Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that social housing tenants liable for the under-occupancy penalty are assisted in downsizing.

Esther McVey: The Government has made it easier for all social tenants to downsize to more suitable accommodation by increasing mobility, through changes to the housing allocation rules in the Localism Act 2011 and the introduction of HomeSwap Direct, the national mutual exchange scheme.

Statutory social housing allocations guidance for local authorities issued in June 2012 advises them of the importance of giving existing social tenants who are under-occupying their accommodation appropriate priority for a transfer. This year the Government has made available £180 million in discretionary housing payment funding, which local authorities can use to help claimants in the process of moving to more suitably sized accommodation. In addition local authorities received a share of £10 million in transitional funding that can be used to support people to move.

Social Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration his Department has given to allowing councils and other bodies housing pensioners being given incentives to downsize to smaller social housing properties, with particular reference to (a) financial incentives and (b) priority in bidding for smaller properties; and whether such incentives have also be considered for people below pensionable age.

Mr Prisk (part answer): We have made it easier for all social tenants to downsize to more suitable accommodation by increasing mobility, through changes to the housing allocation rules in the Localism Act 2011 and the introduction of a national mutual exchange scheme, “HomeSwap” Direct.

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Council Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what instructions he is giving to councils who do not have enough smaller properties to offer council tenants who seek to move from council dwellings with spare bedrooms in order to maintain benefit eligibility.

Mr Prisk: We have issued new statutory social housing allocations guidance for councils which highlights the importance of ensuring that under-occupying tenants are given appropriate priority for a transfer, and which encourages councils to identify and remove or revise any provisions in their allocation policy which might make it more difficult for tenants to downsize.

If tenants wish to move to a smaller property, provisions in the Localism Act—which remove transferring tenants who are not in housing need from the allocation rules—together with the introduction of “HomeSwap” Direct, will make it easier for them to do so.  This Department has allocated £13 million over four years (2011-15) to help councils support under-occupying tenants who wish to move, as well as funding an action team within the Chartered Institute of Housing to work with all social landlords to help them promote moves.

Shapps: Tenants Take Back Power to Choose Own Home

Social tenants who have been stuck in homes that no longer meet their needs are seizing the opportunity to up sticks through the HomeSwap Direct scheme, boosting their chances of getting a job, living nearer to family or simply improving their quality of life, Grant Shapps has announced. The Minister welcomed latest figures showing that there are nearly 6,000 searches a day conducted on HomeSwap Direct - an online scheme that shows social homes available for swaps across the country. The total number of searches since it launched in October 2011 is shortly expected to hit the 1.5million milestone.  For the first time HomeSwap Direct has allowed tenants to easily look outside the service provided by their own landlord and be given a choice about where they live. With the scheme being online, it has made advertised swaps much more accessible for all tenants and the possibility of moving house just a click away.  Read more on the CLG website.

Historic Powers in the Localism Act Pass Down To Communities

A host of new powers to put communities back in charge of their own affairs has become a reality as the Coalition Government's localism agenda takes another major step forward. Exactly two months on from Royal Assent of the Localism Act, a parliamentary measure, known as a commencement order, has officially brought into effect much of this flagship legislation. The key new measures to hand back control, include:
*Reform of social housing regulation
*Preparations for HomeSwap Direct
*Increased accountability on local pay
*New planning enforcement rules
Read more on the CLG website.

No Government Cash to Develop Broadband in Social Housing – Shapps

Grant Shapps has said the Government is not looking at releasing cash to help social housing tenants gain access to broadband internet. Mr Shapps had promised the Government would end the “digital apartheid” that sees nearly half of social tenants having no access to the internet at home. Quizzed about whether the pledge would be backed by Government funds, Mr Shapps told the BBC: “No we think this can be done by sort of enlightened self interest. In effect, it doesn’t necessarily cost that much to get people online but the impact of it can be great.” He explained that landlords should ensure their tenants can access the internet. He said that with the launch of HomeSwap Direct - the website that helps social tenants move from any home to any other home - providing broadband to all social tenants would also be in the landlords' interest. Read more on 24dash.

Concern over 'Tenancy Rights' In Council House Swap Scheme

The chief executive of homelessness charity Shelter is concerned that the Government's new home swap scheme for social housing could lead to tenants losing their existing security. Last month, housing minister Grant Shapps launched the HomeSwap Direct scheme to provide a national database of homes eligible for tenants to swap their existing houses for. Mr Shapps said the scheme will "give tenants access to a wider range of properties than ever before, and the chance to move anywhere in the country". However, Shelter boss Campbell Robb has called for more detail and guarantees that those tenants who swap their existing homes won't lose the rights and security they currently enjoy. Under plans in the Localism Bill - which eventually passed through Parliament this month - councils will be able to offer new tenants, albeit in "exceptional circumstances", tenancies for as little as two years from next year. Read more on 24dash.

Homeswap Direct Offers Fresh Opportunities for Social Tenants

The Government's new national 'HomeSwap Direct' scheme will make it easier for tenants living in a council or housing association home to find a new property in another part of the country. HomeSwap Direct will mean that for the first time there will be a system in place across the whole of the UK, meaning that tenants looking to move, whether for a job, to be near family or to a property better suited to their needs, will be able to see all the available homes across the whole of the UK, not just those on the website subscribed to by their current landlord. Some councils such as Kettering already run localised schemes but Homeswap Direct will link them all together across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Read more on the CLG website.