Overcrowding

For those trying to grapple with trying to tackle overcrowding CLG has published two really useful documents. Tackling overcrowding in England; self assessment for local authorities is guidance for local authorities to help them to consider their approach to overcrowding. This covers a wide range of issues including gaining corporate commitment, strategic planning, putting together a team, accessing resources, working in partnership, the impact of allocation policies and dealing with under occupation. This document can be found on the CLG website.

Tackling overcrowding in England: lessons from the London pilot schemes and sub-regional co-ordination explains the approaches tried in the five pilots that have been running in London and gives good, practical tips on what has and has not worked. The pilots tested two base strategies:

• Moving overcrowded households into larger properties
• Increasing overall supply
• Supporting those under-occupying to move or
• Improving living conditions in the property occupied by an overcrowded household.

Key messages

• Understanding the scale and severity of overcrowding locally is a necessary part of developing a strategy to tackle it;
• Freeing up under occupied properties remains an effective way of providing larger properties, but it is not the only strategy. Enabling an overcrowded household to stay in the same property by making medications to the property and engaging family members with relevant support services can reduce the adverse impacts of overcrowding;
• Moving from an under occupied property is a voluntary decision so deploying the right incentives is essential. Cash incentives appear to have little impact when used in isolation; providing effective personal support with the move is a key success factor.
• Case management, with ample personal targeted advice, has proved to be effective.
• Given the right encouragements, tenants will take increased responsibility for improving their own housing conditions rather than passive reliance on the authority.
• Adding to the total stock available by entering into arrangements with housing associations and by leasing from the private rented sector is a valuable option for those authorities able to access those sectors.
• Member level and senior officer commitment to measures to tackling overcrowding is essential if the work is to secure the necessary priority within an authority within an authority. Raising awareness of the issues and developing and presenting an effective evidence-backed business case will help secure this support.

Incentives to move from under occupied homes
We often get asked about what incentives work when encouraging people to move. The report says that it is important
to develop a range of incentives, publicise those incentives using a variety of techniques and ask other services and agencies that visit people to be alert to under occupation.

The incentives for under occupiers in the pilots include:

• A supply of properties that are attractive to them.
• A budget for minor improvements or decoration to the new home.
• Increasing the priority for under occupiers within the allocations system.
• Offering an additional bedroom for family visitors or potential carers.
• Cash incentive grants payable on completion of a move. The size of the payment typically rises either in proportion to the size of the property or the number of bedrooms being given up.
• Financial help with removal expenses and with deposit and initial rent payments.
• Personal support and ‘hand-holding’ through the move process. The experience of the pilots shows that this personalised support is key to a successful scheme. In the pilots some or all of the following are offered:
• Access for potential movers to a specialist officer or team;
• Ensuring people understand that registering an interest in a move does not commit them to moving;
• Arranging open viewing days;
• Personal advice on the financial issues;
• Highlighting the implications of giving up a secure tenancy;
• Help with understanding how the bidding works in CBL systems;
• Accompanying prospective movers to property viewings; and
• Support after the move including completion of forms, contact with utilities, etc, help in resolving housing benefit and support on the day of the move.

The full document can be found CLG website.

Regional CORE figures

We’re always keen for associations to compare their data with that of other associations. To help with that, we have some interim regional figures from CORE. Their not finalised yet but they are not going to be far off the final figures.

The Oxford common housing register

The Oxford Register for Affordable Housing (ORAH) Partnership was formally launched in December 2006.  This was seen as the first step of the Choice Based Lettings project.  A CBL scheme was launched in Oxford in January 2008.

A key element is the development of a Partnership Board to oversee the operation of the register.  Oxford City Council (a stock retaining authority) and partner housing associations have equal representation at this Board.  The Board meet quarterly and receive reports on performance, including exception reporting from any association that does not allocate 100% of  lettings through the Partnership (in exceptional cases associations are able to use up to 10% of relets – although they no longer have waiting or transfer lists).  The Council also provides information on nominations over time targets; any cases awarded exceptional priority; and performance against allocation targets, etc.

Other Key Features:

• It has created a single access point for most social housing in the city for customers.
• A common suite of housing application forms and leaflets were agreed as part of this initiative – the costs are shared between the Council & RSLs on a pro-rata basis, by stock holding.
• There is common agreement between the housing associations and the Council on eligibility and exclusion criteria.
• Housing association tenants are accepted on the Transfer Register (which improves their mobility).
• Housing associations and the Council share home visits to applicants and have full information sharing/ disclosure agreements between partners.
• Housing association partners sit on the Exceptional Circumstances Panel and Health and Housing Assessment Panel – both these report to the Partnership Board.
• It is a requirement of all new section 106 agreements in the City that any social housing element of a development is provided through a ‘partner’ housing association that has signed up to the Partnership Agreement.
• The Council administers the Housing Register and CBL Scheme.

The Partnership Agreement currently includes the Council and nine housing association partners.  The association partners were selected on the basis of having a stock holding of more than 50 units in the City, or where they have an active development programme locally.

Contact:
Dave Scholes, Housing Needs Manager, Oxford City Council  (dscholes@oxford.gov.uk)
David Truesdale, Regional Housing Manager, Catalyst Communities HA  (david.truesdale@chg.org.uk)

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.

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

Lime Legal's Choice Based Lettings Conference: the New Statutory Guidance
London, 19th September 2008

Northern Housing Consortium - Preventing homelessness for the long term
York, 1st October 2008

NHF Tackling Homelessness: Prevention and Partnerships Conference
London, 2nd October 2008

Inside Government's Tackling and Preventing Homelessness Through Partnership
London, 13th November 2008

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

Contact us

We ask for your input in a number of ways. If you can help us or if you would like us to meet with you please contact us.

Mark Meehan
mark.meehan@housingcorp.gsx.gov.uk
07721 375104

Gerald Wild 
gerald.wild@housingcorp.gsx.gov.uk 
07971 667119

Madeleine Jeffery 
madeleine.jeffery@housingcorp.gsx.gov.uk 
07798 588752

Nick Sedgwick 
nick.sedgwick@housingcorp.gsx.gov.uk 
07919 394910

Dave Anteh 
dave.anteh@housingcorp.gsx.gov.uk 
07920 781254