Agenda item

To receive a report from Operations Manager for Housing Services and the  Corporate Manager for Public Health, Regulation and Housing. The Management Board of the Devon Home Choice scheme has undertaken a consultation on proposed changes to associated policy and procedures and this report provides more information about this.  Individual local authority members of the scheme have been asked to approve the adoption of these changes.

The Group had before it a report * from the Operations Manager for Housing and the Corporate Manager for Public Health, Regulation and Housing. The Management Board of the Devon Home Choice scheme had undertaken a consultation on proposed changes to associated policy and procedures and this report provides more information about this.  Individual local authority members of the scheme had been asked to approve the adoption of these changes.

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

·         The Devon Home Choice Scheme, which Mid Devon District Council had signed up to, was the mechanism by which housing need was assessed and how homes were allocated.

·         There had been some minor changes over the years but more significant changes had been proposed recently which required consultation.

At a recent Management Board meeting not all the proposed changes had been agreed. The Operations Manager for Housing Services referred to each of the proposals listed in the report and provided an update:

Proposal 1 – related to bidding for larger 1 bed properties where applicants are lacking two bedrooms. This was agreed by the Board but the landlord would have discretion to decide whether or not the property met the needs of the family. Adverts would specify the household numbers.

Proposal 2 – related to some of the new products on the market now such as ‘Rent to Buy’ or ‘Build to Rent’. A new question had been added to the application form to ensure that people were aware of the other options available to them.

Proposal 3 – related to maximum occupancy of larger properties. Sometimes larger properties had different occupancy levels due to the size of bedrooms and could be reconfigured with the members of the household deciding how best to make use of the space available to them.

Proposal 4 – related to occupancy of high-rise flats by younger children. This was agreed by the Management Board but was not really applicable to Mid Devon as there were no large blocks of flats taller than 4 stories in the district.

Proposal 5 – related to those household members who could not succeed to a tenancy following the death of a tenant. It was agreed that some priority be given members of a household left in use to tenants who cannot succeed the tenancy.

Proposal 6 – related to management of financial risk. It was agreed that wording in relation to rent arrears be revised.

Proposal 7 – related to the assessment of cases where there was overcrowding. The suggested revision of the wording from 2 children to 2 people was not agreed by the Management Board.

Proposal 8 – related to the award of priority for rehousing when hazards may be present in a home. The Board felt that greater clarification was needed before a decision could be made in relation to this.

Discussion took place with regard to:

·         Clarity was sought regarding the rights of an older child should his or her parents pass away. It was confirmed that the new provisions suggested did not conflict with our own policy relating to tenancy changes.  Someone left in a property could apply for a homeless assessment and they would be given priority for rehousing.  However, in order to make best use of stock, if the property was too large, they may be offered more suitable alternative accommodation.

·         The importance of a garden to families with children.

·         Being part of the Devon Home Choice letting system provided a consistent approach across the whole county.

·         The Government had been undertaking some consultation regarding how houses should be allocated and more information regarding this would be presented to the next meeting.

RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that the following proposed changes to the Devon Home Choice Scheme be approved (as listed within the report):

Proposal 1

Proposal 3

Proposal 4

Proposal 5

Proposal 6

(Proposed by Cllr L Cruwys and seconded by Cllr Mrs C Daw)

Reason for the decision:

Failure to run a housing register that is transparent could result in complaints from people who feel that they have been unfairly disadvantaged and this could result in reputational damage.

Note:   (i) * Report previously circulated; copy attached to the signed minutes.

(ii)  It was not recommended that proposals 2, 7 or 8 be approved.