Date: May To approve for consultation, the recommendations for changes to policy outlined in paragraphs 75 to 88.

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1 Item No. 1 Report title: Ward(s) or groups affected: From: Classification: Open Date: May MEETING NAME Deputy Leader & Executive Member for Housing Management Review of Lettings Policy and Southwark Homesearch All Margaret O Brien, Head of Community Housing Services RECOMMENDATION(S) 1. To note the findings of the Lettings Policy Evaluation. 2. To approve for consultation, the recommendations for changes to policy outlined in paragraphs 75 to To approve the programme of consultation set out in paragraphs 90 to 91. BACKGROUND INFORMATION 4. The cross-party Allocation Policy Review Board proposed in Spring 2004 that the Council adopt a new policy based firstly on advertising vacant properties and secondly on giving priority for a council home to different groups of housing applicants. This new scheme was to be known as Southwark Homeseach: Vacant properties to be advertised in a free magazine and on website Applicants on Housing List to bid for the vacancies; offer to be made to applicant with greatest priority Simple priority system in 4 Bands the removal of the points system Greater priority to be given to applicants who are overcrowded; those who need to move urgently because of a medical condition and those with multiple housing needs Homeless applicants to be given less priority but temporary accommodation for families now largely self-contained and greater priority for single homeless applicants who are not vulnerable Penalties for refusals to be removed. 5. The Executive Committee agreed the proposals on 30 November 2004, following extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. The new lettings policy was adopted and Southwark Homesearch launched late September To deliver the Homesearch scheme to local applicants, Southwark Council joined the East London Lettings Company, then a partnership arrangement between 3 East London Authorities. Southwark officers are represented on the Board, thus able to influence service developments. This partnership allowed 1

2 Southwark to launch its local scheme with its own brand, whilst sharing the costs of the operation with its partners. It also allows Southwark to deliver its choice based lettings scheme alongside our neighbouring South East London boroughs, and develop a strong SE London partnership regarding cross-border lettings and possible policy development on choice based lettings. The IT system and support to ELLC partners is provided by Abritas, one of the leading CBL IT providers nationally. 7. Officers undertook to carry out an evaluation of the new policy after being in operation for a year. This evaluation to consider: The effect of the policy in terms of lettings to different housing providers The effect of the policy in terms of lettings to each priority group Any impact on lettings to BME groups Any impact on lettings to vulnerable people Customer feedback and perceptions of the policy s impact The impact of the policy on void management The impact of the policy on the temporary accommodation policy. KEY ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION Brief overview of Homesearch during first year of operation 8.. The first adverts under the scheme appeared on 29 September 2005 as planned. The arrangements with ELLC and Abritas have proved very robust and the fortnightly advertising has been achieved without fail during the first year: Nearly all vacant properties being advertised for applicants Free glossy magazine available from easily accessible pick up points with photographs and property details of available homes and information on other housing options Same information available on own website The opportunity to bid using a mulit-lingual bidding hotline number, internet, free kiosks and text service Feedback on successful bids in each edition giving applicants a better idea of their chances Information on queue position at time of bidding. 9. Overall the response to Southwark Homsearch has been positive. Anecdotal feedback from tenants, applicants, Members and voluntary organisations has confirmed that it is more informative and transparent than the previous allocation scheme. Although some people were fearful that it was difficult to use, most have been surprised at how easy it is in practice. Support for applicants has been available from the CHS Telephone Advice Line and a number of dedicated officers in CHS. Over 26,000 callers were offered homesearch advice during the first year by the CHS Telephone Advice Line team, with almost 5,000 calls answered in the busiest month. Amongst 2

