Clarion Housing manager caught ordering staff to fake fire notice

Clarion Housing manager caught ordering staff to fake fire notice

When Clarion Housing, the UK’s largest housing association with more than 125,000 homes, learned that a senior manager had instructed staff to fabricate a fire safety notice, the revelation set off a fire‑storm of concern across the social‑housing sector.

The leaked audio, recorded in 2022, captured the manager—overseeing roughly 40 blocks in North London—telling an employee, “Don’t tell anyone I told you this,” before describing how to "just put it up on a plain bit of wall … take a picture." The conversation, obtained by Sky News, showed a blatant effort to skirt mandatory person‑centred fire‑risk assessments (PCFRA) required after the 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Background: Post‑Grenfell fire safety regime

Grenfell Tower’s inferno in June 2017, which claimed 72 lives, sparked a cascade of reforms. The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced a "golden thread" of safety data, demanding that high‑rise landlords keep up‑to‑date fire‑risk assessments and store them in a secure information box on the ground floor.

For vulnerable tenants—those with disabilities or limited mobility—housing providers must produce Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) and ensure that fire‑risk notices are visibly displayed. Failure to do so can mean emergency crews lack critical information, a scenario that experts say could lead to "death or serious injury" in a real incident.

What the leaked recording revealed

The audio began with the manager asking, “No one can listen to our calls?” and then proceeded to lay out a step‑by‑step cheat sheet. The staff member was told to attach a blank notice to a wall, photograph it, and log it as completed. The manager boasted, “I’m trying to help you hit your targets… My team is always on point, we always meet our targets.”

These instructions directly contravene the PCFRA requirements, which obligate landlords to document each resident’s specific evacuation needs. By falsifying the notice, the association would create a paper trail that suggested compliance while leaving vulnerable occupants unprotected.

When the recording surfaced, a former employee had already emailed Clarion’s HR in September 2023 raising concerns, but without the tape the allegation lingered in a paperwork void.

Clarion Housing’s response and timeline

Clarion’s HR team logged the September 2023 email but, as the association later admitted, “no supporting evidence was provided despite our request.” It wasn’t until September 2024, when the tape was finally forwarded to senior management, that an internal investigation was launched.

The investigation, concluded in summer 2025, resulted in the dismissal of the manager involved. In a statement to Sky News, Clarion said, “We immediately launched a full investigation… which led to the dismissal of a staff member. Our investigation included interviews of all relevant team members to ensure this was an isolated incident.”

Clarion also announced a comprehensive internal review of fire‑safety procedures across all its properties, pledging that “building safety remains our top priority across all Clarion homes.”

Industry reaction and expert warnings

Edward Daffarn, a Grenfell survivor, warned that the case “shows complacency around fire safety remains a widespread problem that still prevails across parts of the housing sector.” Edward Daffarn has been vocal about the need for rigorous oversight.

A chartered surveyor specializing in fire safety, who spoke on condition of anonymity, warned, “Inaccurate or incomplete information in these assessments could severely compromise emergency response efforts. It will be industry‑wide. Yes. Money.”

Other housing providers have expressed concern that the incident could signal a broader culture of shortcuts, especially as the competence and conduct framework for social housing is not slated for full implementation until 2027‑2028.

Regulatory and legal implications

The Building Safety Regulator, empowered by the 2022 Act, is now prioritising inspections of buildings over 18 metres or seven storeys high. Under the new regime, landlords must maintain the "golden thread" of data and demonstrate compliance with PCFRA requirements.

Advocacy groups are urging the Regulator of Social Housing to tighten enforcement and reassess providers’ safety records in light of the Clarion scandal. They argue that delayed action not only breaches statutory duties but also erodes public trust.

Legal experts note that falsifying fire‑safety documentation could expose landlords to civil claims from tenants and potentially criminal prosecution under health‑and‑safety legislation.

What’s next for Clarion and the sector

Clarion has hired an external fire‑safety consultancy to audit all PCFRA records and conduct spot‑checks across its portfolio. The association says the audit will be completed by early 2026.

Meanwhile, the Housing Ombudsman is expected to receive a surge of complaints from tenants demanding proof of compliance. If the regulator escalates inspections, we could see a wave of enforcement notices hitting other large social‑housing groups.

For tenants, the key takeaway is to request to see the contents of the secure information box in their building and verify that their personal evacuation plan is up to date.