Agenda item

The Director of Housing submits a report to the Commission which sets out the progress on delivery of the Housing Crisis actions.

The Chair suggested an agenda variance.  The Update on the Housing Crisis Declaration and Refresh would be taken before the report on Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing; Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF).

The Director of Housing submitted a report to the Commission which set out the progress on delivery of the Housing Crisis actions.

Key points included:

·       In 2022, the Council declared a housing crisis. As part of this work Officers were keen to learn how the crisis manifested in Leicester and what issues the Council needed to lobby the government on. At the time, there was a recognition amongst Officers and the Executive member that no actions available to Council would solve the deep routed and underlying issues of the Housing Crisis.

·       The aim of the refresh was to provide an update on the progress made by the Council, the current national situation and refresh the priorities for the Council and Central Government. The Director of Housing emphasised that the Council met 15 of the 16 actions raised in 2022, while Central Government had completed 10 out of the 16 actions.

·       On affordable homes delivery the Council had delivered a pipeline for the creation of 1500 homes between 2023 and 2027, invested £400 Million into affordable homes across the city and delivered 1,100 affordable homes with partners between 2019 and 2023. The Council took major action on temporary accommodation with the approval and creation of 225 units and the lease of 125 properties at the cost of £45 Million, and a further £50 Million was later allocated for the creation of another 250 units. The Director of Housing highlighted that this work had saved the Council £29 Million this year and would save the Council £36 Million in the following year.

·       A large amount of work was carried out in the private rented sector. A live Private Rental Sector Strategy (PRSS) was implemented along with selective licensing in designated parts of the city and an improved offer for private landlords to encourage access to private rented properties. Along side this the Council had developed stronger working links and offers to PRS landlords This had led to progress, with a noted increase from 100 private lets in 2023 to 750 in 2026.

·       Despite the hard work of the service, homelessness remained a key challenge for the Council. Between April 2025 and March 2026 over 1000 individuals were counted as rough sleeping and Leicester consistently recorded higher levels of long tern rough sleeping compared to the regional and national averages.

·       It was highlighted that there were currently 700 families and 400 individuals in temporary accommodation. The annual revenue cost of which had risen from £5 Million to £24 Million. There were 6,300 households on the housing register waiting list, 82% of those households were either homelessness or in overcrowded conditions and the supply and demand gap was stark. It was highlighted that last year over 2000 households were waiting for 2 bedroom properties and only 320 Council properties were let which equated to 15% of demand met. The waiting time for a 2 bed property in Leicester had more than doubled from 8 months to 18 months which clearly demonstrated the pressures. The private rental sector was unable to support with these pressures; it was noted that only 3% of the private rental housing was affordable for people who were on universal credit or low income.   

·       The core conclusion was clear, demand was rising faster than supply, affordability and delivery speed. The Director stressed that the only long term solution was a substantial and sustained increase in homes and that was why the new declaration proposed several aims to help achieve this.

In discussions with Members, the following was noted:

·       The topic of fixed term housing tenancies was discussed, and members were keen to learn more about what this would entail. The Director of Housing explained fixed term tenancies was introduced as a legal option several years ago, and it was explored by the Council. The Council was aware that several of its properties were overcrowded while others were under utilised with spare bedrooms and space. The Council attempted to address some of these issues with mutual exchange schemes, but this was only a fraction of the number. Fixed term housing tenancies would allow better allocation of housing stock, but it would first have to go through political consideration.

·       There was discussion around the current housing allocations policy and the priority bands used for people waiting on the housing register. It was stated that a review of the housing allocation policy was needed due to the scale and pressures that the service was experiencing. The current banding system was detailed by the lead Officers and the Deputy Mayor, and it was highlighted how Band 1 which was the top priority band had drastically expanded in recent years. Band 1 now contained a range of people from the homeless to tenants in overcrowded accommodation and in some cases, people had multiple issues which was not factored into the banding system. It was noted that changes are required to address these challenges. A re-evaluation of need was required, and proposals were to be brought to scrutiny for debate before changes were implemented.

·       Members raised the topic of ‘Right to Buy’ and were interested to learn about the numbers sold and the money the Council received from the purchases. It was detailed that the Council sold between 200 and 400 properties a year, it was noted that once it was announced that the law was changing, there was a surge in applications. The Director of Housing stated that all money from the purchases was channelled back into creating new houses however this was not enough for the demand which was why the Council applied for the Homes England funding.

·       The Chair commented on the increased waiting time for accommodation which had gone from 8 months for Band 1 in 2022, to its current waiting time of 18 months. The Chair wished for further clarification on the future of wait times and what changes the Officers expected to see moving forward. The Director of Housing clarified that the figure quoted was for 2 bed accommodations and that the figure for 3 and 4 beds was higher. While the Housing Department was doing all it could to create more housing and reduce the numbers on the register, there was still the underlying issue that Leicester was a confined city with limited land to build new houses. Over the next 10 years, the Council needed to create 36,000 units to meet demand but there was only enough land for just under 20,000. 

The Chair moved that the report be endorsed.  This was seconded by Councillor Agath and upon being put to the vote the motion was CARRIED.

AGREED:

1)    That the Commission endorse the report.