FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

We are replacing five homes in Farm Close and one in Stratford Close.

The replacement homes will be assured social rent; the same tenure as before the fire.

The rent for these homes has not yet been set. Closer to completion of the homes, rent will be set in line with our legal obligations as determined by the fair rent office and social rents in the area.

The replacement homes will be offered to families on the local authority housing waiting list. We’re tied to a nominations agreement with the Local Authority where 100% of our void properties, including new builds, are let to people registered for housing with them. 

Occasionally we’re able to negotiate an agreement with the Local Authority to let these homes to residents on our Priority Moves list. If we’re able to do that for these homes, we’ll contact eligible residents individually. 

Southern Housing residents who lost their homes to the fire were permanently rehoused in suitable alternative accommodation. As those original tenancies were considered lost, following legal advice, affected residents were offered new assured tenancy agreements on the same terms and conditions. This was communicated to the affected residents at the time.

Building materials and contents of homes were removed as part of the demolition project and the area is now a building site. Where it was safe to do so, residents were given the opportunity to collect personal effects before the demolition. 

We recognise that in some instances residents were unable to recover all their personal belongings. We took a risk based view and followed advice from structural experts to minimise risk to residents. If you lost any personal effects, these should be claimed for by contacting your home and contents insurance provider.  

The area is now a secure building site. We’re not able to facilitate access without appropriate legal reasoning.

The new homes will be built to modern standards as permanent structures and therefore will not be of pre-fabrication type construction.

We have planning permission to replace the homes, subject to further submission of plans and designs. Our intention is to replace them with homes built to modern standards but in keeping with the other homes on the estate.

We expect work to begin on the Farm Close houses in early 2025. 

Work has already started on 9 Stratford Close

Works on the Farm Close houses are currently expected to complete by early 2026. 

We’ll update this website with a timeline once we’ve appointed a contractor and have more information about the construction programme.

We expect the rebuilding of 9 Stratford Close (which has already begun) to be complete in early 2025.

We will be working with a nominated contractor to build the new homes, following a fair and transparent tendering and approval process.

If you have any questions about the construction, you can contact the project team directly by email at farm.close@southernhousing.org.uk or via our Service Centre on 0300 303 1773.

Once we appoint a contractor and they begin work on site, we’ll publish the contact details for the Site Manager by letter and on this website. 

BISF is an acronym for ‘British Iron and Steel Federation’. BISF homes are built around a steel frame with a lightweight metal roof and no brick work. The external walls were made of prefabricated concrete panels as a solution to the housing shortage after the second world war because they were quick to build. These types of houses are also known as ‘prefabs’.

We’ve been working with specialist contractors and architects to understand the structural elements and make-up of our BISF homes. This will help us understand which energy efficiency measures might be suitable. 

Due to the complex build of BISF homes, additional investigations are required before considering retrofitting energy efficiency measures. For example, structural surveys to check whether the steel structure can take the additional weight of wall insulation or if the lightweight roofing system can support solar panels. 

Some BISF properties have very narrow cavities between the external and internal surfaces of the wall making it difficult to remove old insulation. This needs to be removed before new insulation is installed, to avoid cold bridging. 

This term is used to describe a gap between insulation, for example where floor and wall junctions or wall and roof junctions don’t meet properly. This can cause condensation to build up in these areas, leading to damp and mould.

We’re seeking reassurance from specialist contractors and architects that the steel frames can withstand the weight of insulation measures. We’ll consider what options are available once we have this information.

There are several ways you can reduce energy consumption in your home. You can find out more by visiting our website: Saving energy at home (southernhousing.org.uk). 

We also offer an energy advice service which is bespoke for each person and their home. This service is free for our residents and you can make a request here: Energy-saving advice (southernhousing.org.uk)

As with any home improvements, you need to make a formal request to us before carrying out this work. The build type of BISF homes makes this type of work more complicated. Adjoining homes are structurally interconnected, often to homes that Southern Housing do not own. Any work that overloads the steel frames could cause damage to an adjoining home as well as yours. For these reasons, you’d need to arrange a full structural survey and architect designs, and this is likely to be costly.

Once we have more information about the retrofit energy efficiency measures that are appropriate for this type of home, we’ll be in a better position to consider window replacements. Due to the structure of the homes, windows cannot be replaced without considering the additional load on the walls.

To report a repair, you can contact us on 0300 303 1773, email smsnewrepairs@shgroup.org.uk or use our Southern Housing app

Our future investment works are informed by the data from our home condition survey programme. Around 65% of our homes within the Rookery Farm estate have been surveyed in the past five years, which has resulted in a £1.5m investment into new kitchens and bathrooms across the estate.  

To get in touch about our home condition survey programme, please contact homeconditionsurveyteam@southernhousing.org.uk