What is ‘social housing’?

Housing provided, let ☞Not for profit and managed by ☞Rents more local authorities affordable and housing ☞Tenancies associations more secure ‘Registered providers of ☞Regulated by social housing’ (RPs) government Housing tenure in Britain

● Private rented ● Owner-occupied ● Social housing Changes in tenure (UK)

1914 1938 1981 2006 2014

Social 0.25% 10% 32% 18% 17% housing

Private 90% 58% 11% 12% 19% renting

Owner 10% 32% 57% 70% 63% occupied

What has been your housing journey? • What types of housing have you experienced? • Which experiences of housing have been particularly good? • Any that you wouldn’t want to repeat? Social landlords: historical differences

Councils Housing Associations Governed by Councillors Independent Boards Difficult to build – limits on borrowing Built new housing – private finance + subsidy ‘Secure’ tenancies ‘Assured’ tenancies Financial controls More financial freedom Local authority boundaries Boundaries vary – may have group structure Mainly ‘general needs’ More special needs housing Social landlords: what they have in common

● Tenants have similar rights / tenancy conditions ● Not for profit ● Rent levels are now largely harmonised – and are controlled by government ● Lettings must be targeted on basis of need + government ‘categories’ ● Same regulatory framework

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Philanthropic landlords

Boundary Estate, opened 1900

Becontree, . clearance – 1930s – Lenton Abbey 1932 St. Andrews Estate, . Post-WW2 – Massive council housing programme New construction methods High density . Park Hill, . . . Right to buy (RTB)

● Introduced 1980 - enabled council tenants to buy homes at discounted price ● 1.8 million sold in ● Rules limiting use of receipts (but LAs can gift land to external bodies & fund up to 30% of scheme costs from available RTB receipts) ● Most housing association tenants have the ‘right to acquire’ – government now considering new scheme , 1985

. . . 1974 Housing Act – rehab & special needs Stock transfer

● From 1988, local authorities could transfer ownership to Registered Social Landlords (Housing Associations) ● 1 million transferred in England ● Government aim ! reduce public borrowing and inject private finance to improve quality of housing ● Transfer needed approval of tenants and Secretary of State Decent Homes Standard

● Established 2000 - All social homes had to reach standard set by government (by 2010) ● Criteria: no serious hazards; reasonable state of repair; reasonably modern facilities and services; degree of thermal comfort ● Accelerated ‘stock options’ – transfer from local authorities 11% of local authority owned housing still ‘non- decent’ (Apr 13) Mixed tenure development Affordable, shared ownership, starter homes…

Goldsmith St., Norwich St. Chad’s, Tilbury Changes and trends

● Housing associations now biggest provider ● General improvement in physical standards ● Social housing focused on those in greatest need ● ½ of social homes in most deprived neighbourhoods ● Housing subsidy focused on housing benefit ● Social rents well below ‘market’ rents ● Growing emphasis on good management ● Stronger role of tenants ● Changes in government regulation Social housing finance: Revenue

Income Pays for… ● Rents / Housing ● Housing benefit management ● Service charges ● Repairs & ● Interest on maintenance investments ● Financing borrowing Social housing finance: Capital

Income Pays for… ● Private finance/Loans ●Major repairs and ● Government subsidy improvements (Affordable Homes ●Building new homes Programme) ● Sales of assets ● Developers’ contributions Registered providers were required to reduce social housing rents by 1% a year for 4 years from April 2016

Now, from April 2020, they are permitted to raise rents to the Consumer Price Index + 1%, for at least 5 years! Challenges

● 1.8m on waiting-lists for social housing ● Only 49% of working age tenants are in work ● Little mobility within social sector ● 250k overcrowded and 400k under-occupying ● 50k living in temporary accommodation Affordable rents

New ‘affordable rent’ tenancies from 2012 ● Rents up to 80% of market rents ● Fixed term (min. 2 years) ● A proportion of each provider’s lettings – mainly new build ● Income to be used to provide new affordable homes Fixed term tenancies

Fixed term tenancies introduced for local authorities and housing associations ● for a range of fixed periods (2 to 10 years) ● for most new tenancies ● will not apply to existing secure & assured tenants Local authorities must publish a strategic policy on tenancies, to guide all social housing providers in their areas Homelessness duty

● 25,130 families identified as homeless (2019). 126,000 children living in temporary accommodation. ● Govt. gives local authorities a ‘homelessness duty’ ● Local authorities able to offer the homeless accommodation in the private sector without the applicant’s agreement Homelessness Reduction Act 2017

• Local authorities have a duty to prevent homelessness for all eligible applicants threatened with homelessness (in the next 56 days) • A duty to relieve homelessness – work with applicant to develop a personal plan, then help the applicant into accommodation Allocations

● Local authorities no longer have to keep ‘open’ waiting-lists, but can decide which groups / categories can join ● Government-set ‘reasonable preference’ categories will be kept ● Existing tenants will be removed from allocations framework - aim is to make transfers easier ● ‘Choice-based lettings’ now commonly used Regulator of Social Housing – Sets standards, gathers info, & can intervene

Economic standards Consumer standards ● Governance and financial ● Tenant involvement and viability empowerment ● Value for money ● Home ● Rent ● Tenancy ● Neighbourhood and community

Social landlords must prepare ‘local offers’, detailing how standards will be met Questions for groups

1. Should social housing be a tenure of ‘last resort’ or a thriving and desirable part of the housing sector? 2. How could we get more, and exemplary, social housing developed in Frome?