Agenda item

Julian Higson, Director of Homes Landlord Services gave a presentation on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), and drew attention to the following points:

·         The definition of HRA was the money ring-fenced to spend on Council Housing including new housing, management repairs and associated community facilities;

·         The Government decision to remove the rent cap and the Social Housing Green Paper had opened up more opportunities for the service, but there were still considerations such as the right to buy, bedroom tax and benefit caps;

·         The annual report had revealed that satisfaction had increased from previous years in terms of new homes, caretaking and repairs, but the comments were less satisfactory in relation to anti-social behaviour complaints being resolved;

·         Emerging priorities included reviewing the service to look at why, how and to whom homes were let and assessing the current stock to see what was and wasn’t fit for purpose;

The following points, questions and clarifications were raised:

·         Although the level of satisfaction with council housing was high overall, the Council recognised the need to increase standards and expectations;

·         It would be useful for the Board to receive the quarterly performance indicators to monitor the service;

·         In response to a question about whether tenants would be evicted if they had gone into arrears as a result of the changes to the benefit system or the introduction of the bedroom tax, JH confirmed that tenants would not be evicted for these reasons;

·         The high cost of private housing had an impact on the availability of Council housing as fewer people were able to move out of council housing to buy or rent from a private landlord;

·         There was a particular shortage of smaller properties available for young people as these types of properties were often earmarked for older people and also a shortage of properties accessible to disabled tenants;

·         In response to a question about whether there was a register of adapted properties suitable for disabled tenants, JH responded that it was difficult to keep a register as adaptions were different depending on an individual’s needs;

·         In response to a question about the number of tenants with mental health problems, JH stated that it was difficult to map as tenants may not share this information, but he recognised that it was a significant proportion of tenants.  Tenants agreed this was an increasing problem due to pressures on mental health care services and preventative support, and that the implications had a ripple effect on other tenants;

·         In response to a question about whether the Council’s new housing company Goram Homes would help with the shortage of affordable housing, it was noted that this company would operate outside the HRA, although it would help increase the availability of affordable housing in Bristol in the future;

·         There is a difference between affordable housing and social housing,  Bristol City Council lets their Council homes at social rent;

·         In addition to the Goram Homes project, the City Council had a programme of building Council homes using the HRA;

·         In response to a tenant’s concern about consultation on the building of a wall around Council housing in Shirehampton, JH undertook to investigate further.