Agenda item

(a)       That the Committee notes the measures outlined in the report that are being implemented to help address the impact of the Welfare Reforms;

(b)       That Flintshire County Council establish either their own social lettings agency or employ the services of an established agency;

(c)        That Flintshire County Council enter into discussion with housing construction companies to push for more investment in affordable housing;

(d)       That Council owned housing be allocated on the basis of need and not means to pay; and

(e)       That the Homelessness and Welfare Reform Report be sent to all elected Members for comment.

The Supporting People Manager introduced the report about the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and its implications for benefit recipients and Flintshire County Council.

The purpose of the report was two-fold in that it informed Members of the current work being undertaken to mitigate the effects of Welfare Reform and it sought comments from the Committee to key questions that would be used to develop policies within the Neighbourhood Housing Service for presentation at Cabinet.

The Advice and Homelessness Team Manager explained that in response to the Welfare Reform Act 2012, a Welfare Reform Programme Board had been established.  He highlighted the changes to housing benefit, work undertaken by the Council and recent trends in homelessness.

·                     The changes to the social security system would have the potential to reduce benefit income in households across all of Flintshire’s economies.

It had been assumed by the government that the majority of households would replace lost benefit income.

·                     The Council expected that some of the more vulnerable households in the county would experience the most severe financial pressures and would be unable to secure employment which in turn would affect a household’s ability to pay their contractual housing costs and increase the threat of homelessness.

·                     The Council’s Advice and Homelessness Team had already seen an increase in enquiries from residents.  During the period October to December 2012, 54 formal homeless applications had been made in contrast to 34 applications made in the period October to December 2011.  This represented a 58% increase in formal homeless applications.

·                     Council tenants identified as under occupying their home had been contacted and offered the opportunity of meeting with a member of the housing team to discuss the Housing Benefit reforms with them.

·                     1152 tenants had been contacted. 78% of these tenants had responded and were engaged with the Housing Team.  32% indicated they would pay the shortfall whilst 10% stated that they wished to move.

The Advice and Homelessness Team Manager said that Neighbourhood Housing teams were offering 12 week money management courses to those tenants already in arrears.  An increase in homeless applications was anticipated and new provision was being developed such as the lease of 17 bed sits and organised house-shares for groups of three or more young people.  Flintshire was looking at official property lettings agencies, in order that more private landlords could be engaged with the council to provide affordable homes.

A series of eight key questions outlined in paragraph 3.07 of the report were posed which related to the duty to collect rent and the duty of care as a landlord.  The Committee was asked to quantify the level of arrears that would result in legal proceedings and the financial position for bad debt over the next three years.

Councillor R. Dolphin said that council tenants in her area had received letters from the council which wrongly claimed that they were in arrears with rent payments.  She asked if future letters could be sent out two weeks after a non payment of rent, as many people still paid their rent on a weekly basis and their latest payment may not yet have been on the system.  Councillor Dolphin asked if persons wishing to downsize property would be penalised whilst waiting for a smaller property to become available.  She also asked how the Council would deal with people who stopped paying rent completely or who continued to pay the previous amount.

The Head of Housing said that the letter had not been sent out to all tenants, just those identified as being in arrears.  She agreed that there were many challenges ahead regarding people wanting to downsize and the lack of available smaller properties where people wanted them.  The Council was looking at a two year timescale to move those who had asked for a transfer but she anticipated that many more would come forward once they had found difficulties paying the increased rent charge.  This would increase the length of time it would take to house people.  The Neighbourhood Housing Manager (North) said that it was a standard letter sent to everyone shown on the system as in arrears.  Therefore if the letter was posted on a Monday, persons due to pay the rent later in the week would have been classed as in arrears.  She said that the next mail out would only be sent to tenants who were two weeks or more in arrears.

Councillor A. M. Halford suggested that the letter include a sentence asking the recipient to ignore it if they had already made a payment in the last seven days. She said that the Committee did not have the capacity to provide answers to the eight questions and that people making attempts to pay should be treated differently to those that had no intention of paying.  There was no ready answer to the question about the financial position for bad debt.

Councillor Dolphin said that the current policy on transfers should be revised to allow tenants with rent arrears to move to smaller accommodation.

Councillor J. E. Falshaw asked if private landlords had been consulted about welfare reform.  The Advice and Homelessness Team Manager said that currently, landlords would insist that housing benefit was paid directly to them.  That would change with the introduction of Universal Credit. Private landlords and the Council were concerned about housing benefit being paid to the tenant.  The Head of Housing said that she had a report about pilot schemes in England, Wales and Scotland and would circulate it to Committee Members.  The Advice and Homelessness Team Manager said that the new regulations would allow an individual for a time limited period to have payment sent direct to landlord and would be given support to assist budgeting.  The Welfare Reform Act aimed to make households more responsible for their own finances.

