The letter to Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, comes after tenants raised significant issues about the performance of the Loughborough Estate Management Board (LEMB).
The concerns over the tenant management organisation prompted a detailed audit review that identified failings by LEMB in its financial management, governance and procurement.
The review highlighted substantial spending on foreign travel and gifts by the Tenant Management Organisation without adequate justification. In response, Lambeth has referred LEMB to the Financial Conduct Authority regarding the potential misuse of funds involved.
Cllr Danny Adilypour, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, Investment and New Homes, said the LEMB case had highlighted “gaps” in councils’ powers to act on behalf of tenants whose TMOs were underperforming. In his letter to Mr Reed, Cllr Adilypour said:
“The detrimental operations of some TMOs have led to serious negative impacts for tenants and the current legal framework binds the hands of local authorities to take decisive action against poorly operating TMOs.
“Whilst a number of TMOs deliver good services, Lambeth’s experience is that this is not always the case. Many of these issues are illustrated by the significant and ongoing failures by one TMO in the borough, Loughborough Estate Management Board (“LEMB”).”
The council has already taken action after LEMB sent a letter to residents containing unsubstantiated allegations and attempted to hold its Annual General Meeting online, contrary to its own governing rules. Lambeth has intervened to ensure residents can participate fully and safely, even offering the use of council offices and appropriate security measures.
In his letter to Mr Reed, Cllr Adilypour argues that, despite these steps, the council’s ability to act has been “heavily constrained by current TMO legislation”. He said the terms of the Modular Management Agreement (“MMA”) for TMOs – published by the government in 2013 – were now out of date “and do not take into account the raft of safety-related legislation in the last decade”.
Cllr Adilypour added:
“There are significant changes that need to be made to the MMA to ensure that residents can be confident that their housing management is fit for purpose and so that they are not left to suffer in the same way as residents living on the estate managed by LEMB.“
Cllr Adilypour said these changes would help councils to tackle “the significant challenges caused to residents by unfit TMOs” – and would also “help improve the experiences and accountability for residents in Lambeth and across the country.”
Lambeth officers will now work with officials at the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government to provide further detail on the legislative and regulatory changes required.
Letter to Secretary of State regarding TMO reform