3 applicants who have not yet been successful, opinion understandably is divided. See paragraph 54 which details the results of the customer survey. There also remains a proportion of applicants who would prefer to leave it all to Council officers. Improvements introduced over the first year 10. Improvements for users of Homesearch were introduced during the first year: Browse Aloud facility this enables text on the website to be read out loud to internet users particularly helpful for those with a visual impairment free mutual exchange advertising opportunity for Southwark tenants from May 2006 a text back response facility to inform applicants that their bid had been successfully recorded 11.. At the end of its first successful year, a weekly cycle of Southwark Homesearch has been introduced offering a more efficient advertising service with the aim of achieving a quicker turnaround of properties. This in turn presented the opportunity to introduce more symbols in the property adverts which are helpful for applicants with language difficulties. Participation in Southwark Homesearch 12. Over the first year of Homesearch, the overall bidding trend has been consistently upward, starting with about 3,000 transactions each cycle in the autumn of 2005, reaching a peak of 6,787 transactions in the last fortnightly cycle of October Almost 100,000 bids have been placed during the first 12 months of the scheme. 13. In the first six months of the scheme, there were 39,336 bids placed by applicants in the following Bands: Band (2%) Band (8%) Band 3 22,938 (58%) Band 4 12,370 (31%) 14. Now that households can only place one bid per week, the bids per cycle has, of course, decreased. However, the rate of transactions per month has increased and the number of applicants who use the opportunity to bid continues to increase. 15. Out of all applicants eligible to bid, nearly one in four did so. The demand figures are therefore increasing - on 9 th Oct 2006, 2,484 applicants had bid for 103 properties. On 13 th Nov, 2,665 applicants had bid for 68 properties. 16. Bidding activity varies from band to band. The overall average is up to about one in four active bidders. In Band 3 it is one in three; in Band 1, one in eight or ten; in Band 2, one in four; in Band 4, about one in six 3

4 17. The predominance of Band 3 is due mainly to households who are overcrowded, followed by those who are statutorily homeless. Although only one in six of Band 4 might bid, the number of waiting list applicants in this Band is large - typically up to 800 applicants per cycle. Some Band 4 applicants do obtain offers for small and less popular properties. 18. The most popular method of bidding now is via the internet. Whilst at the start of Homesearch this accounted for less than half the bids, this has over time increased to more than three-quarters of transactions. The other methods combined - touch-phone, text-phone and kiosk - only account for a quarter of transactions. 19. An average type property will attract between 20 and 50 bids. There will usually be half a dozen properties - sheltered and unpopular bedsits - that only attract a handful of bids; and three or four properties - street dwellings and houses - that attract upward of 150 bids. BME Bidding activity 20. During the first three months of Southwark Homesearch, monitoring was carried out by East London Lettings Company to determine BME participation in the scheme. The results demonstrated clearly that the percentage of BME households participating in the bidding process was higher or similar to their actual representation on the housing list (See Appendix 4 showing the bidding participation for the period 22 September 2005 to January 2006). 21. This trend continued with African households making 35% of all bids during the first six months of the scheme and Caribbean 11%, exceeding their representation on the housing list. White Euro/UK households recorded 33% of all bids. (See Appendix 3). Homesearch applicants waiting times 22. This table shows how long people waited on the housing list before they made a successful bid: Band Bedsit 1 bedroom 2 bedroom 3 bedroom 4 bedroom 5+bed Band 1-2 months 5 months 14 months 4 months 3 months Band 2 4 months 2 months 2 months 5 months 10 months 18 months Band 3 3 months 7 months 11 months 17 months 30 months - Band 4 60 months 57 months These figures are based on 1 October 2005 to 30 September 2006 and show the waiting time between band qualifying date and making a successful bid. Band 1 applicants often wait until they see a property they really like before bidding hence the longer waiting times than lower bands. Insufficient family sized properties are offered to applicants in Band 4 to determine waiting times for them. Waiting times are generally longer for the very popular properties, such as houses or flats with gardens. 4

5 New entrants joining the list 24. Although there was a slight increase in applications to join the housing list following the launch of Southwark Homesearch, this has now levelled off. As a result approximately 4,500 new applications were registered during the firstyear, reflecting the trend of the previous five years. Although this total has remained relatively stable for this period, it does hide within it a decrease in homelessness applications and a corresponding increase in new waiting list applications. Appendix 4 shows a breakdown of registrations by Band and main priority groups. 25. The lettings policy introduced a lowering in priority for homeless households, the widening of the scope for overcrowding priority and the introduction of additional priority for those with multiple needs. 26. During the first six months of Southwark Homesearch 376 households newly registering for a move were granted overcrowding priority compared to only 41 in the previous period. The new lettings policy extended the overcrowding criteria to both private and housing association tenants and these applicants were automatically awarded Band 3 priority (or higher if they had multiple needs). Additionally, under the old Allocations Policy, some Southwark tenants had been reluctant to be considered for this priority as they were required to choose a minimum of 6 areas where they were prepared to live. These restrictions no longer apply under Homesearch and far more applicants benefit from this priority, with the aim of relieving the high levels of overcrowding in the borough. 27. The introduction of the new multiple needs priority has allowed 6% of new entrants over the first year to benefit from higher priority by inclusion in Band 2. This is awarded to households who are overcrowded or homeless and have medical priority as well. Additionally, nearly 3% were awarded Band 3 medical priority, whereas under the previous policy such needs would not have resulted in such priority on the Housing List. 28. Following the introduction of Southwark Homesearch there was a 10% increase in both African and Caribbean households joining the housing list compared to the previous six month period. Applicants on the Housing List 29. There were a total of 12,788 eligible bidders on Southwark s Housing List as of 31 March See Appendix 5 for breakdown of the list by Band and priority reason. Southwark Homesearch Lettings 30. A total of 1899 homes were let during the first 12 months under Southwark Homesearch. Appendix 6 shows a breakdown of these lets by Band, category of need and bedsize. The proportion of lettings to each Band is as follows: Band 1 15% Band 2 24% Band 3 53% 5

