards this for our tallest blocks. We are pleased to report that we have already obtained an EWS1 form for Graham Street. The absence of an EWS1 form does not mean
that homes are unsafe. All of our buildings have fire risk assessments (FRAs) and where we are the freeholder they are published on our website. Urgent actions on FRAs are carried out to tight time scales which are monitored on and reported to
our Board. Where concerns have been identified
in relation to a building, for example, where we know there are problems with cladding, we ensure there are measures in place to ensure your safety, such as a waking watch and enhanced alarm systems. All buildings over 18 metres where we are the freeholder have now been ‘opened-up’ and the building safety team is currently planning a programme of works throughout the year to make improvements. Not all homes in tall buildings will be completed within the year.
For those living in buildings under 18m, there is currently no Government funding and no clear advice.
We know this issue is blighting many lives, and we, along with local MPs and the National Housing Federation, continue to pressure the Government for clarity. We are also backing the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign.
We can reassure you that every one of these buildings received sign-off from building control at the time it was built, and has an up-to-date Fire Risk Assessment.
Annual report 2019-2020
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