Long Wait For Housing In Sandwell As Thousands Of Homes Sit Empty

 Sandwell Council had 3,187 empty residential properties as of September 6, according to council tax records. This includes all privately owned, privately rented and social housing across the borough, and includes everything empty for just one day up to those empty for over 10 years. Meanwhile 10,004 people were waiting for a residential property on the council’s housing list as of September 6, with 3,574 of these current tenants and 6,430 non-current tenants. The average wait for a two-bed council house in West Bromwich is seven years. Read more on the Express & Star website.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/property/2021/09/21/long-wait-for-council-housing-in-sandwell-as-thousands-of-homes-sit-empty/

Forty Houses Recovered After Right-To-Buy Scams

Some 40 council houses were recovered by Sandwell Council last year following fraud investigations into right-to-buy applications. An annual report to the council’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee meeting says its counter fraud team has investigated 218 cases were tenants get discounts of up to £82,800 when applying to buy their homes. The recovered properties – valued at £3,720,000 – were taken back into public ownership as part of the authority’s counter-fraud programme. In addition, some 54 applications to buy homes were cancelled and officers calculated in total tax payers were saved £3,894,960. Read more on Birmingham Live.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/forty-houses-recovered-after-right-16634523

Investigation Into Fresh Allegations Over Corrupt House Allocations

Fresh allegations over corrupt council house allocations are being investigated by Sandwell Council. Leader Steve Eling confirmed the issue is among a series of matters now being probed by the council’s internal audit team. It comes in the wake of the publication of the Wragge Report earlier this year. Councillor Eling said: “A number of things following the Wragge Report are being internally investigated by the council. This could relate to a number of people. If there is wrong-doing about council house letting, then no member of the council would be able to do it on their own, they would have had to engage with officers also.” Read more on the Express & Star website.

Council Homes Are Taken Back

Illegal subletting and not using a house as a main home were among the ways residents were found to be flouting tenancy rules. Sandwell council launched more than 200 fraud investigations during the past year and recovered a total of 115 properties. Deputy council leader Councillor Steve Eling said the authority was determined to catch cheats but it was a growing problem. “With the increasing shortage of affordable housing and the changes in right to buy legislation, tenancy fraud is becoming even more lucrative to some greedy people pocketing lots of money,” he said. The other ways people were caught misusing properties included not filling out home applications correctly. Some properties were also recovered after they were found abandoned. Read more on the Express & Star website.

Disabled Couple Wins Watershed Case on Housing Payments

Councils may have to review their emergency housing payment policies after a High Court ruled that routinely considering disability benefit when calculating discretionary housing payments is unlawful. The High Court has quashed Sandwell Council’s decision to lower its discretionary housing payment (DHP) award to a bedroom-tax hit couple because they received disability living allowance (DLA). In September 2013, the council granted a lower DHP award to a disabled couple because it calculated their DLA as part of their income when they applied for help to cover the bedroom tax. The couple, who live in a three bedroomed specially adapted property, took a judicial review against the local authority in October 2013, arguing that its decision was discriminatory. Read more on Inside Housing.

‘Modular’ Homes to Replace Properties Lost To Right to Buy

Sandwell Council is to buy 41 sustainable ‘modular’ homes in Smethwick to boost its housing stock and replace properties lost to the controversial right to buy scheme. The council is buying 19 two-bedroom, 18 three-bedroom and four four-bedroom properties with the reminder of the homes being sold by the developer on the open market. The homes are being built by Mar City Homes Ltd using a modular construction system, meaning they are made indoors in factory conditions and then transported and assembled on permanent foundations on site. Read more on the Sandwell Council website.

Council Homes to Be Bought-Back in Housing Crisis Battle

Sandwell Council will buy-back council homes sold under the 'right to buy' scheme as it continues to battle a housing crisis. Around 20 ex-tenants have approached the council in the last year under the legislation's 'right of first refusal' clause, which states a homeowner who looks to sell their home within 10 years must first offer it to the previous landlord. And now the council's cabinet has passed a measure to speed up the process by allowing officers to negotiate purchases. Read more on the Express and Star website.

Local Authority's 'Benefit Tourism' Rule Discriminated Against Residents

A local authority acted illegally when it introduced strict residency criteria designed to prevent it becoming a magnet for "benefit tourists" priced out of high-cost areas of London and the south-east by welfare reforms, a judge has ruled. Sandwell council brought in a policy over a year ago which prevented people on low incomes claiming council tax support unless they had been resident continuously in the borough for two years prior to the claim. Rather than discouraging "incomers" from the south-east, however, the court heard that the policy seemed to mainly affect people who had been born in Sandwell and had strong family connections there, while also discriminating against local women affected by domestic violence. Thousands of Sandwell residents denied council tax support since April 2013 may now be eligible to claim their money back. Read oore on the Guardian website.

Council Tightens Rules on Right to Buy

Sandwell Council is tightening its rules on money laundering and the sale of council homes at a discount to combat possible fraud. Council officers have been responsible for the cancellation or withdrawal of seven Right to Buy applications with an estimated value of £321,750 following investigations. And they are checking 94 sales out of 481 which have raised concerns, according to a report to the council's deputy leader Councillor Steve Eling.  There was a surge in applications two years ago after the Government raised the maximum discount on a property's value to £75,000. The Audit Commission in 2012 warned there had been a 168 per cent increase in fraudulent applications across the country. Read more on the Sandwell Council website.

Judicial Review Sought Over Council's 'Unfair' Housing Policy

A Black Country council is facing a judicial review over its handling of a housing benefits claim. A disabled couple is challenging Sandwell Council's decision to offer a lower discretionary payment after including disability payments in their income. Lawyers representing them said it amounted to "disability discrimination". The local authority said it believed it was interpreting guidance "correctly". The couple were now forced to use part of their Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to cover the shortfall in rent. Read more on the BBC website.

Improvements to Homes Put On Hold As Council Can No Longer Afford Them

A scheme to invest £42 million into improvements to council homes has been put on hold as Sandwell Council can no longer afford them. The council had hoped to plough the cash into council houses and flats in the borough that were missed out when the Government’s Decent Homes scheme was scrapped.  But now as more people are buying their council homes – leading to less rental income – the authority is no longer in a position to fork out the money.  Read more on the Express & Star website.

Council Housing Fraud Crackdown Hailed 'Major Success'

A council's crackdown on social housing fraud has been hailed a "major success". Sandwell Council's drive to combat crooks has led to 44 homes being recovered and re-let. The six-month pilot scheme launched last November has resulted in 36 abandoned properties being detected and eight other properties being recovered due to illegal succession and/or subletting. In addition, three fraudulent right-to-buy applications were blocked and another 29 cases of suspected tenancy fraud are currently being investigated. Read more on 24dash.

Business as Usual and a Bright Future for Housing in Sandwell

Sandwell's 29,000 tenants returned to council control on January 1st, after eight years with Sandwell Homes - with a promise from a housing boss of a bright new future of investment and ambitious improvement schemes. Read more on the Sandwell Council website.