6 Band 4 7% 31. Band 1 includes tenants who need to be rehoused because of a regeneration programme as well as those who are under-occupying. These households are unlikely to bid until they see a property they are particularly interested in. As a result, offers can cascade down to the other bands with tenants and applicants in Band 3 receiving over half of all lets. 32. Over 44% of all Homesearch lets went to households registered in the overcrowding categories including those where overcrowding formed part of their multiple need. This compares to only 10% of all lettings in the six months immediately prior to the introduction of homesearch and 15% of all lettings in 2004/05. However the wider overcrowding definition has resulted in an increased number of lettings to waiting list applicants: Overcrowded tenants 214 (11%) Overcrowded non-tenants 379 (20%) Other overcrowded 258 (14%) includes both tenants and nontenants who are either statutorily overcrowded or have multiple rehousing needs, including overcrowding. 33. Homeless applicants were let 20% of all properties, compared to receiving more than double this proportion over the previous three years. This of course is largely due to the lower priority under the current scheme but also there has been a low level of bidding amongst homeless applicants. Although the level of homelessness applications has also decreased over the period, the reduction in applications has been less than the reduction in lettings. In order to try and bring these more in line with each other an officer post has been established which is dedicated to encourage homeless applicants to bid and to offer practical advice and support. 34. The number of clients needing to move for personal protection reasons has never been high. Under Homesearch they were able to choose and successfully bid for 24 properties, a greater number than in previous years. 35. The Wooddene Estate, Southwark Homesearch s first regeneration project, saw over 100 households move through the Homesearch scheme. Homesearch was found to be effective and popular with the tenants, and new homes were secured relatively quickly through the bidding process with residents taking an active role in choosing their new home. 36. Lettings to vulnerable applicants and those with medical needs are addressed in paragraph 47. The effect of the policy in terms of lettings to different housing providers 37. All Registered Social Landlords, TMOs and co-ops have fully participated in advertising their available property through Southwark Homesearch. Although some concern had been expressed initially that the fortnightly cycle might lengthen void periods, there is feedback that it has contributed to lessen void turn-around. 38. Every RSL has their own lettings policy which usually sets out how they calculate the number of bedrooms needed per household. This does 6

7 sometimes differ from the council s policy and procedures. For example, where a property has two bedrooms, some RSLs will not consider a family with two small children of opposite sexes. This has resulted in some bidders being disappointed. Property advertisements do generally include details about any RSL policy restriction, but often applicants overlook this information. 39. There are no other significant differences between the effect on RSL lettings to that experienced generally. See paragraph 43 in relation to RSL lettings and equalities data. The effect of the policy in terms of lettings to each priority group 40. Participation in homesearch by BME communities has been positive as outlined in paragraph 19 above and this is reflected in the number of lettings achieved. The highest number of lettings during the first six months of homesearch went to African and European/UK households each receiving 36% of all council advertised vacancies. This is over 10% higher than African representation on the housing list, demonstrating the high level of participation in the scheme by this community group. Prior to the introduction of homesearch, African households received 7% less lettings. The Caribbean group received a similar number of lettings under homesearch to previous years. 41. In relation to lettings by Band, African households successfully bid for 35% of all Band 1 lettings, much higher than their 13% representation in this Band. Although European households received 34%, this is very much lower than their 46% representation in this Band, demonstrating that they are unlikely to bid for a property until they see one they are particularly interested in. 42. Both Caribbean and African households registered in Band 2 received a higher number of lettings than their representation within this Band. Band 3 African applicants continued this trend, although Caribbean households fell short by 3% of their representation within this Band. 43. RSL lettings through Homesearch show that African households received 22% of advertised properties, slightly lower than their representation on the housing list, compared to 32% prior to Homesearch. There may be a range of reasons why this group are not bidding as actively for RSL property and this could include higher rents and the lack of right to buy. Caribbean households however received 20% of RSL lettings, twice as high as their representation on the housing list, and a 6% increase on the six months prior to the introduction of choice based lettings. Impact on vulnerable people 44. In developing the service it was of particular concern that all parts of the community should be able to access the scheme. A range of methods were introduced to achieve this including: Involving tenants and the community, through consultation, in developing the scheme Briefings for social workers and a range of voluntary agencies offering specialist support Magazines available from a range of easily accessible outlets 7

