Agenda item

The Panel received a report, which provided an update on the standards and quality of temporary accommodation, and how the Council worked with and sought compliance from external temporary accommodation providers. The report was introduced by Denise Gandy, Assistant Director of Housing Demand, as set out in the agenda pack at pages 13-94. The Cabinet Member for Housing Services, Private Renters and Planning, Cllr Carlin, was also present for this agenda item. The following arose during the discussion of this report:

a.    The Panel sought assurances about how to reduce reliance on nightly paid accommodation and how long on average people were housed in this situation. In response, officers advised that the night by night basis of paying landlords was originally used as a short term last resort measure, but that these arrangements were no longer short term as other more long term options were no longer available and demand continued to increase. The Cabinet Member commented that there was an acute shortage of temporary accommodation but that the Council was doing what it could to reduce its reliance on nightly accommodation.

b.    The Panel was advised that there were around 4k households a year who were under the threat of homelessness. Around 50 new households per month were placed in temporary accommodation.

c.    Officers agreed to provide a written update to members which set out what the relative costs of different types of temporary accommodation used compared to other tenures, and the impact this had on the budget.

d.    The Panel sought clarification about why the Council had not sort to regularise long term use of properties on a nightly basis through long term contracts. In response, officers advised that London Councils had an agreement in place that London local authorities would not to outbid each other and the Council had a maximum rate it would pay. Fundamentally, however, there was a shortage of housing stock and the Council was tied to the wider private sector housing market.

e.    The Panel questioned the use of commercial hotels as temporary accommodation and queried whether this was new and the costs and length of stay involved. In response, officers advised that this was a relatively new undertaking, having been used in the past three or four months. The Council had a dynamic purchasing system in place, which it used to find nightly accommodation. At present there was very little accommodation available and when there was nightly rate accommodation available, then a hotel or B&B was used as a last resort. The length of stay varied from a few nights to longer. The maximum length of stay in B&Bs, as set out by the government, was six weeks. It was noted that the cost would be higher than other forms of nightly accommodation but that officers didn’t have the exact figures to hand.

f.     Officers advised that the inspection of hotels was done at a pan-London level and they reported back and graded each provider. The Council paid a fee for this.

g.    The Cabinet Member emphasised that the use of hotels and B&Bs was a last resort but that officers had no other choice due to there being no other alternatives available.

h.    The Cabinet Member set out that the biggest issue was that private sector landlords were selling up due to adverse market conditions including rising interest rates, and this had a huge impact on the availability of accommodation available in general. It was commented that this was the long term implication of having an overreliance on private sector accommodation, throughout the housing market, which had been propped up by Housing Benefit payments for many years.

i.      In relation to enforcement powers, officers advised that for nightly properties, they worked closely with the housing improvement team who would liaise directly with providers. Officers noted that tenants would have the right to expect reasonable repairs in temporary accommodation, even if the landlord was looking to sell up.

RESOLVED

Noted.