Agenda item

Context:

This report is to consider re-designating the Council’s Shared Housing accommodation to hostel designation. This will facilitate shared housing accommodation to fall under an alternative definition of the housing benefit regulations. This would eliminate the need for the Council to rely on subsidy

funding, subsequent to the loss of the Temporary Accommodation Management Fee from April 2017. This is a follow up to the report received by the Adult Select Committee on 23rd January 2018.

Key Issues:

Under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, the Council has a duty to both respond to homelessness and to prevent homelessness. The Act also provides the power to discharge the associated duties into the private rented sector. Strengthening prevention activity is an on-going priority, including engaging

with private landlords to enable access to private accommodation as a key option for the Council to discharge its duties and minimise over reliance on social housing and utilising bed & breakfast.

In this context the Council has developed a portfolio of 60 rooms, largely leased from private landlords, providing shared accommodation for single people. The scheme has created an additional housing option for single people, particularly males who wouldn’t be considered to be vulnerable under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. The scheme will have provided an alternative

option for some applicants, to rough sleeping.

Prior to April 2017, the Council was able to base the weekly rental charge on the local housing allowance less 10%, plus £60 temporary accommodation management fee, paid via Housing Benefit. Welfare reform changes by UK Government removed this management fee. Welsh Government has attempted to support the Council with this loss of revenue through additional rate support grant. This, however, is insufficient to cover the shared housing scheme as well as the Melin private leasing scheme and has resulted in a significant financial pressure for the Council, which the Council has supported through the Medium Term Financial Plan.

It has been identified that the management of the shared housing is consistent with the Council’s homeless hostel accommodation. The hostel is classed as Specified Accommodation under the housing benefit regulations. A change in designation to hostel and designated accommodation will mean that will mean the properties meet the definition of specified accommodation. This allow the Council to charge a rent that aligns with the local housing allowance and, subject to the financial circumstances of individual applicants, therefore, will payments will be made via housing benefit. This will avoid the need for the Council to seek a subsidy payment.

This arrangement will also support applicants in receipt of Universal Credit as housing costs for such applicants won’t be included in their Universal Credit payment.

To meet the housing benefit regulations the Council will need to enter into ten year leases with property owners. The risk associated with this is considered to be low as current six month leases contain two month break clauses. A suitable break clause would be applied to any new leases.

Member Scrutiny:

A Member asked if the accommodation will remain the same after the re-designation and looked for confirmation that this would not change the usage.

In term of the sixty rooms, it was asked if there were a large number of landlords and asked if landlords were expected to be part of an accreditation scheme or vetted.

Reassurance was sought that families would not be housed in hostel type accommodation.

Clarification was sought over the implication of a ten year lease and asked about the length of the break clauses.