Issue - meetings

The purpose of the report by the Director of Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services is to provide detailed options outlining how the council could expand the financial assistance available to local residents to access the private rented sector.

RECOMMENDED that the Council Member for Housing:

(1)   notes the current difficulties that renters have in entering the private rented sector (PRS).

(2)     considers the options for providing additional support to enter the PRS.  This may be either extending the range of support for those that already receive it, or new support for those that the council currently does not have a legal duty to support.  Officers recommend the widening of a bond scheme and the use of a community bank to provide low cost loans.

(3)     notes the officer's recommendation to proceed with extending the bond scheme and enabling a community bank to provide low cost loans (options 2 and 4), and if agreed, to also agree the eligibility criteria for the scheme and determine the details of the scope.

(4)     Delegates to the Director of Housing, Neighbourhoods and Building Services the authority to develop and operate a 12 month pilot of the chosen scheme(s) in order to fully develop a working scheme, understand the demand from residents, and expose the financial risk for the council, and report back on the progress of the pilot scheme to the Cabinet Member for Housing.

(5)     identifies a source of funding from the general fund to provide the resources required to operate the chosen scheme, and to cover the financial liabilities of the pilot.

The Cabinet Member for Housing:

(1)  noted the current difficulties that renters have in entering the private rented sector (PRS).

(2) considered the options for providing additional support to enter the PRS.  This may be either extending the range of support for those that already receive it, or new support for those that the council currently does not have a legal duty to support.  Officers recommend the widening of a bond scheme and the use of a community bank to provide low cost loans.

(3) Agreed to the officer's recommendation to proceed with extending the bond scheme and enabling a community bank to provide low-cost loans (Options 2 and 4). The Cabinet Member decided that the loans should be made available to residents interest-free, as outlined in option 4b. The Cabinet Member also agreed with the officer recommendations on eligibility and to adopt Scope 2, allowing those threatened with homelessness, not currently living in suitable self-contained accommodation or seeking a move into the private rented sector to benefit.

(4)       Delegated to the Director of Housing, Neighbourhoods and Building Services the authority to develop and operate a 12 month pilot of the chosen scheme(s) in order to fully develop a working scheme, understand the demand from residents, and expose the financial risk for the council, and that a review of the scheme's effectiveness and options for future development will be conducted and completed in the third quarter of the pilot to facilitate planning for the future.

(5) Agreed that funding for the operation and any financial liability incurred by the pilot comes from the Leader's portfolio reserve, in line with the Leader's constitutional obligation to tackle poverty in the city.

Mark Sage, Tackling Poverty Co-ordinator, presented the report on behalf of the Director of Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services, which set out a range of options (set out in section 7.4 of the report) to help access to the private rented sector properties. The exact demand is still not known.

Councillor Sanders invited comments and questions from the Residents' Consortium/CLG representatives.  Madha Abrams raised the need to provide help in training to get homeless people into employment.  Maria Cole asked if there was an impact on the Housing Revenue Account; it was confirmed there is not. Ms Cole raised several queries, including regarding the data in the report; the exact number of landlords is not known by PCC or the Portsmouth & District Landlords Association and licensing is not mandatory. It was reported that PCC's Discretionary Housing Payments funding level for 2020/21 had still not been confirmed at the time of this meeting. It was anticipated that the pilot scheme would start, once approved, in early March. Mark Sage reported that for those on Universal Credit a suitable payment date during the month would be arranged to help prevent arrears.

Councillor Corkery asked how the community bank (Option 4) would operate to be accessible; Paul Fielding reported that the details, such as opening hours, would need to be confirmed and were being worked on. Councillor Corkery welcomed the aim of improving access to help people to move into suitable accommodation and this would help take pressure off the Housing Waiting List, and supported the approach of a pilot scheme.

Councillor Payter-Harris felt that there were gaps in the data; officers responded that the pilot scheme would help gather information on the market. Councillor Payter-Harris also queried the funding source and was wary as the comments from the City Solicitor and Director of Finance and Resources highlighted the element of risk, so stringent rules would need to be in place to safeguard public money and he favoured a review process.  Wayne Layton responded that there would be an assessment of the ability to repay for those applying for loans to help minimise risk.

Councillor Sanders drew members' attention to Appendix 2 which assessed the possible risks and compared the options, and those options which were not financially viable were discarded. He was keen to help remove barriers for those on lower incomes, and rent controls were not possible so incentives were being considered, which needed to be sustainable.  Councillor Sanders welcomed the pilot review and stated that it was important not to have people struggling with finances getting into further debt through interest on loans; hence he would pursue the no-interest loan option 4b.  He had received written confirmation from Councillor Vernon-Jackson CBE that use of the Leader's Portfolio reserves for this project was agreed, and he amended the recommendations to reflect his decisions on the way forward.

DECISIONS

The Cabinet Member for Housing:

(1)  noted the current difficulties that renters have in entering the private rented sector (PRS).

(2) considered the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4