Improving Quality

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• Improving Quality
• of Housing

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• Manju Dhar
• Private sector housing Manager
• Slough Borough Council
• 13th October 2010

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• It is generally accepted that decent affordable
  housing is a
• key component in achieving cohesive and
  sustainable
• communities which are part of a good society
• Regardless of politics Housing has been
  identified as a cross
• cutting priority and is reflected in a number of
  national and
• local indicators. They clearly illustrate the
  benefit and
• contribution that access to safe affordable
  housing can make
• to the lives of the residents of a area.

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Housing Stock

• New Stock
• Planning Process
• Private development
• Social Housing
• Registered social landlords
• Local authority owned stock
• Private Stock
• Owner occupied
• Privately rented
• Owned by recognised establishments

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English House Condition survey 2007

• In 2007, 7.7 million homes were non-decent, just
  under 35 per cent of the housing stock. This
  included 1.1 million homes in the social sector.
• The Registered Social Landlord (RSL) stock was in
  the best condition and the private rented sector
  worst. Only 26 per cent of RSL homes were
  non-decent compared to 45 per cent of privately
  rented accommodation.
• Social tenants were more likely to live in decent
  homes than other tenure groups (72 per of social
  tenants compared to 66 per cent of home owners,
  and 54 per cent of privately renting tenants).
• Since 1996, the energy efficiency of homes has
  steadily improved from an average SAP rating of
  42 in 1996 to 50 in 2007.
• Social housing remains on average more energy
  efficient than privately owned homes, with 21 per
  cent of its stock achieving the highest Energy
  Efficiency Rating (EER) Bands compared to 10 per
  cent of privately rented accommodation and only 4
  per cent of owner occupied properties.

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• Information that the councils has to help them
  to produce a work
• programmes that enables them to monitor quality
  and standards within
• their borough
• Stock surveys own stock and also private sector
• Historical information
• Customer consultation and feedback
• Method of procurement
• Adherence to Audit commission standards Key
  lines of Enquiry for each service area
  Strategic housing, council housing and private
  sector housing
• Availability of funding
• Local priorities

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New stock

• Control quality, quantity and standards of stock
  though the planning process
• Control on types of housing being built
• Planning controls in place for new housing
  estates/developers as well as small scale private
  developments e.g. extensions
• Lifetimes homes

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Social Housing

• Local Authority owned Housing
• Council is the landlord and has control of its
  stock and is responsible for
• repairs and maintance funded from Housing Revenue
  account
• Has to compile with a whole range of legislation
  which allows the council as a landlord to do or
  not to certain things e.g.. Set rent level, what
  can be borrowed to fund capital programmes,
  tenants consultation and participation in the
  decision making process
• Has also to be able to prove value for money and
  there is a high level of control on the awarding
  of contracts and quality is underwritten in all
  of the specifications that are produced

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Social housing

• Registered Social landlords
• Work closely with the council to provide the type
  and standard of housing needed by the council
• Have duties to provide services to set standards
  and have in place processes and procedures to
  deal with repairs, customer complaints, financial
  monitoring etc.

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Procurement

• Generally Councils have a Procurement Strategy
  which is key in providing
• better, more reliable and responsive services
  and in ensuring value for money
• within the framework of Best Value and continuous
  improvement.
• Efficiencies in procurement are fundamental in
  meeting the external constraints
• brought about by immediate, substantial and
  unavoidable pressures.
• This includes following the rules and
  regulations and best practice in
• procurement in order to deliver best value from
  procurement activity and also
• has to be a transparent process and ensure
  compliance with procurement best
• practice and legislative

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Procurement

• Monitor and act upon non compliance to corporate
  contracts
• Identify opportunities for new corporate
  contracts
• Identify areas for increased collaborative
  procurement with other public bodies, including
  both local authorities and other local partners

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Procurement

• A good Procurement process continues to
  encourage and monitor contractors to reduce all
  unnecessary waste re-use and to recycle wherever
  possible.
• Request new developments and innovation by
  contractors to reduce waste, energy and water
  consumption to only use raw materials where
  possible from renewable resources and to support
  economic sustainability.
• Where sustainability proposals are considered to
  be directly relevant to the contract they will be
  included in the criteria used for tender
  evaluation