8 Multi-lingual telephone bidding and internet also offering video and speech in 15 community languages and British Sign Language Magazine mailed free of charge to housebound clients Developing simple symbols and easily understood touchscreens Dedicated telephone line offering homesearch advice and assistance Officer telephone support and assistance for homeless applicants, for vulnerable applicants, including those with visual impairment, resettlement clients and those requiring sheltered accommodation Monitoring and follow-up of non-bidders 45. Regular reports are received monitoring bidding activity for those in priority groups and non-bidders contacted to offer assistance. 46. ELLC are shortly to introduce an autobid function and this enables a bid to be placed automatically on a vulnerable person s behalf. For example, the system can be instructed to identify and place a bid on a property that meets an applicant s needs in terms of area and floor level. This service can provide a safety net for some vulnerable clients who are unable to use homesearch or who are unlikely to engage regularly with council or agency support services. Homesearch lettings to vulnerable applicants and those with medical needs 47. Over one third of all lettings during the first 12 months were made to vulnerable applicants or those with medical needs % of all Southwark Homesearch lettings were made to vulnerable applicants including Social Services nominations, sheltered lettings, applicants with an urgent medical priority accepted by the Medical Assessment Panel and those nominated by the Single Homeless Nomination and Allocation Group. This is slightly higher than the previous years /2005 (11%) and 2003/04 (13%). 49. The new lettings policy affords higher priority to those with a medical priority. These applicants are now awarded Band 3 or, if combined with another priority (such as overcrowding or homelessness) results in Band 2 priority for multiple needs. Over 20% of general purpose lettings were made to households in these categories. 50. Disabled clients who require adapted properties are assessed by the Disability Panel and are offered a home outside of the bidding process, as before. Customer feedback and perceptions of the policy s impact 51. Generally there has been a positive response to the new lettings policy and the Southwark Homesearch Scheme. Applicants like to choose properties and are able to get a realistic idea of their chances from the summary of successful bids published in each edition of the magazine. Nevertheless there remains the issue of not being able to meet all expectations as well as the lingering of some common misconceptions. 52. Some applicants consider they will never make a successful bid for the type of property they really want as it always goes to someone in a higher Band. This is usually because they have very specific aspirations - such as a house or a flat with a garden or a street property. Although this is a regular complaint, it 8

9 can also be seen from the number of withdrawals of bids during each bidding cycle that there is an increasing number of applicants who place their bids strategically - and will favour a less popular property later in the bidding cycle so as to enhance their own chances. Applicants who are new to the bidding do not always appreciate either that placing a bid early on Thursday morning does not give them any advantage over applicants who place their bids on Monday evening, just before the bidding closes. 53. There is a commonly raised issue over whether applicants who have a medical need for a ground floor property (usually some mobility problems) or for a property with a garden (often families with an autistic child), should be given a higher preference than applicants who do not have such needs but who do have such aspirations, e.g. under-occupiers, families rehoused within a regeneration scheme, families with young children. 54. Most applicants registered in Band 4 are unlikely to make a successful bid, particularly for family sized accommodation. Although this was the case under the previous allocations policy, the transparency of the Homesearch scheme has made this more apparent to applicants. As registration in Band 4 indicates a wish to move rather than a need to move, marketing other initiatives such as the private rented sector and low cost home ownership through the magazine and website forms part of the plans for the future. 55. A customer survey was published in Southwark Homesearch magazine and on the website inviting applicants to share their views about the first year of the scheme. Almost 350 completed questionnaires were received less than 3% of eligible bidders. The majority of respondents thought Southwark Homesearch is a good way of advertising and offering homes and 84% found it easy to make their bids the preferred method of bidding was via the website (68%) 79% bid for a property every fortnight 71% were aware of the text bidding service 56. The improvements that respondents wanted to see included: More information about other housing opportunities inside and outside of Southwark More descriptions of the inside of properties and the local amenities Clear instructions about how kiosks work and their location 57. Plans are already in place to respond to these issues by scheduling regular features and website links to more comprehensive information, including: Low cost homeownership schemes in Southwark and other London boroughs Access to private rented sector opportunities in Southwark, further across London Moving to other parts of UK (including advertising private rented homes) 58. Additionally, consideration is to be given to an after hours magazine collection point for those who work, and a further pick up point in West Dulwich. Both of these issues were raised by respondents. Other stakeholder feedback 9

