Agenda item

That the Flintshire Private Rented Sector Improvement Plan be supported.         

The Director of Community Services introduced the report to inform Members of the work undertaken to date as part of the WLGA supported Private Rented Sector Improvement Plan and to seek Members views on how the Council should work with the sector to achieve the key outcomes of growth, quality and accessibility. 

He detailed the background to the report and explained that in Flintshire the levels of private rented housing was just below to the national average at 11.5% however, there was a lower than average social rented sector at 15% compared to 17% nationally.  Flintshire had developed a Private Rented Sector Improvement Plan which was structured around five objectives which were detailed in the report.  The Director of Community Services explained that the lower number of both privately rented and socially rented properties in Flintshire would become increasingly problematic, as a highly competitive rental market would restrict access generally and particularly to those from vulnerable groups requiring support.  Reductions in the availability of mortgage finance and the need for a large deposit had also resulted in more people seeking to rent rather than buy.  The result of this was that private landlords had the ability to ‘cherry pick’ their tenants and may therefore overlook vulnerable groups, who may be deemed to be of greater risk.  In quarter 1 of 2013/14 42 people were accepted as homeless compared to 21 people for the same quarter in 2012/13.  Welfare benefit changes were also impacting on the sector and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP), which could be made available for a short fixed term period to those tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit or Council Tax and in difficulty paying their rent, had increased by 42% during April/May 2013 compared to the same period in 2012/13. 

The Director of Community Services explained that new duties and responsibilities would be placed on private landlords which may deter them from entering and/or remaining in the private rented market in the future and these included mandatory licensing, which was likely to come into force during 2015.  A further impact on landlords was that during 2016, it would become illegal to rent out properties with an energy rating of F and G, which could require many to make further improvements to their properties and could be an issue for older properties and those of solid walled construction. 

The Community Support Services Manager said that an additional pressure was that from 2015 a change to legislation meant that the local authority had a duty to prevent more homelessness and could discharge duty into the private rented sector.  An inspection had been undertaken to establish how prepared the authority was for the changes and this had indicated that Flintshire County Council was well prepared.  She commented on the work which had been undertaken to date which included enhancing the Flintshire Bond Scheme and improving existing private sector arrangements.  A temporary officer had been appointed to undertake this role and had been funded through the homelessness prevention budget.  The officer would be tasked with consulting with landlords and potential landlords to see what incentives could be put in place to encourage property owners to work with the Council and these were detailed in the report.  An event for landlords was to be held on 19 October 2013 to show them what the Council could offer and to obtain the views of landlords on what they felt was important. 

Councillor Alison Halford asked how the issue of private landlords not wanting to rent to those needing social housing would affect the proposals and in referring to paragraph 2.13 asked whether the Council had to take some responsibility to update landlords prior to the introduction of the changes in 2015. 

The Community Support Services Manager said that officers were aware that private landlords could choose who they wanted to rent to, and the work currently being undertaken by the authority was to develop ideas on how to provide some security to landlords to take away any fear of renting to those in need of social housing.  The Head of Housing commented on six properties in Flint and the work undertaken with the landlord to let to those in need of social housing instead of renting to private tenants.  She spoke of the legal duty on the Council to house people and said that some of the incentives to landlords could include undertaking the gas and electricity checks on their behalf.  She added that there were a small number of tenants who could be disruptive or antisocial but the Council could put safeguards in place to encourage landlords to rent to tenants that they would not normally consider.  On the issue of cost benefit analysis, if solutions could be found which would be cheaper than the cost of housing a family in bed and breakfast accommodation then these would be developed.  The Head of Housing added that landlords would be required to be licensed from 2015 and this would place additional pressures on Environmental Health colleagues. 

In response to a question from Councillor Jim Falshaw about the Council’s responsibility, the Community Support Services Manager said that for leased properties, the Council’s responsibility would be for the inside of the property and the landlord would be responsible for the outside.  The Head of Housing added that the services reported were available through private letting agents but the authority was trying to encourage the landlords to work with the Council.  The rents would be at local housing allowance rents which would be lower than market rents so this option would not be suitable for all landlords but it was felt that there was a market for working with private landlords.  In response to questions from Councillor Dolphin, the Community Support Services Manager said that there would not be a strict rule about the size of property but an assessment would be undertaken to ensure that the prospective tenant could afford the rent.  There would need to be a range of properties available for rent to suit all needs and she added thatincentives could include not charging an arrangement fee as a percentage of the rent each month could cover costs. 

Councillor Peter Curtis queried why landlords would rent their property through the Council if the rent that they would receive would be lower.  The Head of Housing said that other incentives for landlords could include lower management fees and the tenancy agreements would have conditions about the upkeep of the property at the end of the rental period. 

Councillor David Cox said that confidence in the housing market was currently very low so this could be a kick start to the housing economy.  Councillor Gareth Roberts said that the advantage of licensing was that it would be undertaken by people who wanted to be licensed so could discourage some landlords. 

RESOLVED:

That the Flintshire Private Rented Sector Improvement Plan be supported.