6 Lewisham housing strategy (2015-20) PDF 55 KB
Additional documents:
Decision:
Resolved: that officers be asked to include
additional context about the evidence on resident satisfaction with
homes in the private rented sector, which highlights the
limitations of the evidence base for the research.
Minutes:
6.1
Genevieve Macklin (Head of Strategic Housing) and Jeff Endean
(Housing Strategy and Programmes Manager) introduced the report.
The following key points were noted:
- The housing strategy
was part of the Council’s formal policy framework. It would
put forward for consultation before consideration by Mayor and
Cabinet and submission to Council.
- The report set out a
framework with the essential elements of the proposed
strategy.
- Officers would ensure
that the new strategy built on the successes of the previous
housing strategy whilst recognising that the approach was driven by
different demographics and choices of tenure.
- There were increasing
strains on housing across all tenures.
- The strategy had four
key objectives: helping residents at times of housing need;
building the homes residents need; improving resident’s
homes; security and quality for private renters.
6.2 In
response to questions from the Committee, Jeff Endean (Housing
Strategy and Programmes Manager) and Genevieve Macklin (Head of
Strategic Housing) the following key points were noted:
- Research was carried
out on a regular basis to assess the numbers of people who were
sleeping rough. The methodology for the research followed a
standard pattern across London and involved a number of different
agencies.
- Providing support to
people with no recourse to public funds was putting pressure on
services, there were a range of strategies in place to deal with
this, including supporting people to return to their country of
origin.
- The homelessness
assessment process was rigorous and was only disregarded in
exceptional circumstances.
- It was recognised
that there were some limitations to the research carried out by the
South East London Housing partnership about the quality of homes in
the PRS.
- Whilst it was the
case that many people were happy with their rented homes, it was
also clear that there were people who were not.
- There were
approximately 3700 private landlords in Lewisham
- Further information
about the practicability of setting up a compulsory licensing
scheme would be brought forward later in the year.
- Further information
would be included in the strategy which set out information about
the range of sustainable housing options available.
- Officers were
considering mechanisms for the ownership of the new homes being
built under the New Homes Better Places programme. The Council
could not take any action as a sole means of avoiding right to
buy.
- Other options for
building and managing homes would be considered as the details of
approaches in other boroughs were made available.
- Officers recognised
that there were examples of poor practice by letting and selling
agents.
- Estate agencies were
unregulated businesses and the Council only had limited powers to
deal with them under trading standards.
- There were very few
long term void properties in the borough, on the whole, Lewisham Homes was good at
returning void properties to use in a short amount of
time.
- Where long term voids
required extensive works to bring them back into use, there was an
upper limit on what was considered reasonable
expenditure.
- Where it was
considered reasonable, Lewisham Homes would sell properties
...
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