Fire came several weeks after NG Homes condemned the spreading of false claims about who was going to be living in the flats
A man has been charged in connection with a fire at flats owned by a housing association in Glasgow.
The empty tenement building in Possilpark owned by NG Homes was ablaze on 6 September.
The fire followed the housing association saying there had been untrue speculation that the flats would be used to house people ”who are in the UK illegally”.
Police have confirmed a 48-year-old man who has not been named by the police, is due to appear in court today (Monday) on charges relating to a ‘wilful fire’.
On 3 August, NG Homes issued a statement condemning the misinformation circulating locally before the fire occurred. After the incident, it reiterated that the Stonyhurst Street homes, which are undergoing refurbishment, would be allocated in line with its allocations policy from its existing housing list.
The 5,400-home landlord said: “We are aware that disinformation has circulated regarding the future use of the homes and would once again stress that these claims are false.
“As a registered social landlord, we do not allocate housing to people who are not legally eligible for it, and all applications are assessed in accordance with the relevant legal requirements.”
It added that the extent of the damage is still being assessed and it is too early to confirm the impact on project timescales.
The fire comes against a backdrop of increasing political and social unrest fuelled by disinformation about social housing allocations.
In a statement published in the summer the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) said “inaccurate and divisive claims” about social housing allocations risk creating community tensions and putting staff in unsafe situations.
Last summer, Welsh landlord Trivallis responded to “false and misleading information online” about its housing projects after Facebook posts alleged that properties being developed for social housing would be used to house “illegal immigrants” rather than people from the local area.
The 10,000-home housing association made clear that 19 out of every 20 homes allocated goes to people with “strong local ties”.
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