A survey of 111 organisations across the UK carried out by Inside Housing has found that fire safety is the biggest concern facing social landlords in the next 12 months.

Since the Fire Safety Bill was revised the sector has undergone several changes, but landlords now fear that more needs to be done, and the cost of that could leave them with a financial burden.

Of the 111 who took part in the survey, 82% said that fire safety remedial work is one of their top three priorities in the coming year, and just over half said it is the biggest issue in the coming year.

Of course, this will have a significant effect financially on social landlords, with 86% expecting it to cause some impact on them in the next 12 months.

“Government needs to support social landlords”

There is also some criticism for the Government, with 63% of those surveyed saying that not enough financial support is being given to them, especially in an economy struggling because of Covid-19.

As part of the survey, Inside Housing also interviewed Tony O’Neill, director of asset management at Sanctuary Group, who said: “Fire safety costs are going to have a significant impact, particularly with the guidance that’s coming out.

“Bearing in mind that we wouldn’t have allowed for this two to three years ago in terms of reinvestment or strategy going forward. In fact, I personally think it’s going to put quite a lot of housing associations under.”

With the ongoing Grenfell inquiry nearing a conclusion, it is expected that even more changes will be brought on to housing landlords, and it could cause further problems for both tenant and landlord.