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- The Shorthold Tenants Charter
- National Rent Deposit Forum
- Temporary Housing: A Good Practice Guide
- Housing Benefit Changes
- HPCS 4th Annual Conference
| THE SHORTHOLD TENANTS CHARTER |
The Housing Corporation has published a series of residents charters which set out in plain English for tenants and residents the reasonable expectations which they should have of their landlords and what they should do if their landlord does not meet the Social Housing Standards (SHS) which have been set in the third edition of the Performance Standards. They also include the residents‘ legal rights.
The Social Housing Standards apply to all housing provided by RSLs with public subsidy, transferred from a local authority or provided by charitable donation. The SHS on Residents Rights sets out the main regulatory requirements which are set out in the charters:- what should be included in the occupancy agreement
- accountability to residents
- information which should be provided or made available
- consultation
- participation
- complaints and redress.
A workshop to take place at the HPCS Conference will include an outline of the Corporation’s policy on the use of assured shorthold tenancies, the scope and purpose of the Performance Standards and the value and purpose of the residents charters.
HPCS Comments - This does raise significant issues for RSLs managing private sector and temporary accommodation units under HAMA and HALS agreements. There are many as yet unanswered questions as to whether or not these Performance Standards apply to temporary accommodation schemes, and in particular those where there has been no capital grant input.
RSLs could find themselves in very difficult situations where contractual obligations to landlords may place them in conflict with the Housing Corporations Standards (areas such as maintenance response times is an obvious area of potential difficulty). Through the activities of the NHF Temporary Accommodation Advisory Panel (TAAP) and HPCS Consultants we hope to clarify some of these issues with the Housing Corporation over the coming weeks.
The National Rent Deposit Forum, the national network of schemes housing those in need in the private rented sector, is going through a very busy time at the moment.
Firstly, we are about to produce two very significant reports. The First, "Access Denied" is research into the effects of Housing Benefit restrictions upon access to the private rented sector. It highlights how the work of the schemes in the Forum has been made harder as the Single Room Rent has caused many landlords to stop offering accommodation to young people on benefit, and has left many young people with rents that are difficult to afford and arrears. The report will be available from the Forum in July.
Our forthcoming annual report will contain the results of our membership survey, with information on the work schemes do. It shows that over 9,000 people a year are housed by Forum schemes. This will be available in the summer.
The Forum continues to offer assistance with starting up new schemes in the form of the Information Pack, Members Handbook, and information sharing. The growth of the Forum has continued, and there are now more than 120 schemes which are members.
Our next regional meetings open to members and non-members, will be in Nottingham on June the 18th and Northampton on June the 24th. Topics will include Schedule 1 offenders, Implementation of New Deal, Benefits updates, and Problems Sharing. Meetings are always well attended and an invaluable networking opportunity for those working with the private rented sector. If you would like to attend, please contact me*.
Tel: 01582-834691 - Fax: 01582-832992
| TEMPORARY HOUSING - A Good Practice Guide |
This Good Practice Guide is due to be launched at HPCS National Conference in July by the Chartered Institute of Housing and The Housing Corporation in association with the Notting Hill Housing Trust (NHHT).
Temporary Housing schemes have the capacity to bring new social housing properties online quickly. They can also be used to bring empty properties back into use and play a crucial role in regeneration strategies and many local authorities use this form of accommodation to house homeless families and asylum seekers.
This new Guide is written for local authority, housing association and private sector partners who are developing and managing temporary housing in Housing Association as Managing Agent (HAMA). Housing Association Leasing (HAL) and Private Sector Leasing (PSL) schemes. The Guide has been funded by an Innovation and Good Practice Grant from the Housing Corporation. It will draw together the results of a survey of tenants living in temporary accommodation carried out by British Market Research Bureau International on behalf of NHHT.
Practitioners in this field of work have contributed to the guide and extensive research has been carried out by the University of Westminster taking both the Local Authority and Housing Association view points into account.
It contains an analysis of the key issues in managing temporary Housing schemes, case studies illustrating good practice and summaries key points. It covers:
- The growth in use of temporary social housing provision
- Statutory obligations and responsibilities
- Best value and the need to involve customers
- Development of temporary housing strategies
- Acquisition and property standards
- Management, tenant support and Involvement
- Marketing services to landlords
- And much more...
| Cost: | £20.00 (plus £1.50 per copy p&p - not charged on orders of 5 and over) |
| Payment: | Cheque, credit card, postal order or invoice |
| Contact: | Publications, Chartered Institute of Housing, Octavia House, Westwood Way, Coventry, CV4 8JP Telephone: 01203 694433 |
| HOUSING BENEFIT CHANGES |
THE WELFARE REFORM GREEN PAPER
This short article looks at the recently published Green Paper on Welfare Reform. At the heart of the matter is the statement that the Government intends to ‘rebuild the welfare state around the work ethic: work for those who can; security for those who cannot’.
THE CASE FOR REFORMThe government has listed 5 reasons why the current welfare state should be reformed:
- Too many people are trapped in dependency
- There are more single parents
- People are living longer
- The current system isn’t producing a fairer society
- Fraud is rife
In designing a modern welfare state, eight key principles are identified:
- People should be encouraged to work
- Public services should be high quality and accessible
- Public and private sectors insure people against risks and provide for retirement
- Disabled people should get the support they need
- Child poverty should be tackled
- Social exclusion should be attacked
- Fraud should be minimised
- Welfare delivery should be modernised
Of Housing Benefit, the Government says: ‘Help with rent through Housing Benefit and support to local authorities and Housing Associations, will remain an important element of support for people who are retired, in low-paid work, or who are permanently unable to take up work.’
‘We are reviewing the underlying relationship between housing policy and Housing Benefit to address the weakness of the current regime.’
It is anticipated that more will become clear over the coming months as the result of the current governmental spending reviews are announced.
HOW THIS WILL AFFECT OUR WORK
Most of the contents of the green paper are not new - particularly the emphasis upon work, private insurance and action against fraud. Since the green paper contains little by way of detail, it is not clear how many tenants will be affected. What is clear from past reviews of the welfare state is that there will be winners and losers.
| THE HPCS 4TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE |
Limited places left.
The Annual Conference is approaching. Have you confirmed your booking?
This 3 day conference covers varied workshops lead by experienced speakers in the field.
Choice of sessions: finance, legal, research and good practice
The aim is to enable practitioners to share experience and gain knowledge of how to find solutions/alternative methods to problems faced in the day to day issues by development and management staff.
For further information contact: Pushpa Singh on 0181 621 9837, e-mail her on derrick.williams@efha.org.uk or click here for further details |
HPCS CONSULTANTS ARE:
- Ealing Family Housing Association
- Northern Counties Housing Association
- Oxford Citizens Housing Associations (Oxford Social Lettings Agency)
We can be contacted at:
St James’ House - 105-113 The Broadway - West Ealing - London - W13 9BE
Tel: 0181-621 9837 or E-Mail: derrick.williams@efha.org.uk
