Universal Credit Behind Rising Rent Arrears And Food Bank Use

Universal Credit is pushing poor tenants deeper into rent arrears and sending food bank referrals soaring, according to a study by two councils that have been guinea pigs for the new regime. Southwark and Croydon councils in south London warned that without rapid changes the new system could have a devastating effect across the country as it is rolled out over the next few months, warning that arrears could reach “many hundreds of millions of pounds” and that tenants could face severe hardship. One food bank reported an increase in referrals of 97%. The report examined rent accounts for 775 social housing tenants in the two boroughs who had moved on to universal credit between August and October 2016, comparing them with 249 rent accounts held by tenants who moved on to the older housing benefit system during the same period. Download the report from the Smith Institute website.

Council Facing Judicial Review over Private Sector Licensing

Landlords have launched a legal challenge to plans by a local authority to charge for licences to manage properties. The Croydon Guardian newspaper says Croydon council is facing a judicial review of its scheme after a group of businessmen filed papers with the High Court. Currently the licensing regime is set to be introduced in October; the authority took the decision in March following a three-month public consultation. As with so many recent licensing schemes, the private landlord will have to prove he or she is "fit and proper" for the role - and, perhaps most importantly for the council, each landlord will have to pay up to £750 for the licence. Read more on the Letting Agent Today website.

Council to License All Private Rented Homes

Landlords and letting agents operating in Croydon are being warned they have three months to get their properties licensed or face possible legal action, following a decision by Croydon Council to roll out borough-wide selective licensing. The selective licensing scheme, which is expected to cover about 30,000 private rented homes, will come into force on 1 October 2015. The scheme will last for five years.  The new selective licensing scheme, known locally as the ‘Croydon Private Rented Property Licence’ (CPRPL), will extend licensing to almost every house or flat let out to an individual, couple or single household anywhere in the borough. There are very few statutory exemptions. Read more on the London Property Licensing website.

Council’s Licensing Scheme to Target Rogue Landlords

Rogue landlords who provide poor quality housing are the target of a new licensing scheme to improve private rented accommodation for tenants in Croydon. Under the scheme, every private landlord will be required to obtain a licence, whereby they will have to demonstrate they have met a series of health and safety standards. The proposed selective licensing scheme is a key part of the 'Don’t Mess with Croydon' campaign to clean up the borough by improving conditions in private rented accommodation. The licensing process will also require stringent ‘fit and proper’ checks of landlords for any criminal convictions.  Read more on the propertyindustryeye website.

Hundreds of Families Worse Off As Benefit Cap Is Tested

Hundreds of Croydon families will be worse off as a result of the Government’s controversial new benefit cap.  According to data obtained by Eastlondonlines through a Freedom of Information request 553 households in Croydon are set to be affected by the changes with 180 losing £100-£300 a week and seven losing over £300 a week.  Croydon Council said that 25 per cent of affected residents they have spoken to have “expressed an interest in learning more about moving home”.  Alternative housing could well be outside of Croydon.   Read more on the Eastlondonlines website.

Council Looks to Move Homeless outside London

Croydon Council is looking at offering homeless households accommodation outside the borough due to the lack of council houses in the area and the high rents being demanded by private landlords. Croydon has already acquired properties in Manchester and Walsall, however some of those in temporary accommodation had refused to take up the offer.  It now says it is going into partnership with Richmond, Kingston and Sutton councils with a view to jointly obtaining 150 properties outside London, with Croydon "taking the larger portion".  The council says it has seen a 36% increase in homeless numbers in 2011/12 - leading to a 200% spike in its use of B&B lets.  It further warns that the planned introduction of the household benefit cap next April will leave a couple with three children, for example, with a maximum rent allowance of £176.18, a shortfall of £76.82 against the average LHA rent in Croydon.  Read more on 24dash.

London Council Offered Homes in Manchester and Walsall

Croydon Council has confirmed that it has been offered nearly 100 properties in Greater Manchester and Walsall by a property developer as it seeks solutions to the borough's housing crisis. The council recently called for a "serious debate" on the acute housing crisis facing the borough after a national newspaper claimed it was moving homeless families to Hull.
The council confirmed it was having discussions with councils in other parts of the country, such as North Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Kent and Sussex, and said much of its spare capacity was taken by 58 households displaced during August's riots. Now it has emerged a property developer has offered the council nearly 100 homes to ease the housing crisis in the borough that has seen the number of households in emergency accommodation, such as bed and breakfasts, jump from 61 in 2008 to 300 in 2011. Read more on 24dash.

Croydon's Homeless Asked To Move to Hull After Borough Runs Out

Homeless families will be asked to move to seaside towns in Yorkshire because of the chronic shortage of housing in Croydon. The council is so short of temporary accommodation that it will pay for destitute families to relocate more than 225 miles and live in areas such as Hull – once dubbed Britain's worst town – where homes are more readily available and rent is cheaper. The measure has been introduced to tackle a homelessness crisis in Croydon, epitomised by the 300 families currently living in bed and breakfasts – costing the council £300,000 a month. Croydon's housing crisis had been worsened by the need to find emergency accommodation for 58 families who lost their homes during the riots. There are currently 1,600 homeless families in Croydon, mostly in temporary accommodation. Croydon has already looked further afield for housing. Earlier this year, the authority paid for a homeless family to live in St Leonards-on-Sea near Hastings in East Sussex. Read more on the Croydon Advertiser.