Part 4: The Tenant Management Organisation

Chapter 30: Introduction to Part 4

¶30.1 The Tenant Management Organisation occupies a central position in the matters we have investigated. As the body appointed by RBKC to manage the whole of its housing stock it was responsible for all aspects of the management of Grenfell Tower in the years leading up to the fire, including responsibility for repairs and maintenance and, most importantly, matters affecting fire safety. Although RBKC provided the funds for the refurbishment, the TMO was responsible for organising and managing it and was the client under the design and build contract with the principal contractor, Rydon. In carrying out its operations it was allowed a large measure of autonomy under the overall supervision of the council.

¶30.2 In order to provide a context for what follows, we begin this Part of our report by describing the history and structure of the TMO and the agreement with RBKC under which it managed the council's residential properties. We also describe its internal organisation and processes and their effectiveness. At the same time, we identify those responsible for some important aspects of its operations.

¶30.3 The arrangements made by RBKC for supervising the TMO's operations were of considerable importance, both as to their structure and their implementation, so we have described them and expressed our conclusions on their effectiveness.

¶30.4 Managing a large housing stock inevitably gives rise to a considerable amount of interaction between managers and tenants and it is difficult to avoid a certain amount of friction from time to time. However, it was accepted by all concerned that for some years before the fire many tenants, including some of those who lived in Grenfell Tower, had expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the way in which they were treated by the TMO and that relationships had deteriorated to the point at which they could be described as hostile.

¶30.5 We describe the history of the relationship between the residents of the Lancaster West Estate (of which Grenfell Tower formed part) and the TMO in the years leading up to the fire, including the various local residents' associations that were formed in an effort to pursue their members' interests, because it is an important part of the context in which the refurbishment of the tower took place.