Housing Solicitors

It has been revealed that the council in charge of Grenfell Tower gained almost £60 million from allowing developers to avoid building affordable housing. Despite high demand for housing to accommodate low income families, developers can pay a fee to the council instead of building affordable homes if they demonstrate that building affordable units would make their plans unviable.

A section 106 Agreement is a legal agreement between local authorities and developers concerning the impact of development on local areas. Since 2011, the council has reportedly gained payments worth £59.7 million in Section 106 agreements, with £36.7 million of that remaining unspent. It seems that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) have not re-invested the payments from developers into trying to meet the official target of 200 units per year, despite the need for affordable housing in the area being acute. The official target for building affordable flats or houses is 200 each year between 2011 and 2021, but the council’s figures reveal that only 336 units have been built since 2011-2012, with only 4 completed in 2012-2013.

Robert Atkinson, who is head of the Labour group at Kensington and Chelsea, expressed his shock and disappointment at the shortage of affordable houses being built despite the amount of money the council was receiving. He said: “One of the beauties of living in London is you have a balanced population…Our first loyalty should be to maintaining and strengthening our communities, and we have fallen down on that job terribly.”

Since the fire, cost-cutting has emerged as a key theme in the recent refurbishment of the tower, with a recent email revealing that £293,368 was cut from the cladding budget. Some fire safety experts have asserted that had a more expensive and non-combustible material been used for the cladding, the spread of the fire could have been limited.

Manjinder Kaur Atwal of Duncan Lewis Solicitor’s Housing Department comments:

“The news of affordable housing developments being avoided in RBCK is extremely disappointing amidst London’s intense housing crisis. The shortage of affordable housing in London is a critical issue, because wages are not rising to keep up with increasing costs of rent and the benefit cap means that several families no longer receive the housing benefit needed to keep their homes.

Reports have suggested that there were between 400 and 600 people living in Grenfell Tower when the fire broke out on 14 June, and unfortunately a number of residents who were made homeless by the fire have still not been offered suitable housing within the borough. In response to this, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for unoccupied homes in Kensington to be used to house the victims of the fire. At Duncan Lewis, we are currently advising and assisting residents of Grenfell Tower in their homelessness matter.”

Manjinder is a Director in the Housing Department at Duncan Lewis’ Harrow office and has been working closely with people who were affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact our team of expert housing solicitors on 0333 772 0409.

Duncan Lewis would like to express their most sincere sympathies to all those who have been affected by the Grenfell Tower fire. As an organisation we have raised funds and also made a significant donation in the form of clothes and other necessities to the victims and their families. In light of the current issues, it is imperative that residents know their rights, and Duncan Lewis Solicitors can offer advice on all housing matters, and can assist with inquest, judicial review and other related legal matters.

Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors

Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors can guide clients in any matter or issues arising with local housing authorities, housing applications, tenants, landlords, ownership and repairs. With a niche expertise in Possession and Unlawful Eviction cases the Department holds a significant presence in County Court Possession Duty Schemes throughout London including the Central London County Court. The Housing Department also offers representation in all proceedings including reviews, appeals and judicial review proceedings relating to homelessness, disrepair, succession for tenants and neighbourhood disputes against local authorities.

If you have any housing related queries or require representation please do not hesitate to contact our team of expert solicitors on 0333 772 0409.