Speaker of Hackney Michael Desmond’s homelessness charity faces commission probe

Speaker of Hackney Michael Desmond

Speaker of Hackney Councillor Michael Desmond today said he suspected ‘nimbyism’ might lie behind allegations of a potential conflict of interest relating to a charity he founded.

The Charity Commission says it is examining “a number of issues” relating to House the Homeless, a charity founded by Labour’s Cllr Desmond.

Homeless clients of the charity searching for a place to live were allegedly referred by House the Homeless to On The House, Cllr Desmond’s estate agents company.

Cllr Desmond’s company could in theory have profited from such referrals if it charged clients fees for finding a home – but Cllr Desmond today strenuously denied any such fees were levied.

He said: “We do not charge fees to House the Homeless tenants. No tenant referred through House the Homeless has ever been charged.”

He added: “I set the charity up because I wanted to help homeless people. The only problem with it is that it is underfunded and it needs to do much more.”

House the Homeless is based in Norwood next to the office of On The House and operates mostly in south London. Its stated raison d’être is to act in keeping with its name and house the homeless.

A description on the ‘How It Works’ section of the charity’s website states: “Tenants are referred to us by various organisations, including social services, HM Prisons and Local Authority Homeless Persons Units… We make rental assessments by consulting Local Housing Allowance for the postcode in which an allocated property is situated and then calculate the tenant’s entitlement. We can then match prospective tenants to property providers.

“Landlords are subject to relevant housing law and have to maintain their properties to a reasonable standard, ensuring that gas safety tests are carried out annually and providing an energy performance certificate.”

‘Nimby’ claim

Cllr Desmond suggested the ‘nimbyism’ of some residents who he said did not want formerly homeless tenants moving in alongside them might have been the cause of a complaint the Charity Commission says it has received.

He added: “We haven’t had a letter of complaint, and when I spoke to the Charity Commission the person I spoke to said they knew nothing about it. The only complaints we’ve ever got are from local people – and it’s only been a small number – saying it is lowering the tone of the area.”

He accused those with an interest in the story of “taking the side of nimbies.”

‘Regulatory interest’

A spokesperson for The Charity Commission said: “I can confirm that we have taken a regulatory interest in an unregistered charity, House the Homeless and have opened a case to assess a number issues raised in a recent complaint about the charity, alleging unmanaged conflicts of interest.

“We have begun gathering further information in relation to the allegations and will need to review this before determining what our next steps may be.”

Cllr Desmond was last year elected by members of the Hackney Labour Party to hold the post of Speaker of Hackney for one year.

This ceremonial post involves keeping order at full council meetings and attending civic functions.