When asked why I wanted to become involved within the housing sector my answer is always the same - “I didn’t!”
First things first. I never set out to become a housing sector activist; or involved with the housing sector in anyway, shape, or form.
Having been a private renter for all of my adult life, I just assumed that no matter where you lived within the sector, if there was an issue it was up to your landlord to help to rectify. After all, this is part of the fee we pay.
In 2015 on my 40th birthday I moved in with my then girlfriend, now wife (life really does begin at forty) into her Oxford shared ownership flat.
It wasn’t too long until I started to notice basic upkeep being missed, including but not exclusively: lift maintenance, grounds maintenance, fire alarm faults, door security, and leaks. These were all issues I knew my wife had been reporting so I wondered why they weren’t being addressed. At this stage, my wife gave GreenSquareAccord (then GreenSquare) permission to speak to me and I started to make calls. These issues were logged and I expected them to soon be resolved.
But of course they weren’t.
With a professional background in complaint handling, I knew how to be heard. I put lots of people (including board members) on copy, and finally, they listened! Soon, I thought, all these issues will be resolved.
But of course they weren’t.
For every step we took forward, we seemed to take two back. Having spoken to many people from mid-management up, I wasn’t convinced they were all morons. In fact it was quite the opposite. They seemed capable enough. They used the correct terminology. They made all the correct promises. So what was the issue?
Having been ignored by the then newly appointed CEO Ruth Cooke, I made her the focus of my calls, emails and letters; all to no avail. I correctly assumed that she wasn’t being kept in the loop and a Subject Access Request proved as much. I continued to bang my drum.
With a large enough paper trail and a lot of time on my hands (thank you, furlough) I was able to compile a rather comprehensive seventy-page letter of complaint. With the threat of sharing this (right at the point GreenSquare were negotiating the merger with Accord) I was granted an audience with Ruth Cooke herself, and her righthand woman Rachel Crownshaw.
What a cordial meeting this was. They both seemed capable enough for the roles in which they were employed. Apologies were offered, promises were made. My understanding was that we had behaved like adults, settled our differences and had created a mutually beneficial relationship. Things were going to be put right!
But of course they weren’t.
Once the merger had taken place, I was put on a communication plan (banned from reaching out to anyone other than the generic info@ email address). Having (during our meeting) already explained to Ruth and Rachel that I wasn’t someone you ignored but rather someone you came to for support, I told them that I would now take this online and put all these ongoing issues firmly in the public domain.
Which of course I duly did.
Then something I had only vaguely considered happened. What if it wasn’t just our block of flats that GreenSquareAccord were unable to manage? Are there other residents in the GreenSquareAccord portfolio in the same position? Can we support each other?
Other residents did indeed find me.
GreenSquareAccord did reach out to me too. Not because they wanted to know how we could build bridges together, or how we could work together to address the issues that plagued not just my own block of flats but a majority of GreenSquareAccord residents, many of whom were and are vulnerable. No. They reached out to threaten me with legal action.
The more GreenSquareAccord ignored me, the more I found out. Their reputation was (and is) in tatters. They are simply unable to manage their property portfolio. During the proceeding twelve months, I discovered that GreenSquareAccord weren’t actually the worst housing provider, there were others who had the audacity to also charge a fee for a service they were unable to provide!
I know - unbelievable!
So here we are, I’ve launched another site.
I’ve got a few new tricks, a determination to shine a light on those housing associations who fail the very members of our society who they have agreed to, and have been paid to, protect. I even have a growing network of like-minded people, both residents and industry insiders, who want to get things back on track.
My first goal is to ensure that the residents have somewhere they can find support when their association ignores them. This will involve ensuring they have access to the tools (many of which already exist) and the ability to share. The sector has floundered whilst we’ve been separated, together we can make it flourish.
Goal two is to ensure that all MPs, local councillors and the public know (through a review platform) who they can trust and who they should permit to build new homes within our communities.
Goal three is to remove the barriers to service, cut back on the deadwood, and replace them with people who have the ability, the inclination and the tenacity to make the housing sector great again.
These goals would sound like an overfed ego if it weren’t for the fact that as residents, we outnumber the housing associations. We have the ability to reshape the landscape and make it work, we have skin in the game, the sectors failings will not be swept under the carpet.
Want to help? I’d love to hear from you.
Ben Jenkins - 19th September 2022
CEO & Founder Housing Sector Ltd.