London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham - hf

London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham
Economic Regeneration, Housing and the Arts Policy and
Accountability Committee
11 November 2014
REVIEW OF THE HOUSING STRATEGY
Report of the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Cabinet Member for Economic
Development and Regeneration
Open Report
Classification For Policy & Accountability Committee review and comment
Key Decision: No
Wards Affected:
All
Accountable Executive Director: Melbourne Barrett, Executive Director, Housing and
Regeneration
Report Author:
Contact Details:
Mike England, Director, Housing Options, Skills and
Tel: 020 8753 5344
Economic Development
E-mail:
mike.england@lbhf.gov.uk
AUTHORISED BY: ...................................... AUTHORISED
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BY: ...................................... ..........
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.DATE: ……………………………………..
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1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1.
At its meeting on 23rd June 2014, the Cabinet requested the Economic
Regeneration, Housing and the Arts Policy and Accountability Committee
to begin the process of reviewing the borough’s housing strategy to reflect
the housing priorities of the new administration. This report invites the PAC
to provide initial comments on a number of the key themes which the new
housing strategy will need to address.
2.
RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1.
The PAC is invited to review and comment upon the housing issues listed
in paragraph 4.1 below and discussed in the appendices to the report.
3.
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
3.1.
Every Local Housing Authority is required by law to approve a Housing
Strategy. This sets out the main housing problems and issues in the area
and how the council proposes to address them.
3.2.
The council’s Cabinet has agreed that the Housing Strategy for
Hammersmith & Fulham should be reviewed and updated to reflect the
housing priorities of the new administration.
3.3.
The PAC will play an important role in the development of the strategy. A
consultation draft of the strategy will be produced and issued for
widespread public consultation before being brought back to the Cabinet
for final approval. This report provides an initial opportunity for the PAC
and for residents to shape the draft by commenting on some of the key
housing issues facing the borough.
4.
PROPOSAL AND ISSUES
4.1.
The Housing Strategy will cover a wide range of housing problems and
issues in the borough. This report, however, invites the PAC to consider
the following issues in particular:



4.2.
Giving council tenants local control over their homes;
Allocating council homes: new opportunities for secure tenants; and
Improving private rented housing.
Each of these is discussed briefly in the Appendices and
recommendations for the PAC to consider are proposed.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 2000
LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS USED IN PREPARING THIS REPORT
No.
Description of
Background Papers
Name/Ext of holder of Department/
file/copy
Location
None
LIST OF APPENDICES:
1. Giving council tenants local control over their homes
2. Allocating council homes: new opportunities for secure tenants
3. Improving private rented housing
Appendix 1
Giving council tenants local control over their homes
Background
1. Both the last Labour government and the current coalition have argued
strongly for measures to devolve power to local communities. They have
legislated to promote opportunities for residents to take individual
responsibility within their communities and for the services they receive.
2. This common theme runs through Labour's devolution programme, the
Conservatives’ Big Society and the coalition's "localism" initiatives which
culminated in the Localism Act 2011.
3. Localism has many forms. In housing, the manifesto of the new
administration in Hammersmith & Fulham made a number of commitments
to council tenants:



To give greater powers to residents of the council's housing estates
across a broad range of areas;
To work with residents to give them ownership of the land their homes
are on; and
To protect council homes now and in the future.
The issues
4. The council owns around 12,000 tenanted homes in Hammersmith &
Fulham. These are available and allocated to local residents at affordable
rents and on the basis of need. The homes are held in a separate financial
account - the Housing Revenue Account - which is completely separate
from the rest of the Council's finances. In addition there are over 4,700
leasehold properties in Council-owned estates, blocks and houses and
these residents also have a strong interest in the future of their home and
their area.
5. There are a number of major issues to be addressed.

At present, residents have limited say in how their homes are run. It is
the council which decides how homes are managed and maintained
and by whom and it is the council which decides the level of rents and
service charges. And the council can decide whether to sell off empty
homes on the open market or whether to redevelop estates.

Residents have no collective legal interest in their homes which would
give them a say in or control over how housing is run or which would
protect their interests or the council’s housing stock in the future.

The fact that the housing is run by the council means there are
restrictions on what can be invested in repairing and improving existing
homes and in providing new ones. For example, the government sets a
limit on how much the council can borrow for housing even though a
higher level of investment would be considered prudent by housing
associations and private sector landowners
6. There are already examples in London and elsewhere where residents
have taken on more local control and where the restrictions which operate
on the Council have been overcome. Some tenants, for example, have
taken over decisions about the management of their homes and how
services are run. Others have gone further and taken on the ownership of
the property themselves. There are a range of options, each of which
would require detailed consideration.
Recommendation 1
The PAC is invited to request the administration to establish a Residents
Commission on Council Housing to consider the options for empowering
residents to take local control over their homes and for maximising investment
in existing and new council homes.
Appendix 2
Allocating council homes: new opportunities for secure tenants
The issues
1. Social housing in the borough is a hugely valuable resource. There are
many thousands of households living in unsuitable housing who would like
the opportunity of a council or housing association tenancy. It is therefore
vital that the most efficient use is made of the homes which are available.
2. The new administration in Hammersmith & Fulham believes that the
existing social housing system in the borough does not achieve this. It
believes the system is inflexible, does not make the best use of resources
and does not provide enough opportunities or incentives for residents to
invest in the success of their communities or in their own future. It also
believes it is unfair to some groups in the community. The reasons are set
out below.

