Issue - meetings

AGREED

1.      To adopt the decoration preparation and starting well fund as part of the Empty Homes Standard; and.

2.      To approve additional funding of £275,000 being transferred to base budgets to facilitate the service improvement from the Efficiency Savings reserve.

The Portfolio Holder for Homes & Health presented a report which outlined the outcomes of the empty homes standard pilot which took place between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2022 and sought to adopt the decoration preparation and starting well fund as part of the Empty Homes Standard.

The standard of homes at re-letting was identified as an area for review and the Council found property condition featured strongly in complaints and insight feedback.  The Empty Home Standard was ready for a review and there was a call from the Council and tenants to make our homes better. There was also an opportunity to set aside efficiency savingsfrom bringing housing back into Council to trial a pilot and adopt some or both elements if successful. The success of the pilot was reported to the Policy & Performance Improvement Committee who fully supported the recommendations being made to the Cabinet.

The pilot scheme included decoration preparation in addition to the revised core lettings standard and an additional sum of up to £500 per property to meet individual tenant needs to help them “start well” in their tenancy.

AGREED      (unanimously):

(a)      to adopt the decoration preparation and starting well fund as part of the Empty Homes Standard; and.

(b)      to approve additional funding of £275,000 being transferred to base budgets to facilitate the service improvement from the Efficiency Savings reserve.

Reasons for Decision

This initiative supports the enhancements to the empty home standard, specifically decoration preparation and allocation of up to £500 per property, becoming permanent features.  These enhancements contribute to the Community Plan objective to ‘create more and better quality homes thorough our roles as landlord, developer and planning authority’.