The Cabinet Member for Housing and Head of Resident Services have been invited to attend.

The Chairman welcomed the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Head of Resident Services to the meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Housing referred to the objectives of the Housing Services Performance Review and advised that the provision of temporary accommodation was an issue for all district councils, not just Swale.  He explained that Housing Services worked with those people who presented as homeless, landlords and with young people to prevent homelessness, but numbers of homeless were increasing.

The Head of Resident Services explained that Swale’s housing problems were similar to those in Thanet and advised that the main issues were residents with mental health issues unable to access private housing, lack of affordable or supported housing, families moving to the Borough from more expensive areas and lack of suitable-sized properties.  She advised that after the recent purchase of a property to house families, another property was already being sourced.

A Member gave examples of inadequate properties and landlords’ unfair eviction action, and suggested a Registered Landlord Scheme and outlined its benefits.  She also suggested Members should shadow the Housing Enforcement Team and highlighted the lack of four and five bedroom properties to house larger families.

A Member asked what the review was hoping to achieve and suggested using the data from the Temporary Accommodation Provision for Swale Homeless Households report presented to the Cabinet meeting on 7 October 2015 to see if these objectives were met.

A Member suggested the review should go wider than focusing just on temporary housing and agreed that private landlords should be examined and representations sought from them in order for the Council to work more effectively with them.  He gave examples of poor landlords and suggested that more pressure should be put on Central Government for longer tenancy agreements.  He sought clarification from the Head of Resident Services whether the number of affordable homes being built would continue to fall lower than last year’s level of 73, and how much private accommodation was available in different areas of the Borough.  He also suggested communicating with Amicus Horizon and other housing associations to unlock opportunities for building more accommodation in the future.

A number of Members supported the suggestion of a Landlord Register.  Other suggestions included the review of rural area landlords; the prosecution of landlords who provided sub-standard housing; developers to be encouraged to supply 1-bedroom houses as there was a shortage of accommodation to downsize to; a shared ownership scheme; mobile homes as cheap, affordable temporary or permanent accommodation and the Council leasing properties from private landlords.

In answer to the suggestions and questions raised, the Head of Resident Services responded with the following:

·         There were an increasing number of larger families but Housing Associations were not building larger properties

·         It was difficult to secure evidence in cases of unlawful evictions but the new Protection of Eviction Act came into effect last week to assist

·         Landlords were prosecuted; the team were very proactive

·         Due to regulations, they had been unable to compile a Landlord Register but changes in law meant this option could be revisited

·         She would provide the information from the report on Temporary Accommodation Provision for Swale Homeless Households

·         There was a strong Landlord Forum

·         She agreed that landlords needed incentives to co-operate, there were costs and affordability issues and the landlord’s property needed to be available for the tenant for 2 years

·         It was not possible to know the number of private landlords in the Borough

·         Housing was not the cause of mental health issues but many residents with mental health issues had lost their home as a consequence

·         There were local issues with residents related to legal high drugs and ex-offenders and she suggested Chief Inspector Tony Henley be invited to a future meeting to contribute to the review

·         The Housing Register was not about housing needs in the Borough, it did not give a full picture and could not be used as evidence for planning applications any more

·         Housing Services would look more sensitively at what sites were available

·         It was not possible to use mobile homes for temporary accommodation as the legislation was restrictive

The Cabinet Member for Housing advised that the Landlord Forum was well attended, offered up to date legal information and incentives for landlords to attend.  He referred to the National Housing Federation Booklet to assist with the review and confirmed the details of the next Landlord Forum as 5.30pm in the Council Chamber on 27^th October 2015.  The Head of Residence Services agreed to send the link of the Housing Enforcers television programme, in which various staff had taken part, to Members.

The Chairman was encouraged by the ideas put forward and suggested a Member from each geographical area of Sittingbourne, Sheppey and Faversham could lead on the review.  He thanked the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Head of Resident Services for the their attendance.