Agenda item

RESOLVED: that the report be noted and that the committee receives the data requested above on the number empty properties among Lewisham Homes stock and the number of cases of housing fraud.

Fenella Beckman, Director of Housing, introduced the item, noting that the two strategies were originally considered by the committee in September 2020, and proceeded to deliver a presentation providing an update against the actions of each. The committee considered the information, asked a number of questions and the following key points were noted:

1.1  There are around 1,000 vacant properties in the borough. The council works to trace landlords and homeowners in order to encourage them to bring houses back into use. This included offering empty homes grants in return for use of the property as temporary accommodation for a fixed period.

1.2  The committee queried the number of Lewisham Homes void properties and officers agreed to respond with the information.

1.3  The council’s homelessness service is currently working with local homelessness partners to explore opportunities for collocation in order to allow face-to-face contact for the most vulnerable residents. An initial trial with the council’s main partners will be set up in the coming months.

1.4  The homelessness service is also carrying out some fact-to-face assessments on an appointment basis as part of a joint working initiative with children’s social care.

1.5  The homeless service also still has access to language line in order to engage interpreters for those with English as an additional language.

1.6  The council’s rogue landlord team helped to prevent around 170 tenants from being evicted during the pandemic. This work was initially grant funded but has now been mainstreamed so that it can continue. Demand is still high with more than 80 cases in the last year.

1.7  In response to a question at committee about the size of the new temporary accommodation homes being delivered, the table below was provided following the meeting. This shows the number of bedrooms for the 188 temporary accommodation homes that have either been completed or have/are forecast to start on site between April 2018 and the end of March 22. This includes acquisitions as well as new builds.

1.8  Some homelessness families do still need to be accommodated on the day of their eviction. The aim of the Homelessness Reduction Act was to stop families being turned away and told to come back when they arGe evicted. In all instances however the council will look to negotiate with landlords before providing temporary accommodation.

1.9  Homeless families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) will usually be referred by children’s social care. The service will try to keep them in the same accommodation and work with them to regularise their status and access benefits.

1.10       All homelessness approaches will be needs assessed on the day and any applicants that may be affected by domestic abuse will be identified. 

1.11       The council is unable to generate an income for HMO licensing, the fee must can only be used to pay for the service itself.

1.12       The committee queried the levels of fraud to gain council homes and officer agreed to respond with the information.

1.13       The council will be working on improving the energy efficiency of housing managed by Lewisham Homes and RB3 and will also be working closely with other local social landlords.

1.14       The council hasn’t seen a sudden increase in homelessness applications since the restrictions on evictions during the pandemic have come to an end. The has, however, been a gradual increase, which is also in part due to the coming into force of the Domestic Abuse Act.

RESOLVED: that the report be noted and that the committee receives the data requested above on the number empty properties among Lewisham Homes stock and the number of cases of housing fraud.