Cost of Homelessness in Hackney Doubles

A Freedom of Information Act request from the Green Party has discovered that the cost of homelessness in Hackney has doubled since the 2010 general election. According to the figures, the cost of homelessness in 2009/10 was £3,092,255 compared to £7,167,440 in 2014/15. There was also a cut on staff spending in the same period, from £3,239,653 to £2,608,491. Since 2010, government policies have cut jobseekers allowance, housing benefits and increased sanctions for people receiving support. Read more on 24dash.

First Million Pound 'Affordable' Housing Property Goes On Sale

Britain's first £1million 'affordable' housing property has gone on the market but its prospective buyer will need to earn £82,000-a-year to cover the cost. The three-bedroom flat in Hackney, east London, has come under fire from housing charities after being valued at £1,025,000 with would-be homeowners offered a 25 per cent stake in the property. It means that if prospective buyers only have the minimum deposit of £12,813, they would need to be earning £82,000-a-year to get a mortgage on the remaining £243,437. With this agreed, mortgage repayments on the 25 per cent stake would work out at around £1,352-a-month. Housing association rent on the remaining three quarters of £1,121, and an additional monthly service charge of £250, would then push up the total monthly outgoings to £2,723. Read more on the Daily Mail website.

Evictions Soar By 60% in Wake of Coalition's Welfare Cuts

The Tory-led coalition's welfare reforms appear to have led to a 60% increase in evictions due to rent arrears in the London Borough of Hackney. Between April 2014, when the government's benefit cap and controversial bedroom tax were introduced, and April 2014, 98 social housing tenants were evicted in the borough, compared to 61 the year before. The data was made public after the Green Party made a freedom of information request to Hackney Council, which gathered its figures from its ALMO, Hackney Homes. Hackney Homes evicted a total of 108 tenants over 2013/14, compared to 72 in 2012/13. Read more on 24dash.

Consultation Begins On ALMO's Future

Hackney Council has agreed to consult with tenants and leaseholders on a proposal to take back the management of its housing stock from its ALMO, Hackney Homes. The consultation, which started on August 7th, will give residents a chance to have their say on the proposal. Councillor Philip Glanville, cabinet member for housing, said: “With the contract between the two organisations coming to an end in April 2016 and the further savings needed, now is the right time to review this arrangement.” Read more on 24dash.

ALMO's Future Bleak As Council Meets To Discuss Dissolution

Hackney Council is considering dissolving its ALMO, Hackney Homes, and bringing its housing stock back under its own management. The council and the board of Hackney Homes have submitted a joint proposal to consult tenants and leaseholders on returning housing management to the local authority in April 2016. Cabinet will consider the proposals at a meeting next week, and, subject to agreement, the consultation will begin in August. Read more on the Hackney Council website.

Council Opens Letting Agency to Help Protect Private Sector Tenants

A London council has launched its own letting agency in a bid to lower the cost of private sector housing. Hackney’s not-for-profit agency will invite landlords to hand responsibility of their properties to the council, which will then rent them out. In return they will guarantee rent even if the property is empty and a regular supply of longer-term tenants. Initially the scheme will target people who do not qualify for housing benefit but struggle to pay private sector rents.  The scheme will not charge agency fees to tenants. Read more on the Evening Standard website.

Councils Must Consult Over ALMO Contracts

Councils must consult with residents before awarding long-term maintenance contracts to ALMOs, a tribunal has ruled.  Hackney Council lost a legal battle with leaseholders last week, after seeking dispensation from rules demanding they consult over a three year repairs and maintenance contract with ALMO Hackney Homes.  Judge Andrew Dutton said the tribunal had been asked by the council to ‘re-write’ the law, and ordered them to consult leaseholders.

Noting the number of complaints from tenants about the performance of Hackney Homes, he said the ‘one-size fits all approach’ may not be in tenants’ interests.  Read more on Inside Housing.

Welfare Cuts: Housing Benefit Claimants Not Welcome Here

Only a fraction of private rented homes in the London borough of Hackney are affordable under welfare reforms, and many landlords are actively refusing to let to housing benefit recipients.  Hackney Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) put together a team of five volunteers on 15 June to carry out a "mystery shopping" exercise to see what the private rental market looked like for people on housing benefit in the east London borough.  The findings are remarkable and depressing. They found 1,585 properties for rent in Hackney on that day. Of these, only 143 were affordable within housing benefit limits. But they also found that of these properties just 14 - or under 1% of the available pool of homes - had landlords who were willing to rent to people on housing benefit.  But that was not all. As the CAB explains:    When we looked at just the family-sized properties (properties with two bedrooms or more), the picture was even worse. Out of 1,090 family-sized properties (from two to five bedrooms), there were just 36 properties (3%) within the limits and five of those (0.5%) with landlords willing to rent to someone on housing benefit.  Read more on the Guardian website.

Rental Income Buyout for Self-Financing Councils Lower Than Expected

The government has finalised the amount that local authorities will have to pay to take control of their rental income, with many of the final payouts coming in lower than expected. After making the final calculations, the CLG has confirmed that 136 councils will be required to make a payment to the government, with the London borough of Wandsworth to make the largest payment of £433.6m. However, 33 councils that are currently subsidised by the government will receive payments to help reduce their inherited debt, with the London borough of Hackney to receive the largest share with £752.6m. Councils making the move to self-financing are expected to borrow at discounted rates from the Public Works Loan Board in order to service the debt. The move to self-financing will apply from 1 April 2012, with payments from councils due on 28 March 2012. Read more on the Guardian website.

Riot-Hit Council to Review Tenancy Rules

A council at the centre of the riots that swept England in August is considering changing its tenancy agreements to make it easier to evict badly behaved residents. Hackney Council wants to change the rules so it can evict tenants who are responsible for ‘anti-social behaviour, harassment, domestic violence or nuisance’ anywhere in the borough. The current agreement refers to ‘your home or any part of the estate or neighbourhood’ in relation to anti-social and nuisance behaviour. Hackney Council is seeking the views of tenants of its arm’s-length management organisation Hackney Homes on the changes. Consultation forms were sent out to tenants this week. Read more on Inside Housing.