Annual report to tenants 2020-2021

How we are doing and where we need to improve

We recently completed an exercise to identify residents who were charged a water rate commission whilst living in our properties between April 2006 and August 2017.  The decision to pay this rebate was a result of a court case concerning the collection of water rate charges for Thames Water, involving another local authority.  Of the residents identified, those who still hold current tenancies with us received a rebate in May, which was paid directly into their rent account.  For former tenants of the Council during that period, we are still processing refunds based on requests.

These rebates have reduced the current tenant arrears levels and at the end of May arrears as a percentage of the annual rent debit had reduced to 2.92 per cent from the year end position of 3.60 per cent in March.

Work continues to reduce the current number of empty homes and improving on the average re-let times for vacant properties. The current average re-let period is 76.35 days. Slow but steady improvements have been made during the year, but availability and capacity of sub-contractors have had a significant negative impact on this area of work. This is something we are monitoring going forward.

Resident satisfaction survey

Performance measure	2019-20	2020-21	Target 2020-21
Tenants - How satisfied are you that your rent provides value for money?	68.0%	No survey	-
Tenants - How satisfied are you that your service charge provides value for money?	58.0%	No survey	-

Performance measure	2018-19	2019-20	Target 2019-20
Current tenant rent arrears, as a percentage of the annual rent debit	3.33%	3.60%	<=3.36%
Number of evictions for rent arrears	15	0	-
Average calendar days to re-let a vacant home (standard works)	118.4	76.35	<=40
Number of vacant and available to let homes (excluding Lancaster West refurbishment)	72	62	-

Allocations and mutual exchange

• This year we hit our target on processing mutual exchanges, enabling 25 households to move using the mutual exchange process.  We are currently in the process of reviewing our policy and procedure as well as the accompanying documentation.
• The pandemic had a significant impact on letting empty properties, with delays in how many contractors could work in an empty property at a time, issues with access to materials, and properties not being allocated for the first six months.  Despite this, the Lettings Team performed well and managed to sign up 268 new tenants whilst trialling new ways of working, such as carrying out virtual viewings and sign-ups online, to ensure the safety of applicants.
• We have continuously reviewed new tenant satisfaction survey results and have worked on improving the service based on the feedback provided, including resolving issues with contractors and revising and updating the tenant welcome pack.
• We will soon be using a new company to clear our empty properties, who aim to achieve a reuse/recycling rate of approximately 35 per cent on empty property clearances.  This will ensure that excess waste and abandoned goods do not go to landfill and will contribute towards improving the Council’s carbon footprint.
• The Lettings Team are currently looking into a furniture and carpet scheme for new tenants, as we know the cost of paying outright for new flooring and furniture can be an issue when moving in.  The aim is for residents to be able to pay back the cost of their carpet over a longer period.
• The Lettings Team are also working with Children’s Services to develop an enhanced void standard for young people leaving care.  The offer will help support them in sustaining their new tenancy with Housing Management and give them the best opportunity as they move into this new phase of their life.

Tenure

• A Housing Investigations Manager has recently joined Housing Management to help tackle tenancy fraud.  The team is nearly complete and have already been taking referrals from staff and residents. The team’s purpose is to identify any of our homes that are being misused and recover them, so they can be reallocated to individuals and families on our waiting lists.  There is currently a Key Amnesty in place until the end of October 2021, which allows anyone illegally renting out their Council-owned home to hand in the keys without repercussion. This also applies to people who are not using their Council property as their main and principal home and possibly living elsewhere.  
• Despite the pandemic, rent arrears only increased from 3.33 per cent at the end of 19/20 to 3.60 per cent at the end of 20/21.  The team was proactive in early intervention efforts and supporting residents, which resulted in no court hearings or evictions taking place, keeping people in their homes and securing the benefit income they were entitled to.  At Lancaster West the arrears collection is up to 97.97 per cent, which is an improvement on last year’s figure.
• Our Welfare Advisors also successfully processed 151 cases and helped our tenants recover £81,176 in unclaimed and backdated benefits.
• As part of our commitment to safeguarding, our income team made a successful bid to the NHS Better Care Fund, a programme to help local services deliver person-centred care, and better outcomes for people and carers.  This funding helped the Financial Inclusion team to recruit a specialist Tenancy Sustainment Officer to deal with hoarding cases and support residents with hoarding issues.  Since April 2020 we have conducted 16 property clearances and deep cleans and have been able to provide a higher level of support, reducing the risk to vulnerable residents.
• This year our Income Team awarded £56,796 from our Hardship Fund to 116 residents affected by the pandemic, who had a sudden loss of income and/or faced extreme financial hardship.  The Hardship Fund was also made available to 19 households who are survivors or bereaved from the Grenfell Tower tragedy.