Agenda item

Provision of Temporary Accommodation

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Director which identified various options for the Council to acquire property to use as temporary accommodation.  Under the Housing Act 1996, the Council had a duty to accommodate homeless households.  Investing in property meant that the Council had greater control over the quality and quantity of provision, whilst reducing the net cost of provision.

 

The Council would continue to use a number of privately owned (15 including eight self-contained properties) well-managed temporary accommodation establishments.  The budget for 2019/20 was £775,000 offset by £369,500 of income predominantly recovered through housing benefit; net cost was £385,500.

 

Requests for temporary accommodation were increasing.  Between March 2015 and March 2019 homeless households had risen from 17 to 57.  To date 66 homeless households were in B&B accommodation.  Appendix 1 to the report identified the types of households the Council had placed in temporary accommodation during 2018/19.  Members noted that the Council had no duty to provide self-contained accommodation for single people.  The Council, in collaboration with East Sussex County Council and wider partners was currently reviewing the provision of supported accommodation for all groups and, in particular, single people with complex needs.

 

Members noted that the average length of stay in temporary accommodation across all household types was 77 days.  The net cost of placing single households or childless couples and households with children was on average £1,360 and £2,900 respectively.  If the Council purchased its own property, over a twelve month period, average costs of £6,000 – £13,000 per household could be avoided.

 

The report identified the financial assessment and investment required to purchase a range of properties.  It also included an illustration of the costs which could be avoided by placing households in local authority rather than private accommodation.  The projections were verified in consultation with neighbouring local authorities who delivered similar schemes.  An overall net saving of £70,000 per annum was projected.

 

The Council’s Temporary Accommodation Strategy (TAS) was appended to the report at Appendix 4.  The TAS outlined the types of properties the Council intended to acquire, alongside how properties would be purchased, managed, maintained and repaired.  Property management risks were outlined in Appendix 5 to the report.  An audit of the in-house skills required for property management had been completed and highlighted that resources/expertise would be required for managing rental income recovery and out of hours residents’ enquiries.  In the short-term, these functions would be externally purchased while the Council built its own portfolio of properties; ongoing skills reviews would be necessary.

 

Should the need for temporary accommodation reduce, the Council could review its assets.  Assets could be sold and the capital receipt reinvested into Council budgets.

 

During discussion the following was noted:

 

·       properties would be purchased in urban areas across the district, however specific need at the moment was particularly focused in Bexhill;

·       all households would be supported by the Council to acquire any  furnishings they required;

·       important to establish in-house expertise or collaboration with other local authorities with regard to property management;

·       investigate the option of building modular pre-fabrication constructions on Council owned land.  This would be an innovative way to build quick tailor-made value for money properties; and

·       investigate alternative solutions such as refurbishing empty/derelict buildings or convert/remodel existing buildings.

 

Cabinet was supportive of the Council building up a portfolio of suitable properties to use as temporary accommodation to meet the varied needs of homeless households across the district.  They recommended that the TAS be approved and adopted.  It was recommended that the Executive Director be authorised to borrow an initial sum of up to £3m to prioritise the purchase of properties and that the capital programme be amended accordingly.  

 

RECOMMENDED: That:

 

1)     the Temporary Accommodation Investment Strategy at Appendix 4 to the report be approved and adopted;

 

2)     the Executive Director be authorised to purchase properties for use as temporary accommodation at a cost of up to £3 million funded through borrowing; and

 

3)     the Capital Programme be amended accordingly.

 

 

Supporting documents: