Issue - meetings

To receive a report from the Corporate Manager for Public Health, Regulation and Housing.

The Homes Policy Development Group had made the following recommendation:

RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that the revised Mid Devon Housing (MDH) Recharges Policy be approved.

The Cabinet had before it a report * stating that Mid Devon Housing (MDH), as a social landlord, incurred costs that arose from works and other activities which were normally the responsibility of the tenant, including repair of deliberate damage, pest control and property cleans and clearances. The MDH Recharges Policy sought to define the circumstances where such recharges occurred and make clear MDH’s intention to recover such costs.

Consideration was given to:

·         Whether there was a link between the age of a property and the length of the void period. It was explained that often there was a link.

·         Sometimes there was deliberate damage to a property which required repair but which came at a cost.

·         Other costs incurred could include missed appointments, missed inspections including those related to gas safety and tenants who just disappeared with no forwarding address.

·         It was a challenging area but people’s vulnerabilities were always taken into account.

RESOLVED that the updated MDH Recharges Policy and Equality Impact Assessment contained in Annexes A and B respectively be approved.

(Proposed by Cllr S Clist and seconded by Cllr J Lock)

Reason for the decision:

The Council is (and must be) a registered provider of social housing and therefore is required to comply with the regulatory framework and consumer standards operated by the Regulator for Social Housing (RSH). 

As such, it is necessary to ensure that the Recharges Policy addresses all the relevant legal obligations the Council has as a landlord for the housing estate. Consequently, the policy has been produced to ensure MDH has a clear basis for compliance with the relevant statutory consumer standard, which is it the Home Standard in this case.

Note: * Report previously circulated; copy attached to the minutes

To receive a report from The Corporate Manager for Public Health, Regulation and Housing. MDH, as a social landlord, incurs costs that arise from works and other activities which are normally the responsibility of the tenant, including repair of damage, pest control, and property cleans and clearances. The MDH Recharges Policy seeks to define the circumstances where such recharges occur and make clear MDH’s intention to recover such costs.

The Group had before it, a report * from the Corporate Manager for Public Health, Regulation and Housing. Mid Devon Housing (MDH), as a social landlord, incurred costs that arose from works and other activities which were normally the responsibility of the tenant, including repair of deliberate damage, pest control and property cleans and clearances. The MDH Recharges Policy sought to define the circumstances where such recharges occurred and make clear MDH’s intention to recover such costs.

The officer outlined the contents of the report with particular reference to the following:

·         This was a light touch review with minor changes. It set out the responsibilities of both landlord and tenants.

·         The service did incur costs where recovery was required, such as deliberate damage to property and missed appointments.

·         Opportunities to recover costs were sometimes limited especially where tenants disappear without notice.

Discussion took place with regard to:

·         A variety of methods we used to keep tenants informed including home visits, hard copies of the policy and inspection works.

·         A request was made that all tenant specific letters or other correspondence included contact details of their Ward Member/s going forwards.

·         The new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system might be able to have a facility to quickly identify a tenant’s Ward Member.

RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that the revised Mid Devon Housing (MDH) Recharges Policy be approved.

(Proposed by Cllr S Chenore and seconded by Cllr S Robinson)

Reason for the decision:

The Council was (and must be) a registered provider of social housing and therefore was required to comply with the regulatory framework and consumer standards operated by the Regulator for Social Housing (RSH).

As such, it is necessary to ensure that the Recharges Policy addresses all the relevant legal obligations the Council has as a landlord for the housing estate. Consequently, the policy has been produced to ensure MDH has a clear basis for compliance with the relevant statutory consumer standard, which is the Home Standard in this case.

Note: * Report previously circulated; copy attached to the minutes.