10 59. Key voluntary sector agencies and BME community groups were contacted to invite their views on the first year of the Homesearch scheme and the new lettings policy. No responses have been forthcoming. However anecdotal feedback suggests that agencies consider Homesearch much more customer focused and an improvement on the old allocations method. 60. Members are also generally positive about Homesearch, particularly in relation to its transparency, with most of their enquiries now focusing on Band assessment rather than dissatisfaction with offers of accommodation. 61. RSLs and TMOs were all invited to comment on their first year s participation in Homesearch. Only one association responded. They expressed concern about the increase in refusal rates as a result of applicants having an unlimited number of offers without any penalty being imposed. However, they also indicated that their void turnaround times had actually improved since Homesearch and were pleased with the introduction of a weekly cycle. 62. Young Southwark was approached for their views and the one respondent indicated that the bidding process had been fine. 63. Council staff (from Housing, Social Services and Education) was asked for feedback and any suggestions to improve the scheme. There was a very good response from staff in Housing Options Services covering a range of policy and operational issues. Concerns were raised about serial refusers and its possible impact on extended void turnaround times and contribution to loss of revenue. Also staff proposed to look with colleagues in housing management at ways of dealing with properties that are continuously refused, eg reinspection. 64. Suggestions included targeting more popular property at Bands 1 and 2 only with the aim of steering those in Band 3 towards properties where they may have more chance of success. Also a pilot of advertising some properties just for Band 3 to increase the success of homeless applicants in temporary accommodation was proposed. 65. Additionally, most staff felt that some degree of additional priority or preference should be given to those with medical recommendations for ground floor/garden properties above those without such a need. The impact of the policy on void management 66. During 2006 an external audit by Price Waterhouse Coopers compared void performance between old policy and the new scheme on a number of key indicators. There had been concern that a fortnightly advertising cycle might lengthen void periods. On the other hand there was an expectation of higher acceptance rate of offers under the new choice based scheme. 67. The findings of the audit are based on 6-week period at the beginning of 2005 and same period in These show that: % of dwellings accepted on first offer doubled to 51% % of dwellings refused 3 or more times reduced from 19% to 13% Although the overall refusal rate reduced, it remained high at 50% 10

11 Crucially, the average length of time taken from dwelling being ready to let to the start of tenancy reduced from 31 to 20 calendar days. 68. The latter was facilitated by a much speedier process now for making the next offer where a property has been refused. This is because the bidding process produces a shortlist of applicants who have already expressed an interest in the property. The reduction in time between a property being ready for occupation and the start of the tenancy is very significant and of course has helped to reduce the loss of rental income. a. At the introduction of Southwark Homesearch it was envisaged that a greater number of tenants would take the opportunity to move. Computer modelling had shown that a significant number would have increased priority under the new lettings scheme and that they therefore would bid successfully and larger numbers would move, particularly in the first year of operation. Consequently 2m was set aside for housing management to deal with increased void loss and property improvement costs during the first year of Homesearch operation and 750k in subsequent years. b. However, the lettings statistics show that this has not materialised. Under the previous allocations policy tenants refusal rate of offers was high, i.e. 2 out of 3 offers would be refused. Tenants expectations of the standards of a new home were high and clearly these high expectations remain, resulting in fewer moves than tenants priority would indicate. The proportion of lettings to tenants has slightly reduced from 40% in to 38% since the introduction of Homesearch. In consequence the funding identified in para 68 to fund additional void costs has now been taken as part of the HRA savings target for , less the additional cost of funding the move to a weekly cycle. The impact of the policy on the temporary accommodation policy 69. The report to the Executive in November 2004 indicated the effect of the proposed reduction in priority for homeless applicants on the Housing List. The anticipated reduced level of lettings to homeless applicants was expected to lead to an increase of 150k in the General Fund over the first year of operation and 183k in future years. It was also anticipated that additional expenditure for furniture removal and storage costs would amount to 15k each year. 70. However, lower than expected bidding activity among homeless applicants has led to lower level of homelessness lettings than anticipated. As this has been offset by successful homeless prevention initiatives and therefore overall numbers in temporary accommodation remaining within target - the overall effect has been that the temporary accommodation budget is not being exceeded. 71. For the service to meet the 50% planned reduction in use of temporary accommodation target by 2010 (as required by government), an increase over the current level in the number of homeless families being rehoused is necessary though. Dedicated officer support for bidding for a new home is now available to all households in temporary accommodation. Where they are not successful in being rehoused a direct offer of a new home may be made. Once the rehousing of tenants on the Heygate and the Aylesbury regeneration schemes start next year, there will be much greater competition from high 11

