Agenda item

5.1  The Strategic Director Housing & Community Services reported that this was a large department. The bulk of the port-folio is housing services, but the department also includes responsibility for customer services and community engagement.

 

5.2  There are about 53,000 properties in Southwark which makes us the biggest social landloard in London and one of the largest in the country. It is also unusual in comparison to much of London in that Southwark’s housing stock is in-house. A number of other local authorities landlords have tranfered stock or have arrangements with management companies, ALMOs or housing associations.

 

5.3  The scale of the department’s responsibilities are enormous and as such are spilt into 6 divisions, community engagement, cutomer experience, maintenance and compliance, major works, housing operations and specalist housing services.

 

5.4  The sub-committee were informed that the department has a strong performance management culture overseeing a comprehensive suite of key performance indicators providing stretching targets benchmarked against the best social housing providers.

 

5.5  Members were informed that the contract management teams were split into North (Southwark Building Services) and South (Mears), delivering internal and communial repairs. The director pointed out that officers were monitoring the current service provided by Mears with a view to improvement.

 

5.6  The strategic director reported that officers continue to work hard on tackling illegal occupacy and investigate who actually lives in Southwark properties which is an ongoing process. At the time of the meeting there was still 2,000 properties that the council is trying to get access to check that these are occupied by the legal tenant. 

 

5.7  Key objectives are:-

 

·  Implement a programme to ensure Southwark’s housing stock is warm, dry and safe (report to Cabinet 22.07.2014)

·  Deliver an improved housing repairs service, verified by residents

·  Improve customer services and increase online services customer experience

·  Ensure that charges for homeowners are fair

·  Provide improved value for money and deliver savings

·  Increase the supply of housing, use our stock effectively, reduce the numbers in temporary accommodation

·  Involve tenants and homeowners in the improvement of service delivery.

 

5.8  The sub-committee were informed that the Cabinet had already agreed to  increase the level of tenant management in the borough. Southwark already has some very successful TMO’s such as the Leathermarket JMB model, and  there are also other options which will be explored such as estate management board arrangements.

 

5.9  The chair thanked the strategic director for the briefing and report and opened the meeting for questions from members of the sub-committee.

 

5.10  A member stated that tenants were complaining about condensation issues and damp problems that seem to keep occuring, treatments are undertaken but the problems persist. What has been done to address this problem?

 

5.11  The strategic director reported that last year there were a number of residents who reported damp and or condensation problems. Where there are clusters of complaints which may identfy an underlying issue in specific blocks or estates. Officers conducted a thorough review and appointed independent consultants to have a look at the structure of the building to tackle the problem in a different way. It has to be said that some of it is truly condensation and vents and windows need to be opened to ensure that there is adequate air circulation. Sometimes it is not condensation and instead is a deep rooted problem i.e. waste pipes have broken down in the building and are causing structual defects, rising damp and cold bridging because of the concrete structures of the building. Particularly with some of our system built properties.

 

5.12  In terms of the warm, dry and safe programme officers have had some success with gaining funding from British Gas, which enabled the council to clad buildings in a completely different way and this has really helped to improve the insulation of buildings and improve the thermal efficiency. Officers will always try to find imaginative and long lasting solutions and  information is available to tenants to help address issues of condensation and damp.

 

5.13  A member asked regarding community engagement involving tenants in the management of their estates. The problem is over the years more and more TRA’s find it difficult to find people who would volunteer to be responsible and run the association. Is there any way the council can change our approach, offer more encouragement or training?

 

5.14  The strategic director reported that a report was considered by Cabinet in the last administration which called for a new approach to community engagement. It is recognised that TRA’s are not the foolproof way to involve people on estates. There are some very active and committed residents who give up a lot of their time, but that form of engagement is not for everybody. So there needs to be alternatives whether that is Face book or web pages or something else that people can tap into or even issue based consultation recognising that people are very interested in one thing and not another issue so they can dip in and contribute and then dip out again.

 

5.15  There is a continuing role for TRA’s but officers are also looking at ways to engage with younger people in a way that works for them. Officers have experimented with Face book and trialled it with a few community council’s. This has been successful.

 

5.16  A member stated he was keen to understand the situation with temporary accommodation, in some other London boroughs the fiscal pressures that authorities are under have placed a lot of pressure on temporary accommodation and levels of homelessness are on the rise. What is the situation in Southwark, have officers seen levels of homelessness increase? Are people being held in bed and breakfast for longer than need be?

 

5.17  The strategic director reported that Southwark has been relatively successful historically in containing temporary accommodation placements but have seen over recent months that there is increasing demand. There are pressures on supply and the reason why officers were successful previously was when the council had large scale regeneration programmes like the Aylesbury, those empty properties were used for temporary accommodation, but as those schemes start on site obviously those options were no longer available.

