Memorandum by the London Borough of Harrow
(HOM 31)
1. SUMMARY
Harrow council have been extremely effective
in tackling homelessness by providing choice for homeless households,
alongside homelessness prevention initiatives, and better advice
and information about alternative housing options. We have transformed
our housing needs and homelessness services so that they facilitate
and support people in making informed choices about their housing
options and finding the most appropriate solutions available to
them rather than focus all our energies on gate keeping and rationing
of scarce housing resources. This model of Housing Assessment
is now generally accepted as good practice, with many local authorities
adopting the prevention/options method to help tackle homelessness
in their area.
2. THE OVERALL
LEVEL AND
NATURE OF
NEED FOR
HOUSING FOR
HOMELESS PEOPLE
The London Borough of Harrow has been characterised
as having a "district council size housing stock and a London
size homelessness problem". Homelessness applications remain
high, with 1,827 applications during 2003-04—only slightly
below the average for the last four years. There has been a 26%
reduction in acceptances in 2003-04 on the previous year (263
acceptances), and a 64% reduction over the last four years. Of
those accepted during 2003-04, 65% required a two or three bedroom
property and 9.5% required 4+ bedrooms.
Harrow has identified three major causes of
homelessness within its area as being:
(a) Parental/friends/family exclusions.
(b) End of an assured shorthold tenancy.
(c) Violent breakdown of relationship.
3. THE SUCCESS
OF POLICIES
MEETING THE
NEEDS OF
HOMELESS HOUSEHOLDS
(a) Families
Early intervention by a filter officer has proved
very effective in the prevention of homelessness. We now have
prevention initiatives to tackle each of the main reasons for
homelessness highlighted above.
(i) Parental/friends/family exclusions—mediation
services
Where appropriate, households that approach
as homeless due to a parental/friends/family eviction are referred
to the Central Middlesex Family Mediation Service free of charge.
The purpose of this referral is to explore any possibility of
reconciliation to prevent homelessness, or if this is not possible,
to advise the applicant of other options that are available to
them, so that there is a planned exit from the family home as
opposed to an emergency. In the year 2003-04 249 referrals were
made to the mediation service. From these referrals Harrow only
accepted a re-housing duty to 22 households. 93 households chose
another housing option, and 36 households were issued with a Not
Homeless decision. The remainder of the referrals either did not
contact us again following mediation, or were still under investigation
at the year end.
(ii) End of an assured shorthold tenancy—prevention
outreach worker
Any household that the filter officer identifies
the reason for homelessness is due to an end of an assured short
hold tenancy, is referred to an outreach worker, who is then very
pro-active in contacting the landlord to find out the reason why
they have served a notice on their tenants. If, as is common,
the reason for the served notice is due to rent arrears caused
by housing benefit problems, the outreach worker liases with the
housing benefits department to help resolve this difficulty. 130
referrals were made to the prevention outreach worker's post for
the year 2003-04, of which 80 were either prevented from becoming
homeless or took up another housing option. 24 cases were accepted
as homeless despite being referred to the prevention officer.
(iii) Violent breakdown of relationship—domestic
violence
Harrow Council has worked in partnership with
the Harrow Crime Reduction Unit, who carries out surveys on properties
to determine whether or not the Sanctuary or other additional
security measures can be fitted to the property. If the result
of this survey is that the property is suitable for additional
measures, these are usually installed within 48 hours of the referral.
This initiative has seen the drastic fall in the number of families
who have been approached as homeless due to domestic violence.
62 referrals were made to the Sanctuary Project for the year 2003-04,
resulting in 55 sanctuaries being installed, and therefore preventing
homelessness from occurring.
Where prevention of homelessness is not possible,
Harrow council have developed a range of viable options to offer
to applicants as an alternative to applying as homeless. These
include:
(iv) Freshstart Scheme
The Freshstart scheme gives households access
to good quality Local Authority and Registered Social Landlord
property across the country, where there are either empty homes
or a high void turnover. The scheme is entirely voluntary with
no compulsion on the housing applicant or penalty if they refuse
any property offered. The scheme should not be offered to applicants
who have a history of substantial rent arrears, anti-social behaviour
or a vulnerability which would not be able to be supported elsewhere.
