Accessing the private rented sector should have corporate support within the local authority. Increasing access to direct lets can enable authorities to meet wider corporate objectives such as addressing social exclusion, regeneration, improving stock condition and bringing empty properties back into use rather than looking at it as simply tackling homelessness.
Ensuring that access to the private rented sector is featured in the regional housing strategy, and that joint work on the issue is carried out on a cross- borough or regional basis wherever possible will also improve wider objectives around sustainable communities and tacking social exclusion.
It is important that authorities ensure all relevant departments work together to common objectives around access to the private rented sector. These will include planning, finance and HB, legal services, environmental health and social services. Processes need to be as streamlined as possible, to minimise delay and bureaucracy kept to a minimum. It is surprisingly easy to lose the confidence of landlords by imposing the time-scales within which local authorities tend to operate. The use of delegated powers wherever possible is recommended.
In some authorities the traditional approach to private landlords has been adversarial, particularly if the sector stock condition is poor. This can lead to entrenched attitudes on both sides, which makes it harder for housing staff to promote private renting as a viable and attractive option of settled accommodation for people who need accommodation. This has to be tackled before any attempt is made to develop a different relationship with private landlords, to avoid failure.
The rest of this page features a range of case studies that showcase different ways in which local authorities have taken a strategic approach to the use of the PRS. However, it is important to note that, while this is a good practice section, the London Housing Foundation is not necessarily endorsing any of these approaches. Instead, they are included here to provide you with ideas and information about strategies that others are using to engage with the PRS.
Case studies
Training
A number of authorities and agencies have been developing training for front line and other staff where these attitudes are discussed and challenged and where questioning and interviewing skills are extended. This training could usefully be offered to landlords as well, to change their perceptions about partnership working with local authorities.
Conversation Management Interviewing
ITS Training (UK) Ltd. offers Conversation Management Interviewing training for housing staff. By creating a feeling of mutual trust and asking questions in an appropriate style, the maximum amount of information will be gained during the interview. Clients are better able to focus on realistic options for their housing.
Staff from over 40 housing authorities and agencies have completed the course, with positive feedback from many including Middlesbrough and Birmingham.
The course, which is one of three modules specifically designed for housing staff, can lead to a BTEC award.
Call Mike Neumann or Steve Oram on
08454 300 262
or visit the website on
www.its-training-uk.com
Cognitive Therapy
Dr Nick Maguire, Deputy Director of Cognitive Therapy at Southampton University and Mark Meehan from LB Camden have developed a training course for housing staff which seeks to enable staff to
1) deal assertively with difficult situations through understanding clients' perspectives and
2) change clients' beliefs about social housing with the use of four different questioning techniques:-
* Problem solving
* Challenging belief
* Pros and cons
* Motivational interviewing
The course enables participants to identify the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviour when interviewing clients.
Contact:
nm10@soton.ac.uk
'It's Your Move' Pre-Tenancy Training
The It's Your Move team have been working since 2000 to develop services for people moving on to more independent accommodation. It's Your Move, run by homelessness agency Broadway, supports the set up, delivery and evaluation of pre-tenancy training programmes by a number of voluntary and statutory sector partners. The project provides support and training to help front line/support workers to deliver the programme, which is based around a number of tried-and-tested, user-friendly modules. Flexibility allows the approach to be adapted to individual circumstances and promotes effective support planning.
The modules cover:
Pre-tenancy support - for clients to prepare for the practical and emotional aspects of moving to and managing a tenancy - for example, looking at managing change, preparing to move and the move on process.
Money management - aimed at encouraging learners to look at and discuss how they can manage their money confidently, including budgeting, dealing with debt and creditors, bills and benefits.
Personal skills - communication skills, assertiveness and confidence building, healthy eating and nutrition, relaxation and team building.
Tenancy issues - looking at dealing with neighbours and issues around anti-social behaviour and Living on Your Own, looking at how to deal with isolation and making the most of your time.
Attending the course also develops clients' engagement skills and helps them communicate effectively with others.
Since 2000 It's Your Move has supported 33 London based partners to set up and deliver and evaluate their own pre-tenancy training programmes as part of funding received from the London Councils.
It's Your Move also work with voluntary sector agencies outside of London.
For more details:
Procurement
Many different agencies will be seeking to access privately rented properties for clients. YOTs, Probation Services, Leaving and Aftercare services, refugee agencies, RSLs finding PSL properties and single homeless services looking for move-on will all be chasing the same properties, and in some cases increasing costs through competition with each other.
To counter this, local authorities could consider developing a more strategic approach to procurement in the private rented sector, by appointing someone to negotiate for suitable accommodation which could be accessed by clients of all relevant agencies. This could be done on a cross authority or sub regional basis depending on the structure of the local rented market.
Setting an agenda for an approach to the private rented sector should be seen in the light of offering a range of housing options at an early stage to people looking for accommodation - some authorities have found that this is best done in tandem with wide, long-term culture changes such as the adoption of a CBL system.
Homes4Let
Homes4Let is a charitable letting and management agency set up jointly by Bournemouth and Poole Borough Councils. It is targeted at landlords who want to enter into short-term letting arrangements and who do not wish to manage the properties themselves.
Landlords are offered a low commission rate, rent in advance, a dedicated HB officer, accreditation under the councils' schemes and the 1 st year's subscription to the Dorset Residential Landlords' Association.
Tenants nominated by the two councils are offered six month ASTs, renewable where possible, a high standard of accommodation within area reference rents and with access to floating support if necessary. DHP is also available.
The councils have benefited from a reduction in homelessness applications, a reduction in the number of empty properties and referral arrangements to good standard accommodation.
The scheme has cost the two authorities £118,000 between them in pump priming finance.
Contact
peter.hoyle@bournemouth.gov.uk
London Borough of BrentWork with the rent officer on rent levels is vital. LB Brent operates private sector lettings scheme designed to meet the needs of families who have experienced homelessness, but also offers a Homefinder service providing assistance to other local residents.
There is a well-established network of landlords in Brent who offer direct lets to council referrals. Brent offers a maximum of £500 to the landlord depending on the property size if they accommodate a household who has experienced homelessness.
Landlords are offered free advertising on the Homefinder scheme and are offered advice on how to deal with tenancy issues. They are invited to regular private sector housing forums along with private tenants.
Rents are in line with the pre-tenancy determinations supplied by the rent officer.
Contact
manjul2.shah@brent.gov.uk or
www.brent.gov.uk/phiu.nsf
Leeds CouncilIn common with many other authorities Leeds had seen a significant rise in homeless acceptances: from 2000 in 2000/2001 to 4965 in 2003/2004. As a result the Leeds Homeless Service had begun to work with private landlords in order to provide temporary accommodation. The council undertook a procurement exercise to contract under PSL and a three-year contract was awarded to one of the existing suppliers.
This left other landlords who had previously worked with the council without a source of business and they were anxious to secure alternative opportunities. One company, Cascade Homes, agreed to work in partnership with the council to offer long-term (generally up to 24 months) assured short-hold tenancies to households as a means of preventing homelessness or bringing a main homelessness duty to an end.
Key to this initiative was the Local Housing Allowance pathfinder and joint working with the Leeds Benefits Service. The flat rate of Housing Benefit paid gave landlords greater security in relation to the level of rental yield that they could expect and ensured that there was swifter processing of payments. The Leeds Benefits Service was also willing to forego direct payment to the tenant if the household were deemed to be vulnerable under Benefit Regulations. The Leeds Benefits Service is committed to using Housing Benefit as a means of preventing or ending homelessness rather than being a cause of homelessness.
To date 220 households have taken up the offer of an assured short hold tenancy either at the point of approaching the council for assistance with housing or as a way of securing longer-term housing that can bring a homelessness duty to an end. It must be stressed that there has been no compulsion on households to take up housing through this scheme. However, the Homeless Service has ensured that households have been given realistic housing advice on the length of time they would likely to have to spend in temporary accommodation if they chose not to accept an assured short hold tenancy and the reality of securing a social housing let in the Leeds area. Furthermore, households have been allowed to take on longer-term tenancies in properties they already occupied as temporary accommodation and where they had therefore settled into the area. A prerequisite of working in partnership with Cascade was that the company was a member of the Leeds Landlord Accreditation Scheme and that there were no issues of concern raised by the Benefits Service. The accommodation provided by Cascade is furnished and of a very high quality and therefore households were able to compare this to the potential offer of an unfurnished social housing let.
