Wiltshire Council motioned recently to demand better living conditions for residents of both Aster and GreenSquareAccord (GSA) Housing Associations.
The motion comes following a number of claims for housing disrepair and reports from tenants of poor maintenance, as well as some tenants being forced from their homes due to them being put up for sale.
GSA is one of the biggest Housing Associations in the country, with over 26,000 homes under its stewardship. In February this year GSA had its credit rating downgraded by Moody’s, who stated that their “very tight covenant headroom” created a “governance risk” for creditors.
This may in some way be explained by GSA and Aster’s reasoning that sales can help with both reinvestment and current property improvements.
Ongoing Problems for GSA Tenants
Cabinet member for planning, and co-author of the motion Nick Botterill, accused GSA of “playing with people’s lives” branding their behavior as “appalling and unprofessional”.
Lisa Farrell, Councillor for Marlborough Town Council stated that “They use bully tactics, which I find very upsetting, on our very vulnerable elderly people.”
“We’ve all seen this – where residents have got water, literally permanently, running down their walls, who have been waiting years to have some sort of work done that might address the issue” said Ian Thorn, Liberal Democrat leader for Wiltshire Council. He continued “I’ve seen residents in GreenSquareAccord properties that, bluntly, you wouldn’t keep animals in.”
The Housing Ombudsman Service launched a special investigation into GSA in September 2023, having made six findings of ‘severe maladministration’ in cases relating to repairs, noise and pests. One issue relating to a rat infestation took 8 months for GSA to respond, only for the works to remain outstanding for 31 months following the initial report from the tenant.
‘High Standards is our Top Priority’
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a GSA spokesperson remarked: “Investing in our existing homes to make sure they are of a high standard for our customers is a top priority for us.
“In 2023/24 we invested £71.2m on repairs and improvements. We have a legal and ethical responsibility to make sure our homes are… energy efficient and as cheap to run as possible.
“To achieve this we must make sensible, sustainable decisions about our investments.
“In some instances, the cost of investing to bring a property up to the required standards cannot be justified and, in those cases, the responsible decision is to sell that property.
“When this happens we provide tailored support and compensation for impacted customers and help them to move on to suitable alternative accommodation.”
A statement from the Aster Group advised: “In a very small number of cases, we will sometimes sell a property that is unsustainable.
“This enables us to reinvest money from the sale into building more modern, energy efficient, affordable homes that better meet our customers’ needs.
“We support any customer affected by this throughout the entire process, providing them with suitable alternative accommodation and assistance with moving to their new home.”
Wiltshire council unanimously approved the motion on 24th July against both 32,000 + home Aster Group and GreenSquareAccord.