We can offer a financial package that includes:
(i) A small grant of £300 per statutory
family or council tenant to cover minor expenses relating to a
move.
(ii) The cost of reasonable travel expenses
to go to view potential properties.
(iii) Reasonable removal costs of furniture
and belongings for statutory homeless households or council tenants.
In light of the Governments Choice agenda this scheme should be
available to single homeless people and those on the Housing Register.
However only statutory homeless and council tenants would qualify
for the financial package.
(v) Finders Fee Scheme
The Finders Fee scheme is for statutory homeless
households, or those likely to become homeless. Households are
able to find their own privately rented accommodation, and Harrow
council will pay a one off, non-returnable fee of up to £1,000,
depending on the size of the property, directly to the landlord
or agent. The council would need to be satisfied that the landlord
is prepared to let the property for at least 12 months, with an
option to renew at the end of the period. The property that is
secured does not have to be in Harrow. A total of 289 households
were accommodated via the Finders Fee scheme in 2003-04. For the
same period only two households who had been placed in accommodation
via the Finders Fee Scheme re-approached the council at the end
of their tenancy
(b) Single people
Harrow runs a weekly drop in advice surgery
for single homeless people, every Wednesday afternoon in the local
community hall in the Town Centre. A variety of statutory and
voluntary agencies are represented at the drop in surgery, offering
support and advice, as well as practical solutions to people's
homelessness problems. The practical solutions include a rent
deposit scheme for single homeless people to enable them to secure
accommodation in rooms in shared houses, as well as a lodging
scheme facilitated by Frays Housing Association. Agencies such
as Harrow Young Persons Centre, Harrow PCT health visitors, Housing
Advice Centre workers, Drug and Alcohol Team, Asylum Seekers Team
and the Women's Centre are represented to give advice and assistance.
(c) Intentionally homeless households
Section 12 of the Homelessness Act 2002 strengthened
our partnership working with the Children and Families Service.
All families who are identified as having made themselves intentionally
homeless, are referred to Children and Families Service for a
child in need assessment. Depending on the outcome of this assessment,
an options interview is then arranged with the applicant, to discuss
what housing options are available to them.
In the majority of cases the full spectrum of
housing options are made available to households to whom intentionality
decisions have been made. These options include our out of London
Fresh Start Scheme, as well as our Finders Fee Scheme to help
people secure alternative accommodation in the private sector.
4. THE ADEQUACY
OF INVESTMENT
IN HOUSING
FOR HOMELESS
PEOPLE AND
THE QUALITY
OF ACCOMMODATION
AVAILABLE TO
THEM
(a) Investment issues
London Borough of Harrow currently has 1,433
temporary accommodation properties, of which 82% are two or three
bedroom properties and 6% have 4+ bedrooms. 47% of temporary accommodation
stock are flats or maisonettes. The main type of temporary accommodation
is assured shorthold tenancies in the private sector, managed
by housing associations through the Housing Association Leasing
Scheme (HALS).
Since Harrow ceased using bed and breakfast
to accommodate homeless households in July 2003, this has had
a significant impact in terms of £924K savings on the homelessness
budget, compared to what was spent in 2001-02, which were then
able to be diverted to fund the prevention schemes.
Harrow negotiated for HALS management fees to
be rolled up with rents, so no separate management fee is paid.
At the outset all rents are below the housing benefit ceiling,
but the Council underwrites rents in case the ceiling reduces
during the lease, in which case Harrow will fund the difference.
Harrow also undertakes to cover management fees and rent of properties
kept void for more than the agreed nomination period (between
one and three weeks, depending on the RSL and whether it is a
relet or a new letting).
Two hostels in the borough are also used for
temporary accommodation. One hostel is owned by the Council and
managed by an RSL on the Council's behalf. The funding is on the
same principle as for HALS, with rolled up rents, but the Council
pays on over 10% voids. The second hostel is leased to an RSL
so the rents are negotiated differently, with Harrow paying a
deficit fee. This hostel also receives Supporting People funding
as it offers more support to its residents.