 

5.18  The sub-committee were informed that officers are looking at procuring more hostel accommodation where possible and moving into private sector leasing arrangements. The authority is also trying to encourage landlords to sign up to the council rather than put their properties into the private market. This route is no longer as attractive to private sector landlords as they can charge much higher rents to the market.

 

 

5.19  Officers are also being stringent in carrying out checks so that people who are genuinely homeless are being looked after as they should be and people who have alternative options available to them, whether that be staying at home or renting in the private sector take up those options.

 

5.20  Bournemouth Road which is our homelessness and housing service is seeing a lot of people coming through the doors. London generally is becoming difficult to find accommodation in due to the fact that it is so expensive in terms of the rental market. People are having to make choices about considering whether they should live outside of London. Where we have a responsiblity for temporary accommodation, officers in Southwark try very hard not to go for outer borough placements and try to house in the borough or at least London.

 

5.21  A member asked to what extent are people having to move out of borough or to find accommodation themselves?

 

5.22  The strategic director stated that this is not encouraged, as other authorities have their own problems. London Councils the representative body for all London authorities have very rigid inter borough agreement which all parties comply with but there is a recognition that occasionally people will need to be placed in other boroughs, but we really try to avoid this wherever possible.

 

5.23  A member asked for some information regarding community engagement in the context of new council homes delivery, it has been great to read about the engagement that took place over the last year or two and the helpful things residents were saying about what sort of new council housing they wanted. How are we going to make sure that conversation welcomes new housing at the same time as giving people ownership and decision making that they want?

 

5.24  The strategic director informed members that a report would be going to Cabinet on the 22^nd July 2014 which sets out how the council intents to deliver 11,000 new council homes. Contained in the report is a appendix which is a charter of principles regarding how to involve the community. One area proving difficult in terms of new builds is sometimes local communities feel quite distant, they do not see what is in it for them, whether they are a leaseholder or tenant they feel they are not fully engaged in the proposals for that area. What is being said in the report is that conversations with the community should happen at the earliest stage, including the potential opportunities for the local community in terms of any council new build. For example, the council recently introduced a shared equity stake for leaseholders affected by large scale regeneration schemes, which offer leaseholders the choice of a shared equity stake in the new property as opposed to getting bought out.

 

5.25  There is also the opportunity for local letting schemes within that locality which will determine who should live in the new properties with existing residents helping to determine the local policy.

 

5.26  The other example is the refurbishment of Lakanal, where the block has remained empty following the tragic fire. For many months officers have been working with the tenants and residents association regarding what they want to happen to the block, who should live in it, and opportunities for new build housing.

 

5.27  A member asked a question regarding pest control and lack of communication, giving details of a particular case. The Head of Community Safety & Enforcement stated that if the member gave him the details he would pick up the matter.

 

5.28  A members asked if the strategic director could expand on the leaseholder issues, major works are now receiving bills and explain the options available?

 

5.29  The strategic director stated there were a number of options for leaseholders, although the options are not the same if you are a resident leaseholder or non-residential leaseholder. The options for residential leaseholders include a number of fixed payment terms, i.e. up to 48 months for people to pay their service charges. If people are in financial hardship a charge can be taken on the property, so they don’t actually pay anything but it is a charge on the property in terms of the eventual resale.

 

5.30  There is also a fixed service charge verses variable service charges option giving cost certainty to leaseholders for and option of being able to pay a same set amount year on year.

 

5.31  In cases of severe financial hardship there is the buy back option available where the council buy back the property and provide a tenancy for the leaseholder. This information is available on the website and will be circulated to members.

 

5.32  The chair asked if the handyperson services and the 100% satisfaction which seemed high, how did officers get to this number? And how many people might have been surveyed?

 

5.33  The strategic director stated that this information would be sent to members. The important thing about the handyperson service is it is something that people choose, so it is not delivered in terms of a responsive service, it is particularly for elderly/vulnerable clients and it is generally a very well perceived service but is separate to the normal day to day service and is funded in a different way.

 

5.34  A member asked about housing options system, is there likely to be a review  of having a band 4? When there is very little chance on anyone in this band ever being re-housed?

 

5.35  The strategic director stated that the allocation policy was reviewed by a cross party review group which was chaired by the previous cabinet member for Housing. It also involved tenants and expert advice from housing associations and took evidence from what worked well from elsewhere. There was discussion regarding band 4 because the bulk of the waiting list in contained in band 4 which is approximately 9,000 people currently.

 

5.36  Officers are writing out to every single person in band 4 because people have been in that category for so long that their circumstances may have changed. Officers have already found that a number of people have found their own accommodation, either have bought or rented elsewhere or have moved out of Southwark.

 

5.37  The allocation policy is going to be reviewed and there will be a report going back to cabinet in October 2014. 

 

5.38  The strategic director undertook to circulate the following documents to members:-

 

·  Leaseholders options

·  Handypersons Services Satisfaction Levels

·  Letter to residents in Band 4