Agenda item

[Report of the Director for Housing, Regeneration and Planning.  To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for House Building, Place Making and Development]

 

 

The report seeks approval of the final versions of the High Road West Local Lettings Policy, the Love Lane Leaseholder Offer and approval of the commitments to residents to be included within the ‘Landlord Offer’, which will form the basis of the resident ballot on the Love Lane Estate.  The report also seeks approval to proceed to a resident ballot on the Love Lane Estate, in line with the requirements set out in Section 8 of the Greater London Authorities’ Capital Funding Guide.

 

The Cabinet Member for House Building, Place - Making and Development introduced the report which sought approval of the final versions of the High Road West Local Lettings Policy, the Love Lane Leaseholder Offer and approval of the commitments to residents to be included within the ‘Landlord Offer’, which would form the basis of the resident ballot on the Love Lane Estate.

 

The report also sought approval to proceed to a resident ballot on the Love Lane Estate, in line with the requirements set out in Section 8 of the Greater London Authorities’ Capital Funding Guide. It was noted that the resident ballot was an important milestone and would give residents the opportunity to decide if the scheme proceeds. If the vote was ‘yes’, the Council would be able to draw down the c.£90m of funding secured from the GLA for the High Road West scheme.

 

The Cabinet Member highlighted that the primary focus of the Council was to keep the community, at Love Lane, together and would include both secure tenants and those living in temporary accommodation on the estate.

The Cabinet Member committed to continue communication with estate residents to ensure that all residents understood the Landlord offer. This would include providing different language translations of the Landlord offer.

 

It was noted that where residents may be moved from the estate in the different phases of the development , they would not lose their offer on a home, and either be rehoused on the estate or nearby.

 

In response to questions from Councillors: Bevan, Brabazon, Davies and Palmer, the following information was provided by the Cabinet Member, the Director for Housing, Regeneration and Planning and the Assistant Director for Regeneration.

 

• Welcomed support from Homes for Haringey for communication activities with residents on the Landlord offer.

 

• The Cabinet Member had met with individually with residents and the Resident’s Association at Love Lane. Feedback had been given to them on what elements of the offer they were not clear on. Some queries were responded to immediately at this meeting and other issues were to be followed up and responded to.

 

• The Cabinet Member would ensure communications with residents was in plain English with FAQs provided. She committed to oversee this process and to keep contact with the residents of the estate.

 

• Noted that there would be a small number of residents that would need to move off the estate, temporarily, during the first phase. It was noted that thereafter there would be more homes completed to allow tenants to move in. The aim of the phasing process was to minimise the numbers of potential moves. The Director would ask his team to provide more detail on the statistics of those likely to need a temporary move. However, it would be based on the particular housing needs of the families that needed to be moved at the time the development is brought forward.

 

• A proposal, in the attached report, was capping the rent increase to 10% and this figure had been arrived at as being commensurate with the savings expected in the energy costs. Officers were confident that tenants would not be worse off because of the proposal set out in the report. The rent cap of 10% also reflected the improvement to the properties and other standards.
• A further written response would be provided to Cllr Palmer on the housing circumstances that could be affected by the 10% increase and the considerations that would be taken forward.

 

RESOLVED

 

1. To note the consultation on the draft High Road West Local Lettings Policy and draft Love Lane Leaseholder Offer, and engagement with non-secure tenants, described in paragraphs 6.1-6.24 and set out in Appendix 1;

 

2. To note the engagement with residents and the wider community on the High Road West masterplan and the design of the new homes, described in paragraphs 6.25-6.29 and set out in Appendix 2;

 

3. To agree the adoption of the final High Road West Local Lettings Policy attached at Appendix 3;

 

4. To agree the adoption of the final Leaseholder Offer attached at Appendix 4;

 

5. To agree the commitments to residents which will be included in the Landlord Offer, attached at Appendix 5;

 

6. To note the proposed ballot programme and agrees to proceed to ballot Love Lane Estate residents on the High Road West Scheme;

 

