Residents Win 60% Rent Reduction In London Council Flats

 Hundreds of families in temporary accommodation in east London have had their rent reduced by about 60% following a four-year campaign against their corporate social landlord. The London borough of Newham announced this week that “following a series of management issues” 250 properties in the borough, which were leased out by the council to the property management company Mears, would be transferred back into council management. As well as charging social rent, the council will now respond to repair works needed in the homes, which have been used as temporary accommodation to house local homeless households. The residents said the exact rent reduction would depend on each property. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/aug/14/it-hasnt-sank-in-residents-win-60-rent-reduction-in-london-council-flats

Temporary Accommodation Is Where ‘Levelling Up’ Falls Down

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has 16 children “stuck” in had temporary accommodation in his constituency – 483 fewer than the London borough of Newham. That difference, the Commons heard, was where ‘levelling up’ fell down. The comparison was drawn by Labour’s Lyn Brown – who has part of Newham in her West Ham constituency. Brown asked Jenrick how it was fair to prioritise places such as Newark over places such as Newham. “Overall the number of children stuck in temporary accommodation in Newark is 16, 483 times lower than the figure in Newham,” she said. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/commons-told-temporary-accommodation-is-where-levelling-up-falls-down/

Residents Should Design New Homes To Tackle Nimbyism

Residents should help design new houses being built in their neighbourhood, according to a report aimed at tackling ‘nimbyism’. An investigation into the housing crisis, co-written by a former Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales, believes giving local people the power to dictate how developments look would help increase building rates – particularly in the south east. The report – produced by the influential Policy Exchange think-tank – calls for all councils to produce a “design and style” guide for new builds within 18 months, following consultations with residents and locally-based architects. Read more on the Huff Post website.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/residents-should-design-new-homes-to-tackle-nimbyism-says_uk_5b294125e4b0a4dc992183f7

Councils Spend Near £500m On Temporary Accommodation

24housing’s exclusive FoI sample of council spending on temporary accommodation exposes an eye-watering £487,712, 733 paid out over the past year. The bulk of that total covered costs in London where Newham Council topped the chart on £61,069,621. But where London boroughs – with a handful of exceptions – were well up into eight figures, councils sampled beyond the capital hovered around lower sevens at most. However, Birmingham City Council – which responded outside of the sample’s timeline – spent £18,648,890 on PRS accommodation over 2017 and has had to commit some £63m from reserves to balance its budget. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/councils-spend-near-500m-on-temporary-accommodation/

Candid Commons Committee Clash Over Landlord Licensing Schemes

A London Mayor has been blunt about what bad landlords should face in his borough – lose your business; lose the house. But Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham, had his borough’s record on bad landlords equally bluntly thrown back at him by David Cox, chief executive of ARLA Propertymark, during a Communities and Local Government Committee evidence session on the Private Rented Sector. Newham pioneered borough-wide landlord licensing. Cox told the committee landlord licensing “has never worked and never will work”. Read more on 24housing.

http://www.24housing.co.uk/news/candid-commons-committee-clash-over-landlord-licensing-schemes/

Council’s Selective Licensing Renewal Approved

Newham Council’s application to renew its borough-wide selective licensing scheme has been approved by the Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid MP. The Council has confirmed the approval in its publication of the Designation of an area for Selective Licensing. Any privately rented property within the designated area, that is not already covered by mandatory HMO licensing or the additional HMO licensing scheme, will need to be licensed. Earlier this year Newham Council consulted on plans to renew their borough-wide selective licensing scheme, and subsequently agreed to go ahead with the renewal in June. You can read the NLA's response to that consultation here. Read more on the NLA website.

More London Authorities Open Licensing Consultations

Newham and Bexley have become the most recent London authorities to start licensing consultations. Both authorities have cited supply and demand problems and increased anti-social behaviour as the need for a change in licensing. The introduction of a licensing scheme will require the condition of a property to comply with specific standards relating to fire safety, provision of amenities as well as space standards alongside the licence holder will also be required to be deemed suitable by the local authority. Bexley is considering implementing a selective licensing scheme for private rented properties due to the high number of complaints the council receives of anti-social behaviour or nuisance behaviour per property. Read more on the RLA website.

£38bn Of Empty Properties In England

More than 203,000 homes – to an estimated value of £38bn – are now termed ‘long term empty’. According to research by property crowdfunding platform Property Planner, London alone has some 20,915 homes sat idle for over six months in 2015 – the equivalent to almost £12.4bn worth of empty property. Newham, one of the capital’s most deprived boroughs, has the worst problem with 1,318 unoccupied properties. Read more on 24dash.

Council To Provide 800 Additional Homes For Homeless Families

A housing association established in partnership with Newham Council has been given the green light to provide a further 800 homes for homeless families. The Mayor of Newham and cabinet approved the expansion of registered social landlord Local Space. This means Local Space will now be able to purchase and develop an additional 800 properties which will be used by the council for homeless families. These homes will be delivered over four years and provide the council with a sizable supply of new local accommodation. Read more on the Newham Council website.

Newham Accuses TMO Of 'Significant Failure'

Newham Council has accused a tenant management organisation of “significant failure” to manage its finances, in a row over its attempt to dissolve the group. The east London borough has ordered Carpenters Tenant Management Organisation (CTMO) to pay more than £200,000, transferred its staff to the council and moved to end its management license. CTMO is a tenant-run body which has managed the Carpenters Lane Estate in Stratford since 1998. Newham plans a major regeneration of the estate, but has faced high-profile resistance from campaigners supported by CTMO. In a statement, the council said it had decided to end the contract with the TMO and bring services back in house to protect the housing service for tenants. Read the full statement on the Newham Council website.