12 priority applicants on the list for available housing vacancies. The intervention with direct offers for homeless households at this stage will prevent a backlog from building up before these additional pressures on the housing stock will be experienced over the coming years. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGE Summary of findings 72. Southwark Homesearch has been well-received and is perceived as clear and transparent. Its introduction has placed Southwark Council well ahead of the government target of all local authorities introducing a choice based lettings scheme by The number of applicants participating in the bidding continues to increase and a surprisingly high proportion of bids are received over the internet, recently at over 75%. 73. The majority of properties are let to applicants in Band 3 and lettings to vulnerable applicants have slightly increased. 74. None of the review findings or feedback received point to a need for drastic changes. There are however some small changes proposed to the policy, mostly to clarify issues for applicants (and their legal advisors), and a couple of Band changes to make the scheme more equitable for applicants. In addition some improvements in the way the policy is applied have been identified these are for information. Recommendations for changes to the policy: 75. Changes in priority Bands Statutorily Overcrowded from Band 2 to Band 1 (Policy para 3.10 refers) The level of very serious overcrowding experienced by these families warrants higher priority than currently afforded. Only a small number are involved and the change is not envisaged to have a noticeable effect on other applicants. SHNAG (Single Homeless Nominations and Allocations Group) from Band 1 to Band 2 (Policy para 3.8 refers) SHNAG applicants (who are often young and usually single) are often able to successfully bid for properties above those applicants who need to move as part of a regeneration scheme, are under-occupying or have been assessed by the Medical Assessment Panel. It is recommended that this group be moved to Band 2 where they are still likely to be re-housed within a similar period of time, but not necessarily to the most popular properties. This change will benefit all other very urgent applicants in Band 1. At the consultation phase, Members expressed the view that further consideration should be given to exceptional Band 1 status for cases where severe emotional trauma has been experienced. This proposal will be considered in the light of the strategic review of supply and demand of social rented accommodation currently being undertaken by the Regeneration and Neighbourhoods Department. 12

13 76. Rehousing on the basis of family need Abolish like for like policy for Personal protection/harassment applicants (Policy paras 3.11 and refers) Currently applicants awarded Band 2 on grounds of Personal Protection/ Harassment are only considered for the same size accommodation that they currently occupy (or smaller if bed need is less), irrespective of whether they are overcrowded. This is now thought to be unnecessarily restrictive and administratively complex. As only a small number of applicants are affected this will not have a noticeable effect on other applicants. 77. Cross-Borough Arrangements - Lettings outside scope of normal policy The policy needs to include reference to our pilot schemes with other local authorities to encourage cross-london mobility. Properties may be made available to applicants from other boroughs in line with any cross-borough arrangements through SELHP or other partnership arrangement. In these cases, the exporting borough will apply their own lettings policy to determine the priority of the applicant. In return it will normally be expected to be offered out of borough properties which can be offered to Southwark applicants under our normal lettings policy. 78. Advertising adapted homes (policy para 3.19 refers) Currently offers of adapted homes, both for wheelchair use as well as lesser adaptations, are made directly to applicants who have been assessed as needing such a home. It is proposed that advertising some or all of these homes is investigated. Proposals for change will be brought forward when the final recommendations for change to the lettings policy are considered by the Executive Committee following consultation on this report. Such a change will allow the council to comply more fully with the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act. 79. Additional provision for direct offer (Policy para refers) Personal Protection/Harassment The council reserves the right to make a direct offer to tenants who have been assessed and granted priority on grounds of Personal Protection/ Harassment and provided with temporary accommodation arranged through their local area housing office. 80. Provision for use of time-limited priority cards (policy para refers) It is proposed that as an alternative to the Council making direct offers in the limited circumstances set out in para 4.1.2, the Council could issue instead a priority card to some of these applicants. Such a scheme would allow for additional priority on the shortlist after bidding. Such a provision will assist the Council in its ability to manage the supply of temporary accommodation for homeless households for example without having to do this by making direct 13