7. To authorise the Director of Housing, Regeneration and Planning in consultation with the Cabinet Member for House Building, Placemaking and Development to agree the final ballot programme;

 

8. To authorise the Director of Housing, Regeneration and Planning in consultation with the Cabinet Member for House Building, Placemaking and Development to approve the ballot materials including the Landlord Offer;

 

9. To authorise the Assistant Director of Housing to approve equity loans to eligible resident leaseholders, as provided for in the Leaseholder Offer;

 

10. To authorise the Assistant Director of Housing, in accordance with the revised terms of the Leaseholder Offer, to approve equity loans to support the purchase of properties outside the borough or in excess of the limit set out in the Leaseholder Offer, or to approve leasehold swaps after taking into account the recommendation of the Discretion Panel;

 

 

11. To authorise the Director of Finance in consultation with the Leader, after consultation with the Director of Housing, Regeneration and Planning, to set the initial rental charges for the new homes in High Road West let to eligible tenants living in the masterplan area, at:

•           no more than 10% above the average Council rent for an equivalent size property on the Love Lane Estate (to the bedroom size property that they are moving to) at the time of the move, and no less than that average Council rent.

 

Reasons for decision

The Council has made long-standing commitments to work with the community to develop and agree the Love Lane Leaseholder Offer and High Road West Local Lettings Policy. These policies are required to sit alongside the existing promises to secure Council tenants and ensure that clear policies and assurances are in place for residents affected by the High Road West Scheme.

 

This report recommends approval of the High Road West Local Lettings Policy (Appendix 3) as the consultation feedback has shown that a significant majority of those who responded to the consultation were in support of the Council’s preferred option for the policy, both amongst Love Lane residents and those on the borough Housing Register. It is also the case that the policy supports the promotion of a strong and stable community through maintaining the existing community on Love Lane Estate and within the masterplan area. The report also recommends the approval of the Love Lane Leaseholder Offer (Appendix 4) as it is a fair offer that strikes a balance between providing support to existing leaseholders and funding other housing within the borough through the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA). It has also been developed through substantial consultation and engagement over several years.

 

The recommendations in this report related to implementation of the rehousing options in the Leaseholder Offer (recommendations ix – x) are in place to allow the Council to deliver on its commitments to leaseholders, by ensuring delegations exist to execute the approved policy without having to come to Cabinet for further approvals in individual cases.

 

The report seeks approval of the commitments to be included within the Landlord Offer (Appendix 5). These commitments clearly set out the housing offer and other promises to residents should the scheme go ahead. These commitments include the promises to secure tenants made in the Secure Tenant Guide agreed in 2014, the promises to leaseholders set out in the Love Lane Leaseholder Offer and the promises to non-secure tenants living in temporary accommodation in the masterplan area including those contained in the High Road West Local Lettings Policy. The offer to non-secure tenants has been informed by consultation on the draft Local Lettings Policy and engagement with these residents on other potential elements of an offer.

 

These commitments to residents in relation to their housing offer will be incorporated into the Landlord Offer document, which will be sent to all residents that are eligible to vote in advance of the resident ballot, in line with GLA requirements. The Landlord Offer will also include information about the Council’s broad vision of the scheme and the benefits it will bring to the neighbourhood and will include a statement of the design principles, estimated number of new homes, future tenure mix and proposed associated social infrastructure, commitments relating to ongoing consultation and engagement, as well as information on the ballot process and programme.

 

The recommendation (xi) within this report regarding the rents to be paid by eligible residents within the High Road West masterplan area who move to a new build home within the Scheme takes account of the Council’s commitment (in the Love Lane Resident Charter) that residents will not be financially worse off as a result of the demolition of their home.

 

The Council has committed to ballot residents of the Love Lane Estate on whether to progress with the High Road West Scheme as set out in the Borough Plan. The Council is also required to secure a positive ballot result to draw down funding from the GLA, in line with the Mayor of London’s Resident Ballot Requirement for funding of schemes which comprise the demolition of social homes and the construction of 150 or more homes.

 

Alternative options considered.

