Agenda item

The Director of Housing submits a presentation to the Housing Scrutiny Commission for noting which provides headline data for the Housing Register.

The Director of Housing submitted a presentation to the Housing Scrutiny Commission for noting, which provided headline data for the Housing Register.

Caroline Carpendale, Head of Service, delivered the presentation, and drew Members’ attention to the following points:

·         Information on the Housing Register was brought to the Commission twice a year.

·         Tenants wanted as much information as possible on lettings and waiting times, and a snapshot would be sent up front to show how long people would have to wait. Different areas of the city had different waiting times.

·         Customer information on bands and average waiting times were also given to Home Choice.

·         Under the break down of Bands, 1-bedroom stock highest number of lets went to those in temporary accommodation.

·         Persons on Band 3 had little chance of receiving an offer of a house.

·         There were different levels of overcrowding on the Bands.

·         Housing Register information included in the presentation would be useful for Councillors when talking to constituents.

·         Targeted work for those in close proximity to each other would continue to promote swaps. Targeted support also helped the council with its mobility of stock.

The Chair said the Council needed to be more proactive where children were concerned as a priority. He added that successive governments had failed to build and now there was a housing crisis, and all local authorities could do was manage their statutory obligations. He welcomed the proactiveness of the Housing Department.

In response the Members’ questions the following information was given:

·         People leaving the armed forces and veterans were placed on Band 2, or Band 1 if there was a medical need – the composite need was considered on each individual application. Members thanked officers for embedding the Armed Forces Covenant in the department.

·         A lot of under occupying tenants fell into the older persons category, who had been in the property for many years. The Department did offer assistance and incentive to move and tried to help tenants as much as possible with a move.

·         If accommodation in the private sector was not habitable, the property would be inspected. It could mean the council serving notice on the landlord to carry out statutory repairs, and the tenant might need to move out. If the property was unfit or condemned that would mean the tenant would be classed as homeless. For Registered Social Landlords, they would be contacted in the first instance, but inspections would also be carried out where necessary. Tenants living in RSL property should not be denied an inspection if requested.

·         Leicester was a national dispersal area for asylum seekers who were housed in the city by the home office while they waited for a positive decision to stay in the country. Cases were dealt with by housing options for move on after 28 days from where they are staying and were given the same priority as any other homeless family.

The Chair said there had been issues with housing associations across the city over the years, and that he received a large amount of complaints and had to fight as a councillor to even get a response from the housing association when contacted. He suggested social housing should be provided by one provider and put forward a recommendation to look into the issue as an authority.

The Chair thanked the officer for the presentation and information.

It was AGREED that:

1.    The presentation and following information be noted;

2.    The Commission put forward the recommendation to look at issues faced by tenants in Housing Association properties in the city.