The landlord failed to ensure emergency evacuation plans were in place and did not conduct legally required asbestos surveys, reports Marco Marcelline

A housing association which manages homes in Enfield and East London has been downgraded by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) for multiple failings – including a failure to conduct asbestos surveys.

The North London Muslim Housing Association (NLM) manages a total of 1,000 homes in Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets, Enfield, Newham and Hackney.

In its report, RSH said the housing association had “serious failings” in its delivery of its health and safety responsibilities, with NLM failing to register all of its high-rise buildings with the Building Safety Regulator.

NLM had also failed to give assurance that it had taken sufficient mitigating actions to manage risks while fire safety remediation work is completed, including ensuring emergency evacuation plans are in place for all tenants.

One of the more damning judgments was that NLM had failed to meet legal obligations to conduct asbestos surveys in the communal areas of its buildings.

Meanwhile, issues with performance reporting created a situation where the board was unable to monitor the delivery of NLM’s strategic objectives and the effective management of strategic risks.

These findings meant NLM was slapped with a C3 grade for consumer standards, and a G3 grade for governance.

NLM has also, over a prolonged period, been in breach of its own treasury strategy rules which require a level of its debt to be at a fixed rate. This, the regulator said, leaves it vulnerable to interest rate rises and “unable to maximise the resources it has for investing in its homes”.

Kate Dodsworth, chief of regulatory engagement at RSH, said: “We are continuing to engage intensively with NLM to ensure sufficient progress is made, including strengthening both their governance arrangements and the board’s oversight of risk.

“Governance issues are also often the root cause of problems in delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and any risks to tenants are properly managed and mitigated.

“Our proactive inspections are continuing to bring important issues to light and this is vital for improving social housing in the long-term.”

In a statement on its website, NLM said it was “hugely disappointed” by the regulator’s judgment.

The housing association said: “Our board and executive team take these matters extremely seriously and we are working to address them as a matter of priority, while continuing to deliver homes and services that meet the needs of our residents.

“Work is actively underway to address the identified concerns, and we are actively engaging and working closely with the regulator. We remain optimistic that, through our collaborative efforts and ongoing improvements, we will be able to come out of G3 and C3 within a short period.

“We are learning from this judgement and recognise that this is an important moment for reflection and change. We have already started to put in place the right structures and processes to ensure long-term, sustainable compliance including progressing actions to strengthen our governance.

“We remain fully committed to providing safe, decent homes and high-quality services to our tenants. While the regulator acknowledged areas of good practice and high tenant satisfaction, we agree that there is more to do.”

NLM was founded in 1988 and rents homes to tenants from all faith and ethnic backgrounds.

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