14 offers. Depending on the kind of card issued, it may give the applicant top priority for the property bid for or it may give the applicant priority ahead of other applicants in their or a higher priority band. In this way the Council can continue to maximise the number of properties advertised under the Homesearch scheme whilst still having to meet its various obligations. 81. Additional categories for suspensions (policy para 2.23 refers) Out-of-borough applicants whilst demand for properties from local applicants remains far higher than supply, the council reserves the right to suspend applications from applicants elsewhere. Serial refusers - The council reserves the right to suspend applicants for 6 months from the bidding process in cases where they have refused 10 offers of accommodation as they are considered to waste Council resources Simultaneous Housing List/homelessness applications the Council reserves the right to temporarily suspend one application for rehousing in cases where an applicant makes a second simultaneous application. This occasionally happens where a homeless applicant also makes an application directly to the Housing List or where an applicant on the Housing List also makes a homelessness application. Under these circumstances the Housing List application would normally remain suspended until the homelessness application has been determined. At this point the applicant will be entitled to the highest applicable priority under the policy, whether that is as a result of the homelessness application or the Housing List application. 82. Withdrawal of properties from bidding process following advertisement The council reserves the right to withdraw properties from the bidding process following advertisement. Operational Improvements 83. It is recommended that the following operational changes be introduced (the current Lettings Policy already provides for this): Medical recommendation for ground floor/garden properties When this type of property is advertised, adverts may now indicate that some priority will be given to those with a ground floor or garden medical recommendation from the Medical Assessment Service. This will be applied where such an applicant is amongst the first three shortlisted applicants and within the same Band as the highest applicant on the shortlist or in the next band below. Advertising some properties for applicants in certain Bands only By limiting bids from certain Bands only, it is intended to improve the rehousing chances of certain groups of applicants, eg homeless applicants in temporary accommodation. Age limit for sheltered applicants to be lowered to 55 years By lowering the age for sheltered accommodation it is intended that a wider range of applicants can be identified. This will help to address the issue of current unused capacity. 14

15 ISSUES FOR THE FUTURE Cross Borough Movement SELHP 84. In order to maximise choice for local residents Southwark is currently participating in a SELHP inter borough choice based lettings pilot. SELHP (South East London Housing Partnership) comprises of Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley boroughs. This pilot aims to determine the level of interest from applicants to move out of their current borough. It was thought in the past that most households wanted to migrate further south rather than towards inner London. This pilot offered Southwark applicants the opportunity to bid for properties in Greenwich and Lewisham, whilst these boroughs advertised a small number of Southwark homes in their respective magazines/website. Shortly to be concluded, this pilot has shown clearly that considerable demand exists for cross borough moves in all directions. It is likely however that applicants who have moved through this pilot were mainly looking for a suitable home to meet their housing needs rather than they had a specific need to move to another borough. 85. The pilot has raised a number of issues including prioritisation of applicants using different lettings policy criteria administrative difficulties arising from different level of information required on both properties and applicants by each borough. Pan-London lettings proposals 86. The experience of the SEHLP pilot is of particular interest in relation to pending proposals for the Capital Moves, pan London scheme being developed by London Councils (previously the Association of London Government). The proposed policy framework and model is still being refined, but includes An incremental approach to implementing pan-london CBL Inclusion of a limited proportion (5%) of relets of existing properties New supply of housing to be included in a way which supports existing subregional arrangements Possibility of retaining local (borough) lettings policies but also proposal for pan-london lettings policy under consideration Issue of governance of new pan-london body to oversee scheme ELLC being established as ChoiceHomes UK 87. Since Southwark joined ELLC in 2005, the choice-based lettings partnership has expanded to include Havering, Hackney and London & Quadrant Housing Trust as well as the founding boroughs Newham, Waltham Forest and Redbridge. In addition the partnership now sells CBL services to Barking and Dagenham. Negotiations are underway with a number of other authorities not all in East or South East London. To reflect the reducing link with a geographical area, a new not-for-profit company is being established, ChoiceHomes UK which will take over from ELLC. 15