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Procurement

• Ensures that contractors meet Health Safety
  standards in all products and services that are
  purchased and that they meet the relevant safety
  Regulations and standards.
• Incorporate and set any quality standards that
  are relevant to the contract and service area

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Private housing

• Local authorities have long had powers to
  intervene in order to control and seek too
  improve housing conditions in their area. The
  principal mechanism has been through the concept
  of unfitness.
• The term unfit for human habitation dates back
  to the Artisans and labourers Dwellings Act 1868
• The term meant not in all respects reasonably
  fit for human habitation otherwise unqualified
  until 1954 and in use till the Housing Act 2004.
• The 2004 act replaced the unfitness definition
  with the Housing, Health and safety rating system
  which is the new approach to the evaluation of
  the potential risk to the health and safety from
  any deficiencies identified in the dwellings

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Private Housing

• Local housing authorities must keep the housing
  conditions in their area
• under review with a view to identifying any
  actions that may need to be
• taken by them under any provision of the Housing
  Act 2004
• Range of options that the council has include
• Demolition and slum clearance orders
• Declaration of clearance and renewal areas
• Deal with empty homes
• Range of enforcement options and intervention for
  the privately rented sector
• Polices to help owners occupiers, in particular
  those who are disabled

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Privately Rented Housing

• In general ranges of powers and duties
• include
• Have duty to take action in the cases where there
  are category 1 hazards
• Licensing of all Houses in Multiple occupation
  which are 3 storeys, shared by 5 people or more
  and who share faculties
• Introduced Licensing for 2 storeys HMOs
  appropriate
• Serve a range of notices on landlords to improve
  their rented properties
• Hazard awareness notices
• Power to serve Improvement notices
• Power to make a prohibition order
• Power to make a demolition order
• Power to carry out emergency remedial works
• Power to revoke or suspended notices

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Private owners

• Most local authorities have a range of services
  available in terms of financial assistance, help
  and advise to help owners to maintain their homes
  or to adapt their homes suitable for their needs

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Private Owners -Home improvement Agency services
(HIAs)

• The main services provided by the HIAs are in
  assisting private sector clients
• who wish to apply for home improvement grants
  from the Council. These
• grants include Disabled Facilities, Minor Works,
  Renovation and Landlord
• Grants. And facilitating aids and adaptations
  works for disabled public sector
• tenants.
• This involves
• Assisting clients with their grant application,
• Liaising on the applicant's behalf with the
  various authorities, contractors and
  professionals involved,
• Advising on such matters as the financing of any
  costs not met by the grant,
• Involvement in any discussions between the
  statutory authorities and the applicant,
• Conducting a survey of the property and,
• Overseeing the work in progress

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Private owners HIAs Quality Mark Standard

• The Quality Mark Scheme is administered by
  Foundations, the
• National Co-coordinating Body for HIAs in
  England. It
• provides a recognized way for the quality
  assessment of the
• services provided by Home Improvement Agencies
  (HIAs)
• The quality mark is an independent inspection of
  the HIA and
• reassures all that the services are provided for
  people in need
• in a way that is fair, sensitive and provides
  value for money.
• There are 227 HIAs in England and around 38 have
  the
• Quality mark.

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Audit commission Key lines of Enquiry ( KLOE)

• Each KLOE is divided into sections that consider
  areas such as
• Access, customer care and user focus
• Diversity
• PS stock condition and housing need data
• The strategic approach
• How effectively is the Council tackling poor
  conditions in the private sector
• Value for money
• Six different areas to assess where we are
  compared to the fair or excellence standard

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SLOUGH BOROUGH COUNCIL

• WHAT ARE WE TO DO ABOUT
• SLOUGH SHEDS?

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WHAT ARE THEY?

• A Slough Shed is a structure, used for sleeping
  purposes usually constructed from blocks
  bricks, built in the curtilage of a property.
  They rarely benefit from planning permission and
  those that do only have permission for a usage
  other than sleeping.
• Historical evidence indicates that the majority
  of these buildings are being rented to tenants
  and that many are built in the gardens of Houses
  in Multiple Occupation (HMO)

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A TYPICAL SHED WITH A BED

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MORE SLOUGH SHEDS
We know the location of 1000 SHEDS However
we believe there may be up to 2000 SHEDS in
Slough
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A ROOM WITH A VIEW
h
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MORE BIJOU SHEDS
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WHERE ARE THEY?