Pickles Given Right to Veto Private Landlord Licensing Schemes

The Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales has slammed new powers that will give Eric Pickles the right to veto local authority private landlord licensing schemes. Two years after becoming the first local authority in England to introduce a borough-wide scheme for the private rented sector, Newham Council has licensed 100% of its rental properties. But, just as this key milestone was reached, the government announced proposals that aim to restrict councils from introducing similar schemes, without any formal consultation. From 1 April, any council looking to introduce a licensing scheme covering more than 20% of their area, or 20% of local privately rented homes, will need to obtain permission from Eric Pickles. Read more on 24dash.

Westminster Accused of Placing 1,000s of Homeless Families in Newham

Westminster's Labour councillors have called for an enquiry after it was claimed that the borough's council has been placing thousands of homeless families in neighbouring Newham. According to Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales, Westminster City Council has been outbidding Newham Council's housing team and moving its homeless households there. The mayor said: “Wealthy Westminster council receives about £8 million a year in homelessness prevention grant, while Newham, which has been dealt the biggest cuts in the country, gets just £700,000.” Read more on 24dash.

4,000 English Households Risk Losing Homes Every Week

More than 4,000 households in England are at risk of losing their home every week amid high housing costs and a shortage of affordable homes, according to the charity Shelter. Its analysis of possession notices issued over the last year suggests 215,000 homes in England are at risk of eviction or repossession and it warned rising interest rates would bring more households under threat. The research revealed hotspots where people are most likely to face losing their home with Newham in London at the top of the list and Salford the "eviction and repossession risk capital of the north". Read more on the Guardian website.

£1m for Council in War on Rogue Landlords

The government has awarded Newham Council £1 million to help it continue its fight against rogue landlords. The local authority successfully applied to the CLG for the funds, and, at £1.028m, the payout is the largest yet awarded to any council in the country. The council has reported great success in combating both rogue landlords and ‘beds in sheds’, and has also brought in the country’s first compulsory borough-wide property licensing scheme, which has resulted in more than 30,000 applications in its first year.

Council Seizes Dozens of Illegally Occupied Properties

A London council successfully recovered 71 properties which were either unoccupied or illegally occupied during 2013. In November alone, Newham Council took possession of 11 properties, two of which were recovered through court orders and nine which were retrieved through proactive casework by council officers. The local authority says that the reclaimed homes have now been made available for people on its housing waiting list. Read more on the Newham Council website.

Over 200,000 Homes in England at Risk

1 in every 105 households in England is at risk of repossession or eviction, according to new statistics released by Shelter. The research found hotspots up and down the country where the risk of losing your home is even higher. These include Nottingham and Luton, both with 1 in 60 homes at risk, Salford (where 1 in 61 homes are at risk), and Newcastle upon Tyne and Wolverhampton (both with 1 in 63 homes at risk). The research also highlights the extent of the capital’s housing crisis, with London boroughs – where there is a serious lack of affordable housing – dominating the top twenty. Shelter’s research found that the London borough of Newham has the highest risk of repossession or eviction in the country, with as many as 1 in every 35 homes at risk. Read more on the Shelter website.

Evicted Young Mothers May Be Rehoused 200 Miles Away

Twenty-nine young single mothers facing eviction from the UK's largest hostel for homeless young people in London have been told they may be rehoused as far away as Manchester, Birmingham and Hastings as a result of cuts and welfare reforms. The exodus, which represents potentially one of the largest displacements of vulnerable people since the coalition's social security reform programme began, was triggered after housing support funding for young parents at Focus E15, a specialist hostel in east London, was cut by Newham council.  Read more on the Guardian website.

Homeless Households 'Off the Radar' Of Public Services

Homeless households are being sent out of London to bed and breakfast hotels as far away as Newcastle, Manchester and Leeds without the councils they are moving to knowing that they are there, a Guardian investigation can reveal. Councillors and housing campaigners warn that the failure to inform receiving boroughs of the new arrivals could put vulnerable families at "urgent risk".  Last year, 580 homeless households were sent out of London into temporary accommodation, according to research by the housing charity Shelter. Newham council, in east London, has been sending homeless households to the Bailey hotel in Birmingham since last year, possibly longer. But a Birmingham city council spokesman says it has no knowledge of these households and has received nothing from Newham. He describes these families as "completely off the radar" of public services.  Read more on the Guardian website.

London Family Fights Rehousing In Liverpool

A London council has agreed to review a decision to move a family of five with a disabled child to Liverpool after being threatened with legal action.  Law firm Miles and Partners’ client was to be moved permanently to a property in Liverpool on 15 May but a High Court judge on that day ordered Newham Council to house them temporarily while the local authority reviewed the case.  The firm argues the son has a behavioural impairment, focal onset epilepsy and suicidal tendencies, which are liable to be triggered when travelling by car. He currently receives a range of specialist help from support workers and psychologists in the local area known to him.  Read more on Inside Housing.

Housing Is In Crisis, yet the Coalition Does Nothing

The year has started with two pieces of good news to counteract an otherwise unending stream of grim revelations about Britain's housing crisis. First, the Scottish government has brought into force a law that will effectively end homelessness there, by requiring local authorities to house all involuntarily homeless people in settled accommodation. The second is that Newham council in east London is regulating the free-for-all in private rented housing by requiring landlords to have background checks before being licensed. Note that neither of these initiatives has come from the coalition, and therefore won't be applicable throughout Britain. But they're a start, and a promising one at that. The central message is that social inequalities are not inevitable: with enough political will and the persistence to see off pessimists, a desire for positive change can be made concrete – which is possibly why we've seen so little of it under the coalition.  Read more on the Guardian website.