ao link
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In

You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles

Westminster to bring troubled ALMO in-house

Westminster City Council is to bring its ALMO back in-house after concerns about its performance and commercial activities.

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Council flats in Pimlico, Westminster (picture: Getty)
Council flats in Pimlico, Westminster (picture: Getty)
Sharelines

Westminster to bring troubled ALMO in-house #ukhousing

In February, the flagship Conservative council fined City West Homes (CWH) £15,000 and listed it on London mayor Sadiq Khan’s rogue landlord database for failing to disclose fees charged by its letting agent, City West Residential, clearly enough on its website.

A second trading standards investigation, into the agent’s approach to buying back ex-council homes, concluded this week that enforcement action was not needed.

However, Westminster City Council announced today that following “concerns about CWH’s performance highlighted by residents and warned councillors”, it would be taking back control of its 21,000-strong stock of leasehold and rented homes.


READ MORE

ALMOs: out of the shadowsALMOs: out of the shadows
Lewisham ALMO appoints new chief executiveLewisham ALMO appoints new chief executive
London ALMO launches letting agentLondon ALMO launches letting agent
Westminster approves plan to bring ALMO in-houseWestminster approves plan to bring ALMO in-house
Why we scrapped our ALMOWhy we scrapped our ALMO

Andrew Smith, cabinet member for housing at the authority, said: “We’re clear that our residents in council-owned housing deserve the best service.

“Concerns from residents and ward councillors, which have been confirmed by an independent review and now the latest findings from the task group, demonstrates City West Homes is failing to provide this, despite action we’ve taken to date.   “Along with the council’s leader and cabinet, I believe there is no option now other than to bring the management of council housing under the council’s direct control.”

 

About City West Homes:

  • Established in 2002 to help Westminster City Council achieve the Decent Homes Standard
  • Currently manages around 21,000 homes on behalf of the council (12,000 rented, 9,000 leasehold)
  • Was the first ALMO to set up a letting and estate agent in 2009
  • Fined by the council and listed on the Greater London Authority’s rogue landlord checker in late 2017 for breaches of the Consumer Rights Act

A report by the council’s task group into CWH, established by the housing, finance and customer services policy and scrutiny committee, concluded that elements its customer services were “poor” and found issues with its major works programme.

Housing consultancy Campbell Tickell, which was commissioned by the council to review CWH, said the organisation’s board “had failed to recognise weak performance”.

Westminster City Council’s cabinet will make a formal decision on the ALMO’s future on 15 October, subject to consultation.

The council’s Labour group called for CWH to be abolished in a meeting motion in July.

Adum Hug, leader of Westminster Labour, said: “We are delighted that the council has listened to the deep concerns of City West Homes tenants and leaseholders by taking the service back in house.

“There is much still to do in order to improve the services residents receive but this is a welcome step forward.”

Figures obtained by housing campaigners through the Freedom of Information Act and seen by Inside Housing show that over a 12-month period in 2016-17, Westminster City Council paid £393,571 from its Housing Revenue Account (HRA) to CWH in fees for selling council homes on the private market, and another £240,000 to buy back other ex-council homes.

Over the same period, council leaseholders selling their homes back to the council paid CWH £532,715 in sales fees.

According to government figures, Westminster made the biggest loss of any council on its HRA in 2017/18 with a deficit of around £28m.

Mr Smith defended fees paid by the HRA to CWH, saying: “Using City West Homes to talk to owners who want to sell their properties is a cost effective way of making more homes available. The fee given to City West Homes covers the valuation, survey, legal and administrative costs.

“Westminster Trading Standards have reviewed City West Homes processes and following recommendations, which have been adopted, are satisfied it is operating in a fair and transparent way.”

A spokesperson for CWH said: “Last year, housing services supplied by City West Homes fell below the standards expected by our residents and the City Council. Since then, our staff have worked hard with the City Council to put in place improvements that are now starting to have a positive effect.

“The main focus of all our attention has to be our residents. We will work closely with the City Council so that this transition does not affect residents and our staff remain dedicated to providing the very best services to them.”

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment.