Tenants threatened by social housing providers

Social housing providers in the city are threatening tenants they will have to pay for any damage deemed to have been caused by their failure to heat their homes this winter.

According to Sinead Quinn from ‘Derry Against Fuel Poverty’ such damage might include burst pipes and water damage or mould growing in homes. 

Speaking to Derry Now, Sinead said she first learned about the situation during a conversation about the current ‘cost of living’ emergency and the fact people could not afford to heat their homes.

Sinead said: “The woman I was chatting to did not divulge the name of the social housing provider concerned, however, she told me it was advising tenants, should any issues, such as mould growth or burst pipes, occur due to the lack of heat in their homes, tenants would be held responsible and would have to pay for any repairs themselves. 

“This is something I would be really worried about because obviously, through their leases, tenants are responsible for maintaining their homes and, by extension, heating their homes to ensure they do everything possible to prevent these things from happening. 

“However, let’s face it, they keep telling us we are in an unprecedented crisis and many, many people right now just can’t afford to heat their homes

“I think it is notable that social housing providers have not offered any support to their tenants. They have not contacted vulnerable tenants to see if there is anything that they need. 

“For example, one of the very easy things they could do is to visit homes and make sure the settings on boilers are as efficient as possible for tenants who might not be able to do this for themselves, rather than maybe threatening the nuclear option, which is what that felt like to the women to whom I was chatting,” said Sinead.

Sinead said she had also been contacted by another woman who could not use her central heating because she could not afford it.

“She was using her immersion heater to heat water,” said Sinead, “but unfortunately, it broke. She notified the social housing provider and asked for it to be repaired. 

“Four weeks later, through no fault of her own, she is still waiting for that repair to be completed. She has been forced to boil kettles to wash her dishes and to wash herself. 

“Her social housing provider has a responsibility for repairs and when she contacted them again she was told she had central heating to provide hot water. When she said she could not afford to use the central heating, she was told, ‘Well that’s what it’s there for’ and the immersion heater was only a secondary mechanism to heat water.

“I think the people working within social housing organisations must be acutely aware at this point how many of their tenants can ill afford to turn on heat this year. It is basically endemic within households with low incomes. Instead, the social housing providers are ignoring the ‘cost of living’ emergency and blaming their tenants instead. It is really not good enough,” said Sinead.

Sinead said local politicians were not dealing with the issue at all.

She added: “Our politicians, I have to be honest and say, are just not on this at all.

“I do not know if it is because they are not actually experiencing it but they are not mentioning the issues identified by Derry Against Fuel Poverty’, issues which need to be sorted out as a matter of urgency.

“The lack of a Stormont Executive does not mean that the social housing providers can’t come to an agreement with the local politicians. It is a statutory agency which is fully up and running and can take direction. 

“It is a bit much to be honest and it comes at a time when we have seen a young boy [Awaab Ishak] die because of mould in his home.

“‘Derry Against Fuel Poverty’ helped a young woman in the city recently who was living in temporary accommodation which was riddled with mould, through no fault of her own. Mould is also endemic in social housing but it is not just the damp, mouldy properties, it is the shameful issue of  victim blaming. 

“Blaming the tenant for the situation for which they have no responsibility,” said Sinead.

The community activist said condensation and small patches of mould was one thing.

She added: “However, when you are looking at four walls that are black and have spores growing on them, that’s not a condensation problem, even I know that.

“And to have housing officers going out and looking at it and telling tenants they should not be drying clothes in the house, is unacceptable. Where else are tenants going to dry clothes? This is Derry. 

“If social housing providers are building homes which are not fit for purpose then they need to change the design.

“At the minute, I am really, really struggling with the amount of blame that is being heaped on people on low incomes right now.”