An opportunity to question the Cabinet Member for Housing & Estate Renewal, Cllr Emine Ibrahim, on developments within her portfolio.
Minutes:
Cllr Emine Ibrahim, Cabinet Member for Housing & Estate Renewal began this item by responding to the points raised by Rev. Nicolson in his deputation earlier in the meeting. Cllr Ibrahim agreed with much of what Rev. Nicolson had said, however said that it also had to be acknowledged what a difficult position many local authorities are in with a national housing crisis that is more acute in places like London and boroughs like Haringey.
On the point about single room accommodation, Broadwater Lodge is not temporary accommodation, it is emergency accommodation which is often only one room. Emergency accommodation can be a difficult experience and 12 weeks is usually set as the maximum time. People placed here often have children because the placements are based on priority need. Places like Broadwater Lodge and Whitehall Lodge, where the Council has control over the conditions, are an improvement on the bed and breakfast premises used for emergency accommodation in the past where there could often be health and safety concerns. However, this does not change the fact that it is still single room accommodation for a family and Cllr Ibrahim said that improving the experience of people in emergency accommodation was a particular priority for her.
On a point raised by Cllr Williams about the Council’s policy not to accept its responsibility for rehousing a family until a bailiff arrives rather than when the notice to quit is served, Cllr Ibrahim said there are certain legal issues impacting on this but it is something that the Council should look at. Denise Gandy, Executive Director of Housing Demand at Homes for Haringey (HfH), added that there had been a change in guidance following the passing of the Homelessness Reduction Act regarding people who have received Section 21 notices to work with them much earlier. There is a specific test on how to consider the reasonableness of when to move people as a preventative before the stage where a bailiff is called. However, this is not always possible due to the short supply of housing. Denise Gandy agreed to circulate further details about the test to the Panel. (ACTION)
Cllr Ibrahim cited Right to Buy as a key factor in the extended lengths of time that families are often placed in temporary accommodation as Councils have not been able to replace their stock with the proceeds of purchases. As families are likely to be in temporary accommodation for a longer period of time the Council needs to ensure that the quality of temporary accommodation is sufficiently high and that no family is forced to accept accommodation that is not fit for habitation. There have been some cases, that have arisen via casework, where the Council has fallen short and this reflects the huge challenge faced in securing enough suitable properties. The review process is now being delivered by HfH rather than being outsourced.
Asked what procedures are in place to prevent people from being placed in emergency accommodation for a long time, Cllr Ibrahim said that to be in emergency accommodation for more than three months is often because of unique circumstances. An example could be somebody fleeing domestic violence while they have an existing tenancy elsewhere meaning that it can take some time for HfH to establish that they are homeless. Other examples include cases where it is unclear that the person has recourse to public funds or whether they have become voluntarily homeless and an appeal is heard which takes time. When there are children involved there can still be a Children’s Act duty. Denise Gandy, Executive Director of Housing Demand at HfH, expanded on this point saying that when there is an intentionality decision, which is comparatively rare, there is 45 days notice for the period to engage with Children’s Services so they will stay in their accommodation while that process happens. A dedicated worker is being recruited to work between HfH and Children’s Service with these families to help this process run in a seamless way. This post is just about to be advertised, so will hopefully be in post by the end of the summer, and will be funded through the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant. Denise Gandy also said that she receives a report every three days on the placements in Broadwater Lodge and Whitehall Lodge and the reasons why they are still there in cases where it has been longer that would usually be expected. While this type of emergency accommodation is not ideal, when the Lodges were first established they were to provide an alternative to placing people in private hostels or elsewhere outside of the Borough. Cllr Ibrahim confirmed that she does not receive the same regular update reports as Denise Gandy on a routine basis but can ask for information like this whenever required.
Cllr Gordon asked about a recent report from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman concerning a family placed in Temporary Accommodation with issues including cockroach infestation, damp, mould and broken locks and what action was being taken in response to the report. Cllr Ibrahim said that the Ombudsman’s report requires a formal response from the Corporate Committee. A meeting date of 17th June had been set and HfH would be attending to respond to the criticisms made.
As Cabinet Member she had herself asked for a full response from HfH about this and was in regular contact with Sean McLaughlin and Denise Gandy who had provided updates and answers. There was some criticism over the review process - these were previously been carried out externally and were now being done internally. It was important not to start apportioning blame and there has been a good level of responsibility taken and no one had sought to pass the buck. Denise Gandy said that the report had two main areas of recommendations, one on the reviews process including ensuring that they are carried out to the appropriate timescales and quality and the other on reporting and repair and checking that these are carried out by the landlord. The full report is already in the public domain and will be circulated to the Panel. (ACTION)
Asked how the Council will prevent the loss of any council-owned housing that will be built in the near future from being sold off under Right To Buy, Cllr Ibrahim said that this is a dilemma. If the properties are not 100% council-owned then only assured tenancies can be offered which are not subject to Right To Buy, however an assured tenancy is not ideally where you want to place families that have been in temporary accommodation. Those placed in secure tenancies have the legal right to buy, however many of the people in temporary accommodation for years and then placed in a secure tenancies are likely to be those on lower incomes so the chances of them being in a position to purchase the property in the first few years is quite low. Dan Hawthorn added that the high property values and the fact that the Right To Buy discounts are not as large in the first few years are also factors that make the purchase of the properties less likely.
Asked whether the 180 families in temporary accommodation on the Love Lane Estate could be allocated secure tenancies immediately, Cllr Ibrahim said that allocations of all people on the waiting list were calculated on the basis of priority need and this has to be respected.
Asked about Rev. Nicolson’s other proposal about the Council not offering accommodation in a property that is owned by a landlord who anticipates selling it within the next five years, Cllr Ibrahim said that this is likely to exacerbate existing difficulties with sourcing sufficient good quality private accommodation. Offering accommodation in a property that is just about to be repossessed is something that the Council would already seek to avoid. Denise Gandy added that checks are made on landlords including through a questionnaire on issues such as their mortgage position and with a check of the rogue landlord list.
Cllr Ibrahim also referred to the ‘Capital Letters’ cross-London initiative which aims to collaboratively procure new properties to rent on behalf of London boroughs and prevent London boroughs from competing with one another and driving up prices.