Many council homes are "under-occupied" by their tenants, mainly
because there are insufficient opportunities or incentives for them to
move to a more suitable home. As a result, other people are left in
overcrowded or unsuitable conditions, for example in temporary
accommodation. This “inflexibility” was reinforced by traditional secure
tenancies, which gave long-term security to tenants but did not
necessarily make the best use of the housing stock.

Following the passing of the Localism Act, the previous council
administration introduced fixed-term tenancies for new council tenants.
This meant that from March 2013 most new tenancies were for five
years only and sometimes only two years. The exceptions were for
older or vulnerable people who still received "lifetime" tenancies. The
new administration believes that this has led to insecurity for residents
and acts as a disincentive for tenants to contribute to building
sustainable communities. It also believes that in practice most fixedterm tenancies will be renewed anyway.

Some tenants would like the chance to move on to home ownership
and to have a bigger financial stake in their community. However, at
present there is little help or incentive for them to do it. This in turn
limits the turnover of homes and the opportunities for people in housing
need to gain a social housing tenancy.

Other people, such as homeless families placed outside the Borough
and some categories of overcrowded household, are denied the
chance to go on the Housing Register altogether.
3. The manifesto of the new administration made the following commitments:


To provide new opportunities for secure rented tenures; and
To provide new opportunities for council residents to own their homes.
The proposals
4. There are a number of ways in which the existing shortcomings in the
system could be addressed and where further policy development is
needed.



To end the insecurity which results from the existing short-term
tenancies for new tenants, explore the introduction of tenancies which
provide long-term security for tenants without necessarily guaranteeing
their right to stay in the same home indefinitely. This would not affect
the rights of existing tenants.
Provide an opportunity for council tenants to use their rent to build up a
financial interest/stake in their home which they can cash in by "selling"
it back to their landlord (the council) when they are in a position to
move into home-ownership. This idea was first proposed by the
Association of London Government in 2005.
Review the existing system for allocating council homes and in
particular those categories of household which are currently excluded
from the Housing Register.
Recommendation 2
The PAC is invited to request the Cabinet to bring forward a detailed paper
reviewing, and making proposals on, allocations and new forms of tenancy.
Appendix 3
Improving private rented housing
The issues
1. An increasing number of people in the borough live in homes rented from
private landlords, up from 23% in 2001 to 33% in 2011. A number of
factors have contributed to this rapid increase, particularly soaring house
prices driven by low volumes of housing development and the impact of
government policy on rented housing.
2. There is a variety of property and landlords: ex Right-to-Buy council
homes sold to investors; private landlords with a small to medium portfolio;
“accidental” landlords who have one or more homes owned for investment
or family reasons; and buy-to-let landlords (sometimes from overseas)
who have bought homes in new developments.
3. For many residents in the borough, private renting offers a form of housing
that meets their requirements. Unfortunately, however, it has also
historically experienced high levels of disrepair and been the poorest
managed, poorest quality and highest cost part of the housing market.
There are also issues of anti-social behaviour in this sector which affect
the overall levels in our borough and which can be particularly difficult to
challenge.
4. Many landlords manage their property well and the council wants to work
with them to drive up standards. However, the Council is also committed to
using its powers to prosecute landlords who flout the law to the detriment
of their tenants. Legislation already exists to address high risk hazards
such as fire safety and inadequate heating, overcrowding and poor
management in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
5. However, there are limits to what the Council can do by enforcement alone
and a number of broader issues to consider to improve standards. The
includes whether the council should introduce a compulsory licensing
scheme for private landlords and what to do about housing deliberately
kept empty for long periods by their owners. There is also the view that
rents should be controlled in some way and that tenants should have the
right to more than a minimum one year (sometimes six months) tenancy,
though these would require action at the national level.
The proposals
6. The new administration has a manifesto commitment to ensure decent
homes in the private rented sector. It has a number of proposals to
improve private rented housing in the borough.

Work with landlords and tenants to establish a “Hammersmith &
Fulham Landlords Charter” to establish best practice standards for the
management of private rented homes.

Consult residents and landlords on whether to introduce a licensing
scheme for landlords in the borough. There are a number of different
ways this could be done. It could be across the borough as a whole or
in parts of it or for particular types of housing. One factor will be the
cost, both for the council and for the landlords.

Explore what can be done about property being kept empty
deliberately.

Seek agreement on a London Living Rent for tenants in private sector
housing.
Recommendation 3
The PAC is invited to support the above proposals for improving private
rented housing in the borough and to ask the Cabinet to bring forward detailed
plans for their implementation.
Report End.