 

Not to adopt the Local Lettings Policy or Leaseholder Offer

 

The Council could decide not to adopt the resident offers. This approach has been rejected as it would not deliver on the Council’s commitments to Love Lane residents and is not supported by the responses received to the consultation and engagement described in this report and set out in the Consultation and Engagement Report, see Appendix 1.

 

The Council’s commitments to residents on their housing offer which form part of the Landlord Offer are only made possible by approval of the Local Lettings Policy and Leaseholder Offer. This option would therefore mean that the Council would not be able to put forward the offer to residents it believes to be generous and fair, and which has been developed based on feedback from residents over several years.

 

Not to proceed with the Love Lane Estate resident ballot

 

This option has been rejected as not undertaking a ballot would not deliver on the Council’s commitment in the Borough Plan, which has been made to ensure that estate renewal only proceeds where residents are in favour of the proposals. It would also mean that the Council would not be compliant with the Mayor of London’s Resident Ballot Requirement. As such, the Council would not be able to access the Greater London Authority funding secured to deliver the scheme, and therefore not be able to bring forward the wide-reaching benefits that the High Road West scheme offers.

 

Not to make any changes to the draft Local Lettings Policy and Leaseholder Offer

 

This option was rejected as these changes are in response to feedback received in consultation and engagement. The change made to the policies either provide enhancements on the draft policies or clarifications. The proposed change in the Local Lettings Policy to reduce the duration of time that non-secure tenants need to have lived in the masterplan area to be eligible for a new Council home applies to only a small number of residents (less than 10) who were previously ineligible. This change to the policy will further support its purpose to protect the stability of the existing community in the area, which was supported by most respondents to the consultation, including applicants on the housing register who do not live in the masterplan area.

 

To make other changes to the Local Lettings Policy, Leaseholder Offer and Landlord Offer

 

The Council could make further changes to the policies and resident offers based on suggestions and ideas received during consultation and engagement. For resident leaseholders, this includes the Council making up the difference in value between their existing and new homes, and for the Home Loss Payment to be excluded from any requirement to invest equity into a new home in the development. A full discussion of the suggestions put forward can be found in the report in Appendix 1.

These changes have not been made in the final policies, in the interests of putting forward an offer which is generous but also remains fair. The offer needs to strike a balance in both providing support to existing leaseholders and funding other housing within the borough, including for the borough’s most vulnerable residents. It is believed that pursuing these proposals would unacceptably compromise the ability of the Council to provide housing across the rest of the borough to an acceptable standard, which would not be fair to residents living in Council properties elsewhere in the borough or those waiting on the housing register.

 

The Council also received requests from non-secure tenants in temporary accommodation that secure tenancies be offered to these residents now of their existing properties on Love Lane Estate, rather than only offered for the new Council homes in High Road West. The Council is not able to implement this request as part of the existing consultation process, as this would represent a significant deviation from the principles of the Housing Allocations Policy, which gives priority for accommodation to households with the greatest need, assessed according to banding, and then waiting time on the housing register. This could not be achieved without a change to the Allocations Policy or a new Local Lettings Policy, either of which would be subject to consultation and Cabinet approval.

 

Further, the offer of a secure tenancy to non-secure tenants living in the scheme area is only considered appropriate as part of delivering the High Road West scheme and the 500 new Council homes it includes. The 500 Council homes will be sufficient to rehouse not only all secure and non-secure tenants on the Love Lane Estate, but also 250 households with the highest priority on the wider housing register, which is considered to strike a fair balance between protecting the stability of the existing community while also providing a substantial number of new Council homes for households with the most pressing housing needs in the borough. 

 

Not to cap rents for eligible residents within the High Road West masterplan area

 

This option has been rejected as setting rent levels at formula rent would mean that eligible residents would pay a much higher weekly rent charge (see para 6.53). It would mean that the Council would not be able to deliver as fully on its assurance that it would seek to mitigate the financial impact of the regeneration scheme or its commitment in the Love Lane Resident Charter, which says that residents will not be financially worse off as a result of the demolition of their home.