Agenda item

Motion E

Liberal Democrat  Group Motion Better rented homes for Haringey

Proposer: Cllr Barnes

Seconder: Cllr Cawley-Harrison

Council notes that:

1. The Housing Act 2004 requires Homes of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) accommodating five or more people to be licensed (with a small number of exceptions).
2. Haringey has an Additional HMO Licensing Scheme under section 56 of the Housing Act which applies to all buildings that are HMOs as defined by sections 254 of the Act other than HMOs that are subject to mandatory licensing under section 55(2) (a) of the Act subject to any statutory exemption or exception with licenses granted for up to five years.
3. Haringey has an additional Selective Licensing Scheme which applies to  all privately rented homes let to a single person, 2 people, or a single household (e.g. a family) in thirteen wards across the borough (Bounds Green, Bruce Castle, Harringay, Hermitage and Gardens, Noel Park, Northumberland Park, Seven Sisters, South Tottenham, St Ann's, Tottenham Central, Tottenham Hale, West Green, White Hart Lane, Woodside).
4. Unlike Enfield or Barnet, Haringey does not inspect HMOs for safety before granting licences to landlords.
5. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025, whilst bringing important benefits to tenants, has led some landlords to pre-emptively increase rents, to exit the sector, or to switch to Nightly Paid Accommodation, all of which have been significant drivers in the recent increase in demand for housing support from Haringey¹, which is now at an all-time high.
6. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 gives councils new powers and responsibilities to enforce higher standards in the private rented sector.
7. Awaab’s Law, which places new requirements on landlords to tackle damp and mould, came into force on 17th October 2025.
8. The council currently makes use of the Private Rental Sector, including HMOs, to provide Temporary Accommodation to Haringey Residents, and to direct Haringey Residents to private assured shorthold tenancy agreements through the Council’s Private Sector Renting team, including by making Private Rented Sector Offers.
9. That the Council considers HMOs as licensed as soon as an application is submitted, and not only once the licence has been granted.
10. That due to this, an HMO may have a series of actions that need fulfilling to meet the licensing criteria, but by the council be considered a “licensed” HMO
11. A recent report in The Guardian claimed that Haringey Council has arranged for residents to be placed in rooms on shorthold tenancies in an HMO that had neither planning permission to be an HMO, nor been granted a licence as an HMO, and that the property had been subject to enforcement and court action by the council where the landlord was found guilty;
12. The council is aware that the landlord of this HMO has a number of unlicensed HMOs across the borough, but has not taken enforcement action against these properties to date.
13. According to the National Residential Landlords’ Association³, Haringey carried out just 21 Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) inspections of private rented properties from 2021 to 2023, and issued only 35 civil penalty notices. In the same period by comparison, Brent Council carried out 3093 HHSRS inspections and issued 395 Improvement Notices.
14. Councils have the power to step in and carry out repairs on private rented properties where the landlord has failed to do so (and have powers to recover the costs by receiving rent payments directly from the tenants  through Interim Management Orders).
15. Haringey Council has not issued a single Interim Management Order in at least the past five years.
16. The Council has made significant improvements in terms of compliance within its own property stock since the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) found that Haringey Council breached its consumer standards, creating potential for “serious detriment” to tenants including over 100 Category One hazards following Council’s self-referral; however the Council does not carry out compliance tests on properties it directs residents towards in the Private Rental Sector, properties within its Additional HMO Licensing Scheme or properties within its Selective Licensing Scheme.

Council believes that:

1. Decent housing is a fundamental human right, and everyone should have a home which is safe and well-maintained.
2. The Council has a crucial role to play, both as a landlord responsible for its own housing stock, and as the enforcement body for the private rented sector in ensuring the highest safety standards of housing across the borough.
3. The Council also has a duty to ensure that any property that Haringey either directly places residents in, or signposts tenants towards, whether it is Temporary Accommodation, Private Sector Lease Accommodation (PSLs) or Private Rental Sector Accommodation is safe, fit for purpose, and properly licensed, before the council makes that placement or recommendation.
4. Enforcement powers are only effective if landlords and tenants believe they will be used.
5. Landlords who fail the “fit and proper person” test should not be eligible for any form of housing license within Haringey and should not be able to bypass the test by applying for a license via a managing agent or other third-party entity.

Council therefore resolves to:

1. End the practice of treating HMO licenses as if granted on application or allowing occupancy pending works, and instead only grant licenses and allow occupation once all licensing tests are met.
2. Hold the highest standards for the “fit and proper person” test, including checks to ensure landlords successfully prosecuted by Haringey Council are flagged when applying the test, to ensure that convicted rogue landlords are not able to continue operating in our borough.
3. Alter the licensing scheme to ensure that the Council proactively inspects every HMO for compliance on a full cost recovery basis before a license is granted, and thereafter include inspections of licensed properties on the same schedule as properties where the council is the landlord.
4. Immediately review all properties that hold a HMO license or Selective License within Haringey to ensure they have the requisite planning permission, and where they do not, to immediately proceed to planning enforcement.
5. Ensure that the council does not place residents in, make private rented sector offers to, or signpost residents towards, properties which lack the required planning permission, have not had licenses granted, or have not had and passed safety inspections or compliance checks.
6. Ensure that every resident is contacting the Council for housing assistance, and every resident in private rented accommodation is given clear information about:
   1. their new rights;
   2. the new, higher standards for landlords;
   3. how to spot an unlicensed property; and
   4. how to report any problems to the council.
7. Increase the use of fines and rent-repayment orders to help cover the cost of increased enforcement activity and use existing Works in Default powers to step in and fix unsafe properties where the private landlord has failed to do so (with cost recovery).
8. Inspect properties when safety concerns are reported and issue improvement notices within 14 days, making use of Interim Management Orders to collect rent directly and using this to fund repairs and council management costs if landlords fail to comply.
9. Minimise the number of evictions and homes lost from the rental sector by advertising the options for the council to manage or purchase their property.
10. Report progress on the above measures by:
    1. Publishing the figures relevant to this motion on  a quarterly basis on a suitable page of the Council website
    2. Including these figures in the Housing Services Key Performance Indicators document which is regularly reviewed by the Council’s Housing Improvement Board
    3. Providing an annual update thereafter to the Housing, Planning and Development Scrutiny Panel.

Motion F

Labour Group Motion - Ending Rough Sleeping in Haringey – Delivering a fairer borough for all

Proposer: Cllr Sarah Williams

Seconder: Cllr Ibrahim Ali

This Council notes:

-          Homelessness and rough sleeping are some of the most challenging and complex social issues, spanning housing, mental health, domestic abuse, and immigration and asylum.

-          The number of people rough sleeping hit a historic low in 2010. However, since then numbers have spiralled. An estimated 4,667 people slept rough on any given night in autumn 2024 – a 164% increase on the 2010 estimate. (HoC Library).

-          The current government has introduced several measures aimed at tackling rough sleeping and homelessness -

o   Increased national funding to tackle homelessness by £233m.

o   Passed the Renters’ Rights Act - ending no-fault evictions, the most common cause of statutory homelessness in London.

o   Abolishing the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act – an archaic law that criminalised rough sleeping and embedded myths and ignorance about homelessness.

o   Provided Haringey Council with almost £600,000 to help residents experiencing homelessness.

-          Under this Council in Haringey, rough sleeping has decreased 33% because of the local measures we have taken:

o   Launched the Rough Sleeping Strategy 2023-2027, embedding a strong foundation of trauma-informed, evidence-led practice, co-produced with people with lived experience.

o   Secured £4m in government funding to expand housing stock and deliver 24/7 wraparound support, including access to mental health and substance misuse services.

o   Implemented a rapid-access accommodation model, enabling direct transitions from street homelessness into safe housing.

o   Osborne Grove has been repurposed to provide 37 units of accommodation, significantly boosting local capacity.

o   Opened a female-only crash pad to support women experiencing hidden homelessness, offering short-term emergency accommodation with minimal entry requirements, ensuring quick access to safety.

o   20% of all beds are allocated to individuals with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), addressing a critical gap in statutory support and ensuring that vulnerable individuals are not excluded from emergency housing.

-          Alongside this, the newly launched Homelessness Strategy sets out an ambition to phase out the use of commercial hotels for temporary accommodation as well as enhancing our front door services for families by creating a new prevention hub.

-          The 33% decrease in Haringey sits against a 20% increase nationally, positioning Haringey as one of the few areas demonstrating measurable progress.

-          Under this Council, we are building council homes: 800 new council homes (the 2^nd highest in London in that time); 1,000 by Christmas 2025; and on track to build 3,000 by 2031. Council homes at council rents for families in need to stay locally.

-          Under this Council we are taking major action to help residents out of temporary accommodation:

-          Home-buying initiative for temporary accommodation (with hundreds bought already).

-          Bringing in pension fund investment to fund more home-buying for temporary accommodation.

-          Incentives for private landlords to rent to families currently in temporary accommodation.

-          Ended the outsourcing of housing repairs – investing in faster void turnarounds.

This Council believes:

-          The current government shares our mission to end rough sleeping.

-          In the UK in 2025 no one should be without a home. We believe that every Haringey resident should have a safe, decent and comfortable home.

-          It is imperative we prevent residents from becoming homeless and provide the best possible support for those in crisis as well as good quality temporary accommodation.

-          Commercial hotels are not suitable for families in need. We aim to end our use of them, but the challenges imposed by the housing crisis mean this is not a quick process.

This Council resolves to:

-          Set ambitious targets and milestones for our mission to end rough sleeping in Haringey.

-          Continue to explore means that contribute to this strategic objective, including providing holistic wrap around support for the breadth of challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness.

-          Celebrate the work of this Council and all officers and local and national partners involved in delivering the 33% decrease in rough sleeping since 2022.

-          Write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to:

o   Showcase the policies and strategy that have contributed to Haringey’s measurable progress.

o   Invite the Secretary of State or relevant minister to visit the borough to showcase some of these policies in action and further discuss how our local success might translate to the national picture.

-          Recognise that our task is not complete until rough sleeping has been eradicated in Haringey.