Because Harrow has its own supply of temporary
accommodation, it needs to ensure that there are enough void properties
to deal with demand. Void levels can therefore fluctuate, particularly
in the hostels, which can have a budgetary impact.
With the introduction of a much greater focus
on homelessness prevention and options for homeless households,
it was important to refocus investment in housing to a policy
of `spend to save'; that is, diverting investment from homeless
people to whom we have accepted a homelessness duty to, to prevention
to stop people from becoming homeless. The focus of investment
has moved towards specific prevention schemes—Finders Fee,
Sanctuary Project and Fresh Start.
(b) Quality of accommodation
Harrow uses the Joint London Boroughs Code of
Practice for Temporary Accommodation including Hostels, to ensure
temporary accommodation meets a suitable standard. All ASTs have
been inspected at some stage to ensure the property meets the
standard required. In the last three years there has been a total
103 refusals of temporary accommodation, of which 19% related
to quality of the accommodation. The refusal rate has reduced
by 85% over the last three years, which could be because fewer
allocations are made as acceptances have reduced, or that because
of the smaller numbers we are dealing with we are able to spend
more time dealing with issues that could lead to a refusal, so
less formal refusals occur.
In the case of the Finders Fee scheme, all properties
that come to the Council directly through landlords are inspected
to ensure they are suitable for letting. Officers highlight any
works required by the landlord to bring the property up to a suitable
standard, and health and safety issues are also considered as
part of the inspection.
Where properties are let through managing agents,
they are not currently subject to inspection due to resource issues.
However, if problems are highlighted by tenants or prospective
tenants, the Council gets involved to deal with the problem, and
the property is flagged on the system to ensure either it is not
taken on again in future, or re-inspected prior to a new letting.
5. FACTORS AFFECTING
THE SUCCESSFUL
IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE HOMELESSNESS
ACT 2002
The crucial factor in completing our strategy
was the partnership working with the Harrow Homelessness Forum
who are consulted on a regular basis and played an active role
in publishing the strategy. There was a genuine interest from
our partners in the voluntary sector, as well as statutory partners,
in playing an active role in formulating our homelessness strategy.
The amendments and repeals contained within the Homelessness Act
2002 of the homelessness provisions set out in the Housing Act
1996, Part VII have all been successfully implemented in Harrow.
Specifically, the broadening of Section 177 of the 1996 Act to
include not only those at risk of domestic violence from an associated
person, but anyone who is at risk of violence or threats of violence
from another person which are likely to be carried out, had an
immediate impact on the scope of our Sanctuary Project, to deal
with victims of domestic violence.
6. THE LOCATION
OF PROVISION
FOR HOMELESS
PEOPLE RELATIVE
TO WHERE
THEY LIVE
Harrow does not place any households into accommodation
outside of the borough. As previously stated, the Housing Assessment
Team try to prevent homelessness in the first instance and have
been very successful in doing so. However, where it is not possible
to prevent the homelessness from occurring, applicants are advised
about other housing options that are available to them. These
options include the aforementioned Finder's Fee Scheme, where
households are able to secure their own property in the Private
Sector, and therefore never become homeless. As the applicant
is choosing the property in the private sector, they are able
to choose where they live. This is also true of the Harrow's out
of London, Freshstart initiative. Although Harrow do market areas
in the Midlands and the North where accommodation is available,
households are able to choose the area they want to move to.
Harrow's two homeless hostels, which are used
for emergency placements for homeless families, are situated in
the East of the borough. This does mean that there is no emergency
provision for homeless households that live in the West of the
borough. However, the average length of stay in the hostels is
eight weeks and if a duty to house the household is accepted,
alternative temporary accommodation in the West of the borough
could be located.
7. THE BALANCE
OF PUBLIC
INVESTMENT IN
HOUSING FOR
KEY WORKERS
AND HOMELESS
PEOPLE
Public investment in affordable housing in Harrow
through the Housing Corporation ADP from 2004-06 will result in
the completion of 354 new homes. 150 of these will be available
for social rent, 51 for shared ownership and 153 for key workers.