• Slough Sheds can be found throughout the
  borough however the highest concentrations are
  found in a few a wards

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WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THEM?

• THESE STRUCTURES GENERALLY HAVE
• ? NO PLANNING PERMISSION FOR THEIR USEAGE
• See Barristers opinion
• Some have permission for use as a Gym
• ? NO BUILDING REGULATIONS CONSENT
• Including utilities
• ? THE MAJORITY CONTAIN CATEGORY 1 HAZARDS
• Mainly excess cold

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WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THEM?

• MANY OF THE TENANTS ARE
• MIGRANT WORKERS
• people on low income
• I VULNERABLE PERSONS

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WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THEM?

• ? THEY ARE SUB STANDARD ACCOMMODATION
• ? THEY BLIGHT OUR TOWN
• ? THEY ATTRACT ILLEGAL ACTIVITY
• -Including Benefit fraud Council Tax evasion
• ? THEY ARE ILLEGAL STRUCTURES
• -Recent Barristers opinion

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SO WHAT CAN BE DONE?

• ? REGULARISE PLANNING PERMISSION
• Require planning applications for these
  structures
• Where permission is subsequently granted
• ? IMPROVE
• Serve notice to remove all category 1 hazards
• Serve notice to prohibit/Limit occupation
• Require the structure meets current building
  regulations
• Where permission is subsequently refused
• ? DEMOLISH
• And Re-charge the landlord
• PERSUE THE LANDLORD FOR PROCEDES OF CRIME

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WHAT ARE OUR AIMS OBJECTIVES?

• ? Ensure Compliance with the Law
• Tenants and structure
• ? Keep Residents Safe
• Free from category 1 Hazards
• Free from exploitatation
• ? Help Prevent Further Such Developments
• Send out a message

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WHO WILL BE INVOLVED ?

• Police Intelligence, Access, Manpower
• Border Agency Intelligence, Manpower
• Local Fire Authority Advice
• Planning Confirm planning status, Access,
  Regularise, Enforce removal
• Benefit Fraud Intelligence, Pursue Proceeds of
  Crime, Manpower
• Building Control Pursue compliance with
  regulations for those to be regularised
• Private Sector Housing Coordinate project,
  Gather Collate intelligence, Enforce standards
  on
• 
  those to be regularised, Manpower.
• Homeless Team Robust lines of referral/temporary
  housing
• Children Families Robust lines of referral

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PRE-INSPECTION

• Establish the project team
• Arrange interpreters
• Clarify the teams roles and responsibilities
• Pre inspection
• Inspection
• Post inspection
• Gather intelligence on properties and occupants
• Want to know what we will find there
• Clear plan of action
• Properties inspected are those with specific
  problems
• Set up system of referrals
• Social Services
• Homeless
• The Provision of advice and other practical help
• Tenants and landlords

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THE INSPECTIONS

• Inspect the maximum number resources permit.
• Same Area
• Same Time
• Confirm occupation.
• Interview residents
• Obtain evidence admissible in court
• Determine extent of non compliance
• Of structure
• Of residents
• Process residents.
• Arrest
• Referral

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POST INSPECTIONS Best course of action
Do Planning want to regularise?
Yes
No
Pursue all criminal activity e.g. mortgage
fraud, licensable HMOs, money laundering, people
trafficking, immigration offences,
prostitution. Police, Fraud team, Border agency
etc
Enforcement action (Planning)
Ensure compliance with Building Regulations
Pursue any Council Tax arrears
Pursue proceeds of crime (Legal Fraud)
Ensure no Category 1 Hazards (PSH)
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POST INSPECTION

• Monitor
• Key members to meet after each series of
  inspections
• Each section to keep PSH advised of enforcement
  progress
• Evaluate
• Quality of intelligence
• Success of inspections
• Success of enforcement measures
• Improve
• Process
• Method of working etc

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WHAT WILL THE BENEFITS BE OF THIS PROJECT ?

• ? Improvement in the health of the tenants
• ? Improvement in the living conditions of the
  tenants
• ? Reduction in crime
• ? Improvement in future compliance
• ? Experience of multi-agency working
• ? Help to achieve the aims of the migration bid
• ? Help redress street scene area blight

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Improving the quality of housing

• Local authorities have a range of options both
  legally and locally to improve housing conditions
  in their area and each local authority will use
  the range depending on local conditions and need

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