Agenda item

The Council is the strategic housing authority for the district;  the Allocation Policy provides the Council with the framework to manage the allocation of social housing within the District and allows it to meet its legal duties in relation to its housing function.   This report seeks Committee scrutiny and comment on a revised Allocations Policy prior to submission for Cabinet consideration. 

The Director of Housing and Property presented the report that outlined the Draft Housing Allocation Policy. The policy was a priority in terms of the Council’s homelessness and housing option functions.

The existing policy was adopted in 2019, however, was not up to date in terms of legislation around domestic abuse and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. The existing policy was difficult to follow and in some cases contradictory around property bedroom eligibility.

The delivery mechanism of the existing policy was based on matching applicants from the housing register to void properties.

Workshops had taken place for Members to go through some issues and discuss case studies. Feedback had been captured from the workshops and the Council had consulted with registered social landlords and other stakeholders. 

The newly refreshed and revised allocation policy had been made easier to follow, by reducing the number of bands to 4 for housing needs. The property eligibility had been refined. There had been a proposal to eventually utilise a choice-based letting system, where a vacant property is advertised, and applicants could bid for the property.

Concern was raised over the choice-based letting system and that some residents may struggle to access the system using technology. A query was raised on how the Council would keep in contact with residents that may not be familiar with technology.

Members sought clarity that the choice-based letting system would not increase void times and void rent loss. Officers confirmed this was not the case.

One Member welcomed the two-way communication improvement outlined within the report as communication in the past had been less than satisfactory.

The Chairman requested further information on the allocation policy timeline of implementation.

The Assistant Director of Housing confirmed that upon adoption of the new allocations policy, the choice-based letting system would then follow a procurement process. If the procurement process was completed by August/September 2022, the system would be live by the end of 2022.

The current system utilised impacted voids as there were a higher number of refusals due to the Council making the choice of a new tenant from the housing register rather than the incoming tenant chosing the property.

In terms of a new choice-based letting system, different suppliers were being explored on the market as part of a procurement exercise. The implementation of the new system would run alongside the current implementation of the Council’s housing management system.

One Member highlighted that the 90-day timeframe for voids between vacation of a property and new occupancy. A query was raised on whether the time of changing heat sources in the houses could be decreased in order to get the houses back on the market.

The Assistant Director of Housing reminded Members that a comprehensive Voids Policy was brought to the Committee at the previous meeting. Void performance in 2021 was just over 83 days, at present the void performance was at 59.02 days for the financial year.

One Member queried as to whether there was a notice period provided by an occupant prior to vacating the property.

A four week notice period was confirmed by the Assistant Director of Housing.

The Chairman welcomed the provision of bungalows and the allocation of these being based on housing need.

It was emphasised that residents could contact the Housing Options team if they were unable to access choice-based letting system by using technology, the system would bid on the applicant’s behalf to meet their registered criteria.

The Director of Housing and Property noted that the properties on the choice-based letting system were advertised and applicants could review all available properties across the district, rather than Officer’s being responsible for connections from matching lists.

One Member was pleased to see armed forces personnel priority included within the policy.

It was suggested that the policy be revisited, and the possibility was queried as to whether Members could retrospectively amend certain aspects of the policy.

The Director of Housing and Property confirmed that an update could be included on the Work programme for 6 months’ post implementation, and a regular annual report in terms of the previous financial year to see comparison with the demographic of the district and, for example, what allocations had been completed through the armed forces route.

It was confirmed that minor amendments would be delegated to the Director of Housing and Property in consultation with the portfolio holder in response to legislation or changes in certain regulations.

The Chairman noted that Member workshops could be utilised to raise concerns and answer any further questions relating to housing.

All Member briefings were available in terms of the housing service and progress. A Member working party had also been created for a cross-party representation of the whole district, where immediate feedback, suggestions, comments, service failures and complaints were discussed.

Service improvement officers also monitored a housing enquiry email service as the central point of contact to support members with their enquiries from constituents.

A query was raised on whether the Council could work in partnership the private rented sector.

The Director of Housing and Property confirmed that the Council does work with the private rented sector. It was confirmed that the private rented sector do not often approach the Council due to a reluctance in terms of their perception of residents on the Council’s housing register as tenants.

It was suggested that the relationship and connections between the Council and private rented sector be promoted.

It was confirmed that the traditional route for a private rented sector landlord would be to engage with a letting agent, who would source their own potential tenants.

Members thanked the report author for the in-depth report.

ACTION: For an update report to come back to the Committee in 6 months’ time.

It was proposed, seconded and AGREED that the Committee:

1. Notes the content of the report, the proposed Allocations Policy, consultation responses and Equality Impact Assessment;

2. Provides comment and feedback on the Allocations Policy and Choice Based Lettings proposal; and

3. Supports submission of the Allocation Policy for Cabinet’s consideration and approval.