Issue - meetings

Report of the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health. To be presented by the Cabinet Member for Housing & Planning (Deputy Leader)

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST RELATING TO THIS ITEM:

None

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approved the Under?Occupation Policy: Moving to a Smaller Home (Appendix?A).

2.    Approved the amendments to the Tenancy Strategy (Appendix?B).

3.    Delegated authority to the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, to make updates to the payment structure and offers to residents within existing budgets.

4.    Delegated authority to make minor changes and updates to the policy wording, including those required by changes in legislation or by updates to the Standards set by the Regulator of Social Housing.

5.    Noted that the commitments set out in the policy would be met within existing budgets.

6.    Noted that the budgets for supporting people moving to a smaller home would be updated through existing budgetary processes, and that officers would seek delegation to the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, to set the payment structure within those budgets.

Reasons for decision

Approval of the Under?Occupation Policy: Moving to a Smaller Home was required to set out clearly the Council’s commitments and to strengthen the offer made to residents, helping increase the supply of family?sized homes.

Delegations relating to changes to the financial payment structure and future updates were required so that payments—unchanged for many years—could be reviewed and updated annually.

Alternative options considered:

Not approving the Under?Occupation Policy: Moving to a Smaller Home
This option was dismissed because:

• it was important to clearly set out the Council’s offer for residents wishing to downsize and to keep that offer up to date; and
• the expected increase in larger family homes resulting from implementation of the policy was essential to support the Council in housing larger families.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, and Deputy Leader of the Council introduced the report.

The Cabinet Member outlined that the Council’s mission was to support the development of a fairer and greener borough. London faced a housing crisis, with increasing numbers of local residents unable to afford private rents or access home ownership. To help address this, Haringey, with funding from the Mayor of London and central government, was on track to deliver 3,000 new council homes for council rent by 2031. More than 1,300 homes had already been completed. A number of Council tenants had raised families in larger homes and, over time, their housing needs had changed. In some cases, residents expressed a wish to move to smaller accommodation that was more manageable and better suited to their current circumstances.

It was noted that, from a wider housing perspective, voluntary downsizing increased the availability of larger, family?sized council homes. This supported households experiencing overcrowding and requiring affordable homes with multiple bedrooms.

The Cabinet Member stressed that downsizing was required to be voluntary and supported by appropriate advice, guidance and safeguards. The policy set out the conditions under which the council would support tenants considering a move, adopting a more flexible and proactive approach.

Under the policy, the council committed to:

• Establishing a dedicated council officer role to support tenants through the downsizing process
• Reviewing moving allowances on an annual basis
• Extending the timescales available for moves to support practical arrangements
• Developing a database of tenant requirements and property characteristics to improve matching
• Providing succession rights at a downsized property where children moved with a parent
• Working with housing associations to support and encourage downsizing

Following questions from Councillors Cawley-Harrison, the following information was shared:

·       It was explained by the Cabinet Member that downsizing was included within the existing housing allocation policy, and it was stressed that the Council and voluntary sector would support any resident wishing to downsize. It was additionally highlighted by officers that the scheme would be housed within the tenancy management service, to promote and maximise the support available and provide a wraparound service to those that wanted to downsize. It was stressed that the Council would not undertake any coercive work to encourage downsizing and noted that the policy would be working to provide support to people who wanted to downsize.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approved the Under?Occupation Policy: Moving to a Smaller Home (Appendix?A).

2.    Approved the amendments to the Tenancy Strategy (Appendix?B).

3.    Delegated authority to the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, to make updates to the payment structure and offers to residents within existing budgets.

4.    Delegated authority to make minor changes and updates to the policy wording, including those required by changes in legislation or by updates to the Standards set by the Regulator of Social Housing.

5.    Noted that the commitments set out in the policy would be met within existing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 442