Cascade is also willing to offer long term tenancies to households to whom the Homeless Service may not have owed a full homelessness duty, for example, to households likely to be intentionally homeless.
For further information contact:
rob.mccartney@leeds.gov.uk
Smart Rent
Housing has a significant impact on the financial health of a local authority and plays an important role in its regeneration. This is particularly relevant in rural areas where the high demand for affordable and decent housing needs to be balanced against the need to protect the rural environment.
In 2004/5 Stroud District Council was successful through its Local Strategic Partnership, in securing a budget of £17,000 from the income generated by the reduction of the council tax discount on second homes to set up a Private Sector Leasing scheme. The aims of the scheme are to encourage owners of empty properties to bring them back into use and to increase the range of affordable housing available.
The Council has entered into a contract with Gloucestershire Housing Association to launch the ‘Smart Rent' scheme in April 2005. Private property owners entering into a lease agreement with the Association will be offered a guaranteed monthly income for the period of the lease (3-5 years). In order to be able ensure a reasonable return to the landlord and cover the Housing Associations administrative and management costs the Council will make up any shortfall in the rental income to the Housing Association.
With a minimum lease period of 3 years the intention is to offer relatively long term, stable tenancies to people who need accommodation. It is hoped that if a property has been successfully let it will encourage the owner to continue to let the property at the end of the lease period.
Contact:
mailto:rob.mccartney@leeds.gov.uk
Using S106
Regional Housing Boards are interested in investment opportunities that produce more affordable housing for less public grant funding, combined with greater tenure choice. Local authorities wishing to maximise affordable housing will need to develop different approaches using new skills particularly around S106 negotiations.
Portsmouth City Council has negotiated two deals with different development companies as part of discussions around s106 agreements. The involvement of the planning department was crucial, as was the need for flexibility and creativity.
The first scheme involved the conversion and refurbishment of a listed building into flats for sale on the open market. The planning department was negotiating a commuted sum but the housing department felt that there was an opportunity to increase the affordable accommodation to be provided. They appointed a negotiator with a commercial background, Mike Best, to act on their behalf who persuaded the developer to release 6 newly refurbished flats in another part of the city, at affordable rents for 10 years. This provided the authority with more units of affordable accommodation than the commuted sum would have provided, and was an attractive proposition for people in low paid employment, which satisfied other key corporate objectives.
The same negotiator helped the authority agree a planning trade- off on a site scheduled for demolition and redevelopment. The authority agreed to reduce the affordable housing quota on the new build, which made it financially viable, in return for temporary use of the existing houses at very low rents. The developer subsequently shelved the redevelopment of the site and has negotiated an extended lease on the existing houses at low rents with the authority.
In both examples the local authority, which still manages its own stock, has taken on the management of the properties itself, at a lower cost than either an RSL or lettings agent, which helped bring the rent levels down.
Contact:
Mike@mikebestassociates.co.uk or
Alan.cufley@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
Settled Housing Solutions
Settled Housing Solutions Consultancy Service (SHS) specialises in designing and implementing a range of Assured Shorthold Tenancy (A.S.T) options for local authorities, district and city councils, RSL’s and vulnerable client groups. They aim to deliver a range of sustainable and low cost housing options to meet the needs of local authorites and their clients.
SHS have developed and operated private sector housing projects for over five years and have identified four key
components which need to be incorporated into sustainable and successful PRS housing options: Partnership, Tenancy Support, Standards and Low Cost.
Partnership: Empowers all delivery partners to contribute to the design and development of the PRS option and
results in robust and transparent referral procedures as well as successful tenancy support processes. Consequently, it provides a constant supply of suitable PRS accommodation.
Tenancy Support: Getting it right from the beginning is central to providing stability for the tenancy. SHS
formalised tenancy support plans aim to protect the housing service, letting agents, landlords and, most importantly
the re-housed families from tenancy breakdown or eviction.
Standards : a key component in preventing homelessness and successfully sustaining tenancies in the PRS is
‘Standards’; standards in procedural design and management, standards in property and property management and
standards in tenancy support.
Low Cost: housing options should offer sustainability and long term tenancies rather than up-front cash incentives.
Settled Housing Solutions Model has been recognized as a ‘Best Practice’ by such organisation as the Rent Service,
the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) and the Housing Ombudsman Service.