Agenda item - Housing Asset Management Strategy

Report of Acting Executive Director for Environment, Development & Housing (copy attached).

(1)          That the Housing Asset Management Strategy as shown in Appendix 1, be approved in conjunction with resolution (2) below.

(2)          That it is recommended that the asset management strategy includes a commitment to explore a range of options for providing social rented and lower than Local Housing Allowance rate (LHA) rented housing. 

69.1   The Committee considered the report of the Acting Executive Director Environment, Development and Housing which presented the proposed Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Housing Asset Management Strategy 2016-2020.  Members were requested to consider the strategy contents within the current policy context. 

69.2   The report was presented by the Housing Asset Strategy Manager.   The Principal Accountant stated that the 30 year financial plan was being updated.  Officers were currently waiting for more data about legislation changes.    

69.3   Councillor Mears referred to page 33 – apprenticeships.  She thought        that there had been 200.  She referred to page 34 – last paragraph.         She felt it was not appropriate to name one officer, while not       highlighting the whole of the team. Councillor Mears referred to page         37 – reviewing assets to ensure long term viability.  There was no           mention of this coming back to the committee. Page 41 – Senior housing and over 55’s blocks – Councillor Mears was concerned to       read that over 55’s only blocks would be reviewed.  She was aware           that there had been changes already.   Page 41 – leasehold buyback.  Councillor Mears mentioned that some councillors had received an email from a resident who had asked for Information as a Freedom of Information request.  The reply from the council stated that there was not currently a buy back policy.  

69.4   The Chair stated that a report would be submitted to the Regeneration      Board on buy back provisions. 

69.5    The Housing Asset Strategy Manager explained that the 100 apprenticeships figure was where the council was now rather than over the ten years. The results of reviewing assets to ensure long term viability would be presented to the committee.  He would respond in writing about the over 55’s blocks.     

69.6   Councillor Mears referred to the recommendations.  She considered          that the Housing Asset Management Strategy should be noted and      brought back to the committee for a final decision.  The Acting Director, Environment, Development & Housing stated that the strategy was a living document.  It could be approved at the meeting today.  If there were material changes, they would need to come back to the committee.  

69.7   Councillor Moonan asked for an explanation of the table on page 43. The Principal Accountant explained that this showed a surplus i.e. the table was currently showing more income received than planned expenditure over the four years, which would go into reserves. 

69.8   Councillor Miller stated that there was a choice between renewing the stock the council had at present and potentially increasing density or improving the stock the council had and building less.  He asked about the balance of those two options.   The Housing Asset Strategy Manager explained that officers undertook a number of consultation meetings with tenants and the feedback received was that they wanted to see an investment in the current stock.  That obviously needed to be balanced against the priorities of the council and the investment being made in new build.  

69.9   Councillor Miller referred to the first paragraph of page 37 which referred to the £414,000 budget saving for responsive repairs.  At the Mears workshop Members were informed that the average responsive repair cost £299 but in this report it stated the figure as £92.  He asked which figure was correct.  Page 37 also spoke about selling freeholds.  How would this affect the council’s later ability to potentially increase the density on housing estates?  Councillor Miller asked when it was known when density would be increased, how would that be reflected in the planned capital programme? 

69.10  The Acting Director reported that the council would only sell freeholds where 100% of the flats in the block had been sold.  It could potentially fetter the council’s ability to undertake future regeneration but at the same time if the council were to regenerate those areas it would have to buy out those leaseholders.  As a result, it was unlikely that the regeneration of that area would be financially viable, once it had been factored in by buying 100% of the leaseholds.   This would need to be considered in each and every case.   

69.11  The Housing Asset Strategy Manager picked up on the point about investing in current assets, which may be reviewed later on for potential re-development or different schemes.  He stressed that as a landlord the council must keep properties in repair.  That would be the aim as a minimum.  At this stage the council was not aware of which parts of the housing may be allocated or reallocated differently.  The aim at the moment was to ensure health and safety.   

69.12  The Head of Housing stated that she would get back to Councillor Miller on the cost of average responsive repairs.

69.13  Councillor Atkinson stated that he gathered that the strategy would overlap with the housing delivery options paper.  He referred to page 37 where it talked about a vision for success. This stated that “We will review the tenancies we provide for new lettings to ensure the best fit between peoples’ housing costs and their changing financial and family circumstances.”  He asked for clarity about that statement.  Councillor Atkinson referred to page 40, which referred to households earning over £30,000.  Councillor Atkinson had recently read that the Government was being approached by its own advisers to rethink this policy.  He asked if officers were aware of this development.  The Principal Accountant stated that she had not received any information about that matter.  She was still waiting to receive final details on what was to happen. 

69.14  The Housing Asset Strategy Manager stated that tenancy reviews would take place when the council reviewed its tenancy strategy.

69.15  Councillor Gibson welcomed the strategy; however, it was clear that financial constraints could dramatically change over the next six months so it was important to see a revised report.  Councillor Gibson referred to priority 2 on page 38 of the report.  He asked what efforts were being made to achieve this top priority in the council’s housing strategy.  The Principal Accountant replied that when officers looked at developments they would look at the net rental streams that were coming in to finance the cost of that development.  Because of the increasing costs officers were finding that social rents don’t actually cover the costs of delivering those new homes.      . 

69.16    The Acting Director reported that officers were always looking to delivering better for less and were looking at different models.  For example, Members had recently visited the YCube project.  There was a Cross Party Estate Regeneration Board which included members of the Housing & New Homes Committee and it was suggested that the Board was the right vehicle to consider specific requests around looking at different delivery models.  The discussions of the Board would inform reports to this committee.   

69.17    Councillor Gibson reported that he would be proposing an amendment.  He had circulated paperwork to Members on new build calculations that he considered were accurate and which used the council’s own data.  It demonstrated that the kind of rents that the council were proposing in the affordable rents for new homes for neighbourhoods were at least double the current social rents.  If members looked at the middle household income, according to the council’s own figures of people in the city and the measure of affordability that rents should cost no more than a third of disposable income, then these rents were not affordable by that definition for half of the people in the city.  The Council’s strategy stated that the aim where feasible was to develop social rented housing. 

69.18    The Acting Director informed members that the document did cover an aim about maximising affordability on new homes.  He suggested that if members were concerned about the officers delivering on that aim then the oversight of the delivery should be undertaken by the Cross Party Regeneration Board.

69.19    Councillor Gibson agreed that the Cross Party Regeneration Board was an important vehicle for addressing these issues but there were other vehicles and other possibilities.  

69.20    Councillor Mears informed the Committee that her group did not have a problem with the amendment.  It firmed up what had been expressed at the meeting today.  Agreement of the recommendation would ensure that Members of the Committee had an opportunity to discuss the matter. 

69.21    Councillor Gibson proposed an amendment which was seconded by Councillor Mears as follows: 

            ‘Add recommendations:

            2.2. The Committee recommends that the Asset Management Strategy included a commitment to explore a range of options for providing social rented and lower than Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rented housing.’

69.22  Members voted on whether the amendments could be accepted for the substantive vote.  This was unanimously agreed.

69.23  The Committee then voted on the amended recommendations. Members unanimously voted to accept the amended recommendations.  

69.24  RESOLVED:-

(1)            That the Housing Asset Management Strategy as shown in Appendix 1, be approved in conjunction with resolution (2) below.

(2)            That it is recommended that the asset management strategy includes a commitment to explore a range of options for providing social rented and lower than Local Housing Allowance rate (LHA) rented housing.