Agenda item

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) that sought approval to make the relevant changes to existing council procedures and resources to ensure the Council’s compliance with the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 (“the Act”) would come into force on 3rd April 2018, and would place new duties on the Council to provide advice and assistance to people who were homeless or threatened with homelessness, to either help to prevent them becoming homeless or to help them to secure alternative suitable accommodation. 

The new legislation placed two additional duties on the Council:

·  Prevention Duty - the new Prevention Team would work with customers to understand the circumstances that had led to the threat of homelessness, the customers housing needs and any additional support they may require.  Together they would agree a Personal Housing Plan, including a set of reasonable steps to undertake to prevent homelessness. If safe to do so, the Officer would try to keep the customer in their current tenancy, or to seek alternative accommodation to prevent the customer becoming homeless.  This may mean they find a short term solution, such as staying with friends or family, whilst addressing the root cause of why the customer may become homeless and working on a planned move to suitable accommodation. This duty applied for up to 56 days (potentially longer in cases where the household was threatened with homelessness if a valid Section 21 notice was served on the tenant).

·  For households who were already homeless, or for those whose homelessness could not be prevented, the Relief Duty would apply (regardless of priority need or intentionality, but local connection could be taken into account at this stage). The Council and the applicant must agree ‘reasonable steps’ to help them to secure accommodation which was suitable and available for at least 6 months. This duty applied for up to 56 days (potentially in addition to 56 days under the Prevention Duty).

The Act placed an obligation on the Council to ensure it could provide general advice and support on reducing homelessness to all customers as well as specialist advice for specific customers. There was a real drive to reduce people becoming homeless by working with them before they reached the point of crisis. The guidance built on the success of The Housing (Wales) Act 2014, which when implemented had been reported to have had a positive impact in preventing homelessness. 

Further future reports would be brought forward on the wider homelessness strategy, housing supply, and temporary accommodation.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1)  Notes the new statutory duties arising from the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 (HRA17) and the actions underway to develop a new service to ensure the Council is able to meet its new statutory duties.

2)  Approves the proposed change to the Homefinder policy as a result of the new legislation.

3)  Approves the proposals in relation to discharging duty as result of the new legislation.

4)  Approves the proposals for use of the funding provided by the Government to prevent and support a reduction in homelessness including appointment to the posts as defined in the report.

5)  Approves the framework for financial assistance from the prevention pot.

6)  Instructs a review of the new services within 12 months, to be presented to the Cabinet Member for Community Development.

7)  Instructs a full review of the Homefinder Policy within 12 months.