Homelessness Action Team May 2008 update

Area plans

June sees the launch of a pilot project to develop area-based homelessness action plans. The purpose of the project is to encourage local authorities and housing associations working in a locality to work in partnership to prevent and tackle homelessness.

The HAT team has asked the London Boroughs of Hillingdon and Haringey and Exeter City Council to play a leading role in the project. The pilot authorities will develop action plans for their localities and work together with HAT to produce a toolkit and template for national rollout. The newly developed area-based homelessness action plan will complement the individual local authority and housing association homelessness action plans. Having one action plan for the locality will make it easier for other agencies working alongside local authorities and housing associations, as well as providing for transparent monitoring towards agreed, and national, targets.

This is a new approach, drawing upon the lessons learned by the HAT team over the past year as they have discussed homelessness initiatives with councils and associations around the country.

The area based plan will enable both housing associations and local authorities to deliver their own annual strategic priorities around homelessness, as well as adding the value that comes of collaborating with organisations who are working towards the same goal but with a different focus.

A project brief has been developed with the pilot local authorities, and key deliverables drawn out. These are:

shared supply and demand data;
rationalisation of current homelessness action plans and existing practices (including nominations and lettings);
development of sustainment initiatives; and
a directory of good practice.

Associations and the local authority may agree to add further deliverables to help meet local requirements, such as improving access to move-on and rent deposit schemes.

The area plans will be developed alongside the national housing reform agenda, so will take account of overcrowding and under-occupation, worklessness and mobility.

We are planning a second wave of localities for pilots. If you are interested, please contact one of the team.

Norfolk RSL Alliance Homelessness Strategy

The main housing associations operating Norfolk have produced a joint homelessness strategy to drive there partnership working on homelessness across the county. We believe this is the first of its type. It is a good document that provides a model that others could learn from. We are working with the Alliance to help to disseminate the strategy and the lessons learned during it development so if you would like to know more contact us.

Membership of the Alliance is open to any housing association owning or managing homes in Norfolk. Current members are:

Broadland Housing Association,
Cotman Housing Association,
Freebridge Community Housing,
The Guinness Trust,
North Norfolk Housing Trust,
Orbit Housing Association,
Peddars Way Housing Association,
Saffron Housing Trust,
Stonham, and
Wherry Housing Association.

Chain lettings

Sadly some of us are now old enough to remember the concept of a ‘chain letting’, creating a number of moves arising from one vacant property to meet a the needs of a number of different households. They are the focus of a recent document; ‘The Chain Lettings report’ (April 2008) based on research by JenkinsDuval.

This research includes analysis of the impact of the allocation policy adopted by the London Borough of Southwark. This policy enables them to operate chain lettings but within the context of a Choice Based Lettings approach.

The research looked at lettings over a relatively short period, in three very different organisations: London Borough of Southwark, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and East Thames Housing Trust. It was interesting to note that a policy that prioritises transfer applicants above homeless applicants can help almost as many homeless applicants but still meet the needs of transfer applicants and ensure best use of the available stock. Of course this will depend very much on the requirements of homeless households in the area. If a high proportion of them need a large property then homeless families must have enough priority to compete with overcrowded cases. If, as is the case in Kensington and Chelsea, the average homeless family requires two bedrooms the policy can be less generous to homeless people but still address their needs.

The report also highlights the need for improved partnership working between local authorities and housing associations. In areas like Kensington and Chelsea the supply is so limited that the local authority can only plan strategically and meet local demand with the full co-operation of their association partners. Responsibility for meeting the needs of homeless people in Kensington and Chelsea appears to rest very firmly with the local authority at present.

This research suggests that the concept of chain lettings can be effective but this research was not over a long enough period to prove the actual impact. We are keen, therefore, to hear from anyone else who may be operating chain lettings or have completed research to explore their impact.

Further messages from the report are:

Information sharing protocols become ever more essential to address issues of sustainability.
That all important balance has to be struck, between meeting the needs of an association’s own tenants and accepting nominations from local authorities.
There is the need to produce accurate CORE data returns based on accurate information about the housing needs of incoming tenants. Effective data collection systems are needed to support this.
If information exchange breaks down then so does the basis for joint strategic decision making involving RSLs and Local Authorities.

To find out more about the report or discuss chain lettings please contact one of the team.

Topic briefings

We are producing a series of topic briefings that aim to generate discussion and provide some guidance on the main issues that associations raise with us when we meet them. The first four are now available on HAT’s page of the Housing Corporation’s website:

Assessing the need for advice and support services;
Mortgage rescue;
Under-occupation; and
Working in partnership.

Hopefully, these briefings will lead to some debate on how best to tackle these issues so please let us have your views and examples of your approach. We’ll keep updating them as we receive your information.

Good examples

We continue to find many examples of different ways in which housing associations prevent and tackle homelessness.

MMHA is responsible for the landlord accreditation scheme in Bury, which aims to promote best practice and increased availability of private rented stock in the borough.

Peabody Trust has agreed a joint prevention strategy with LB Hackney. This has included Hackney paying for the repairs to a 3 bedroom home that the Trust was considering selling in accordance with its Asset Management Strategy. The home was used to house a homeless household.

The Wakefield & District Housing Homespace project is a partnership with the local council. The project purchases from the open market to increase the accommodation available for homeless and potentially homeless people. Generally, WDH purchases 80% of the property with the council purchasing 20%.

Plus Housing Group is establishing a tenancy sustainment post that will identify the need for advice and support services and how they will be provided, either internally or externally.

Events

These are some of the events being organised that may be of interest to those working around homelessness. If you know of future events please let us know so we can include them.

CLG Homelessness Summit aimed at local authorities
London, 25th June 2008

CIH – Homelessness Seminars
London, 1st July 2008
Manchester, 15th July 2008

NHF Housing Care & Support Conference
Coventry, 3rd & 4th July 2008

Capita Homelessness Conferences
London, 30th June 2008
Manchester, 14th July 2008

CIH Tackling Overcrowding Seminars
London, 5th August 2008
Bradford, 14th August 2008

CIH Lettings and Homelessness Conference
Alton Towers Resort, 18th - 20th November 2008

Calling all Champions!

We are keen to support Homelessness Champions through sending out useful information and keeping regular contact. We know many of the Champions in the housing associations that we have worked with but we know there are Champions out there that we haven’t had contact with. If you are a Champion then please let us know – we’ll be keen to talk to you.

We’re also interested to hear about Homelessness Action Plans that we haven’t seen yet.