Our own UDP target is to achieve a ratio of 70% social rent housing
to 30% intermediate, so clearly public investment is currently
supporting a higher ratio of shared ownership/key worker housing
(42% social rent to 58% intermediate). This situation is driven
by the type of schemes being put forward for funding and the drive
towards higher densities and reducing grant subsidy does favour
the development of smaller units and require a larger number of
units for sale to make schemes viable.
This situation is replicated across west London
where investment for new housing through the ADP in 2004-06 will
only deliver 54% of the new homes for social rent and of the remaining
46% intermediate housing, 28% is specifically for key workers.
It is therefore clear that current investment decisions are favouring
the development of key worker housing over the overriding strategic
priorities of the boroughs for housing for rent.
8. PRIORITY FOR
THE HOMELESS
WITH-IN
THE OVERALL
ALLOCATION OF
SOCIAL HOUSING
Under the Housing Act 1996, Part VII, as amended,
Local Authorities are required to give reasonable preference to
people, who are homeless including people who are intentionally
homeless and those who are not in priority need. There is also
a right for anyone to register with the authority simply because
they wish to move to the area. These two requirements that make
sense in low demand areas are counter productive in high demand
areas such as London. There is insufficient accommodation to house
households from within the area and this simply increases the
queues of dissatisfied applicants, who are unlikely to be assisted.
Whilst the individual authorities have to meet the cost of housing
homeless households to whom they have duty it is not logical for
these homeless households to have to compete with homeless households
where the duty lays with another authority.
The further complication to this in the London
area is where homeless households are housed in temporary accommodation
outside the duty borough's boundaries and they then apply to the
receiving borough for permanent accommodation.
TOTAL LETTINGS FOR 2003-04
| Number of Bedrooms
|
| Allocation Type | |
1 | | 2
| | 3 |
| 4+ | | Total
| | Family Accom |
| Homeless | 47
| 18% | 130 | 71%
| 76 | 65% | 8 |
57% | 261 | 45% |
68% |
| Housing Register | 124
| 48% | 22 | 12%
| 16 | 14% | 2 |
14% | 164 | 29% |
13% |
| Transfer | 43
| 17% | 28 | 15%
| 22 | 19% | 4 |
29% | 97 | 17% |
17% |
| Other | 45 |
17% | 4% | 2% |
3% | 3 | 0% | 0
| 52% | 9 | 2% |
| Total | 259
| 100% | 184 | 100%
| 117 | 100% | 14
| 100% | 574 | 100%
| 100% |
9. WHETHER THE
NON-HOUSING
SERVICES PROVIDED
FOR HOMELESS
PEOPLE ARE
ADEQUATE AND
ARE COORDINATED
WITH HOUSING
PROVISION
Since the duty to house single young people passed from Social
Services to Housing we seem to have an increased number of young
people being housed without the necessary support packages from
social services and this leads to a cycle of repeat homelessness
as they fail to maintain their tenancies
10. WHETHER PUBLIC
AGENCIES ARE
EFFECTIVE IN
PREVENTING PEOPLE
BECOMING HOMELESS
Harrow Council made a successful bid to the Harrow Primary
Care Trust (PCT) to the Heath Improvement Project Fund Scheme
to help tackle homelessness in Harrow. The Harrow PCT granted
funding of £50,000 per year over three years commencing in
January 2003. The application focused on various avenues and ways
of fulfilling the Homelessness Act 2002, and resulted in the single
homelessness advice sessions commencing.
Through funding from both the Harrow PCT and match funding
from Harrow Council and the West London YMCA, we were able to
employ a Rent Guarantee Scheme Officer and a Mediation Officer
to tackle single homelessness in Harrow. This provision is all
part of Harrow's strategy in preventing homelessness through addressing
health and homelessness in the borough, and demonstrate how working
in partnership can benefit community as a whole, to the setting
up of specifically designated team tasked with addressing these
specific issues.
Laurence Coaker
Housing Needs Manager
London Borough of Harrow
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