Agenda and minutes

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

(i)                 to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)               where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)             the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve;

(iv)              if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival.

RESOLVED:  To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Member:-

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Forum;

(b)               all other Members present.

Agenda Items: 4 - Information Report: Housing Changes Review Update; 5 – Information Report: Housing Rent Options Paper

Councillors Bob Currie and Mano Dharmarajah declared non pecuniary interests in the above items in that they attended monthly meetings of the Eastcote Lane Tenants’ and Residents’ Association (TRA).  They would remain in the room whilst these matters were considered and voted upon.

To receive deputations (if any) under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 50 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that no deputations were received at this meeting.

Report of the Divisional Director of Housing Services.

Officers introduced a report which outlined to the Forum some of the options which might be available to the Council if it wished to alter the existing rent strategy.  Officers reported the following issues:

·                    the aim of the report was to draw attention to the options for changes to the rent strategy as early as possible as in the past there had been criticism of the timetable for the strategy;

·                    further consultation would take place on the options and this would include writing to all Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations (TRAs) and placing information on the website;

·                    the reforms to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) had begun and it was now self-financing.  The HRA would be required to deliver the objectives which had been set;

·                    the current strategy was based on the Government convergence policy, which was an increase of the Retail Price Index (RPI) plus the convergence increase.  It was assumed that the existing rent would converge with the target rents in 2015;

·                    the Council was not required to change the rental policy;

·                    one of the options was to continue with the current policy which had been agreed by the TLRCF and Cabinet for 2011 and continued for 2012.  The current arrangement was considered a safe option and was dependent on the RPI.  It could be considered the preferred option for the short term while HRA self-financing settled;

·                    if it was decided to change the policy, one option was to disregard the rent convergence policy and have a locally agreed policy.  The benefits of this option included that it was a ‘scientific’ approach to setting rents, it would maintain the rent differentials between different types of dwellings and it would generate additional income for the HRA.  As an example, if the average rent was to be increased by 5% it would generate an additional income of approximately £60 million over a 30 year period.  However, if the rents were considered too high, then the rent rebate subsidy would be withdrawn and in the example of a 5% increase, £38 million would have to be repaid, resulting in a net benefit of £22 million;

·                    the risks of disregarding rent convergence included the potential perception of the change being a means to raise some money, the rent rebate subsidy limitation reducing the net benefit and that Council rents would lose comparability with those of Registered Social Landlords.

During the discussion on the first two options outlined, Members of the Forum raised a number of issues, which the officers responded to as follows:

·                    the HRA subsidy, which was a national Government subsidy for housing, was different to the rent rebate subsidy.  The rent rebate subsidy would be reduced if rent levels were too high;

·                    the policy for setting rental levels was based on the rent convergence policy set by Government.  This was calculated using the value of the property and the average earnings of the area in which the property was situated;

·                    the initial aim had been for rental levels to converge with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 135.

Report of the Divisional Director of Housing Services.

The Divisional Director of Housing Services introduced the report which updated the Forum on the Housing Changes Review and focused on the final draft Tenancy Strategy and Tenancy Policy. 

The Divisional Director of Housing Services reported the following issues:

·                     consultation had been carried out regarding the housing changes and the feedback had been included in the report;

·                     the draft Tenancy Strategy explained how the Council intended to introduce fixed term tenancies for new tenants for its own housing stock, including the complaints and Appeal process;

·                     the draft Tenancy Policy explained how the draft Tenancy Strategy would be implemented;

·                     as a result of the consultation, the Strategy had been amended to include that care leavers in the specified groups would be given an automatic renewal of a fixed term tenancy unless their circumstances changed;

·                     the Strategy now included that all non specified groups would be given a 5 year fixed term tenancy which would be reviewed at the conclusion of the 5 years;

·                     life-time tenancies would be offered to under-occupiers who had reached state retirement age and who were moving to a smaller property, older people moving into sheltered or extra care housing and older people who had reached state retirement age and were moving into a one bed general needs property;

·                     fixed term tenancies, for certain groups, would be automatically reviewed provided that the tenant’s circumstances had not changed since they were originally housed;

·                     the circumstances of care leavers would be reviewed and if there had not been any changes then the tenancy would be renewed.  It was anticipated that the majority of care leavers’ tenancies would be renewed;

·                     there had been changes to the income and savings limit at which a household would be deemed to be able to find suitable affordable housing.  The income limit had been slightly reduced and the savings limit had been increased to £24,000;

·                     the final consultation on the draft Tenancy Strategy and Policy would commence on 27 September and last for 8 weeks.  It would be placed on the website and information would be sent to all TRAs.

During the discussion on this item, Members of the Forum raised a number of queries which officers responded to as follows:

·                     efforts were being made to address fraud issues relating to housing and benefits;

·                     the strategy and policy would not change the Council’s responsibilities with regard to tenancy management.  Tenancies would not be renewed if, following a review, it was determined that a tenant’s circumstances had improved and they had alternative options available.  The Council would offer help in finding alternative accommodation;

·                     it was a possibility that some tenants would not keep their properties at a suitable standard if they were given a fixed term tenancy.  This would be addressed as a part of tenancy management and conditions would be included in the tenancy agreements;

·                     a tenant would have to reconsidered for inclusion on the waiting list again if their circumstances changed in a negative manner following a fixed term tenancy not being renewed;

·                     the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 136.