16 Sharing the costs with local housing associations 88. At the start of Southwark Homesearch, RSLs were informed that advertising costs for their properties would be met by Southwark in their entirety during the first year of the scheme. Whilst there is no immediate plan for recouping some of the Homesearch costs from our local housing association partners, it remains open to review in the future. The development of the pan-london lettings scheme may have a bearing on this. Additionally, with London & Quadrant Housing Trust now becoming the latest partner in ELLC as referred to in the previous paragraph, this may result in further large RSL s expressing interest in partnership opportunities. COMMUNITY IMPACT STATEMENT 89. Prior to the introduction of Southwark Homesearch in September 2005, an Equalities Impact Assessment was undertaken to determine how the policy and scheme would affect the local community. In particular, this considered the barriers that may prevent applicants from actively participating in the search for their new home. It was clear that those with language difficulties, sensory disabilities, learning difficulties or have disorganised or chaotic lifestyles could be disadvantaged if not provided with support to access the scheme. Paragraph 44 outlines the range of methods introduced to address this concern and these will continue to be available for service users. Regular monitoring of participation in the scheme is undertaken and non-bidders contacted to offer assistance. Additionally a detailed ethnic monitoring report is produced annually and this compares all lettings made to each ethnic group with their representation on the housing list to ensure that our service is accessible as possible. PROPOSALS FOR CONSULTATION 90. The proposals in paragraphs 75 to 88 will be subject to consultation Officers propose to seek views of local RSL s and TMO s by individual correspondence and SOUHAG meeting Tenants and leaseholders will be consulted through local area forums and Tenants Council and Leaseholder Council will be asked for their views Comments will be sought from local voluntary organisations, incl SHNAG agencies, through individual correspondence as well as Southwark Advice and Agency Forum and the SHNAG liaison meeting. 91. Officers will bring back the outcome of this consultation to the Executive for a final decision on the policy change proposals during summer CONCURRENT REPORT FROM BOROUGH SOLICITOR 92. Under section 105 Housing Act 1985 the authority is obliged to consult with their secure tenants on matters of housing management which in the opinion of the authority represent changes in its practice or policy where those changes are likely to substantially affect its tenants. Proposals for consultation to changes to the authority s Lettings Policy, which form part of the subject of this report, are set out in paragraphs 91 to When making changes to policy and procedure the authority must adhere to administrative law requirements of legality, reasonableness and procedural propriety. 16

17 94. The Department of Communities and Local Government have issued a draft code of guidance for consultation. Consultation ends on 10 April The code of guidance will provide information about those factors that authorities should take into account when framing their allocation scheme to offer a choice of accommodation. Once the final guidance has been issued the authority must have regard to it when exercising functions in respect of its Lettings policy. 95. The guidance will be supplementary to the Allocation of Accommodation Code of Guidance issued in Legal services will work closely with the Housing Options Service and provide legal advice where required to ensure that statutory and guidance requirements are complied with. BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS Background Papers Held At Contact Lettings Policy Housing Options Services, Chatelaine Miny Jansen, Housing Options Green Paper Quality and Choice House, 186 Walworth Manager A Decent Home For All Road, SE17 1JJ LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1 Audit Trail Appendix 2 Bidding activity by ethnicity Sept 2005 to Jan 2006 Appendix 3 Bids by ethnicity Appendix 4 4a,4b,4c,4d,4e,4f New joiners to housing list Appendix 5 Housing List by band and priority reason Appendix 6 Southwark Homesearch lettings Oct 05 to Sept 06 APPENDIX 1 Audit Trail Lead Officer Margaret O Brien, Head of Community Housing Services Report Author Miny Jansen, Housing Options Manager and Carol Smith Housing Options Initiatives Manager Version Final Dated 23 rd May 2007 Key Decision? No CONSULTATION WITH OTHER OFFICERS / DIRECTORATES / EXECUTIVE MEMBER Officer Title Comments Sought Comments included Borough Solicitor & Secretary yes Chief Finance Officer Yes 17

18 Executive Member Yes No Date final report sent to Constitutional Support Services 23 rd May