Councillor P.G. Heesom praised the authors of the report for their dynamic and informative report.  He asked if the Council could set up its own lettings agency to help encourage private landlords to rent to benefit claimants.  He asked if builders and developers had been contacted to supply more houses. The Head of Housing said that they would consider setting up an agency or working with Clwyd Alyn’s Social Lettings Agency or an agency in Anglesey.  A social lettings agency would manage the property and guarantee income for the landlord.  They hoped to take it forward in the next few months.  The possibility of new housing development for rent in the county was being explored.  Officers were also looking at the investment programme to aim to lower the cost of heating in tenants' homes in the form of getting affordable heating to areas currently not on the gas network.  This year, Sealand Manor had benefited from the CESP match funded gas installation.

Councillor D. Cox asked in the case of evictions going to court if the Judge could impose repayment of arrears in weekly/monthly amounts if the person had been struggling, but trying to meet rent payments.  The Head of Housing said that they would accept repayment arrangements and that the Council never wanted to evict tenants.  If a case went to court, the Council would have to demonstrate the full case history and whether the tenants had cooperated or not.  There would be test cases under the new legislation.  The Advice and Homelessness Manager said that he had represented tenants to stop evictions. Tenants had to show that it was financially possible for them to pay arrears and judges needed to see that it was an achievable offer.

Councillor P.J. Curtis said that he believed most tenants who could pay would pay.  Despite this he said that the Council would have to be prepared to bear an amount of loss and to keep it at a minimum.  He also said that house shares were a good idea.

Councillor G. H. Bateman asked if the regulations could be ignored in terms of under occupancy.  The Head of Housing gave an example of how the regulations were affecting the waiting list.  A three bedroomed house had become available and the 23^rd family on the priority list had been the first to be eligible for the tenancy if the new regulations were strictly observed.  The other 22 households in need with more points would have subsequently under-occupied the house.  Children aged up to 10 years were expected to share with siblings.  If a family had one child aged over 10 and another child of the opposite sex under ten, they would be entitled to a three bed house.  The Head of Housing said there was a shortage of two bed properties.

Councillor M. A. Reece asked if Bagillt library could be used as a residential property.  The Housing Renewal Manager said that a meeting was convened for the coming Friday to take a look at it.

Councillor Halford suggested that a workshop for all Members be arranged to discuss the questions raised in the report as she felt the Committee lacked the capacity and authority to undertake this alone.  The Neighbourhood Housing Manager (North), suggested that the report be sent to all Members in the first instance for comment.

Councillor Heesom suggested that the report be circulated, then if necessary, a workshop be organised. He proposed that three recommendations be added to the resolution.   He said that he agreed that a social lettings agency be employed, whether in-house or pre-existing.  He said he wanted to see more investment in affordable homes by the private sector to be pursued by the Council and that allocation should be based on need and not means to pay.  The Head of Housing said that a social lettings agency was a good idea and that an information gathering exercise was currently in operation.  She agreed in principle that a review of the current six year investment programme could help the Council to address the changing needs of local communities.  She suggested that improved heating systems in homes would reduce fuel consumption and enable tenants to save on their bills and to use the savings for other household costs, including any additional contributions to rent.  The Head of Housing said that the Council would engage with Housing Associations to see how they intended to approach the changes to welfare reform.  It was likely that the Housing Associations would adhere strictly to the bedroom standards and allocate accordingly.

The Committee voted to accept the three recommendations from Councillor Heesom.

Councillor Dolphin asked if any surplus funding for additional new kitchens, over and above those agreed and budgeted for be allocated to upgrade heating systems in homes.  She asked about the tenancy agreement in the case of home shares and if individual benefits were affected.  She also asked if hard to let three bedroom houses could be divided into two flats.  The Head of Housing said that the Council would adhere to the Choices programme in Council owned properties and any efficiency savings in the programme would be used to upgrade heating systems. The tenants undertaking the home share were all on licence as they were not permitted by law to enter into secure tenancies.  The Head of Housing said that she would forward copies of a report into the “direct payments” to the Committee.

Councillor H.G. Roberts asked how private sector landlords were able to rent properties to groups of individuals.  The Advice and Homelessness Team Manager in response said that the private sector could offer Assured Tenancies under the 1988 Housing Act.

The Cabinet Member had earlier suggested that the Homelessness and Welfare Reform report be sent to all elected Members for comment rather than convene a workshop.  This was agreed by the Committee.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee notes the measures outlined in the report that are being implemented to help address the impact of the Welfare Reforms;

(b)       That Flintshire County Council establish either their own social lettings agency or employ the services of an established agency;

(c)        That Flintshire County Council enter into discussion with housing construction companies to push for more investment in affordable housing;

(d)       That Council owned housing be allocated on the basis of need and not means to pay; and

(e)       That the Homelessness and Welfare Reform Report be sent to all elected Members for comment.