Gloucester City Council COMMITTEE : CorporateManagementTeam Cabinetbriefing Cabinet Council DATE : 12June2007 27June2007 11July2007 26July2007 SUBJECT : DemotedTenancies DECISIONTYPE : Policy WARD : All REPORTBY : CabinetMemberforHousing&Health NO.OFAPPENDICES : A–Consultationresults B–Draftpolicyandprocedure REFERENCENO. : 1.0 PURPOSEOFREPORT 1.1 TopresentthedraftDemotedTenanciesPolicyandProcedureforapproval. 2.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 Thattheuseofdemotedtenanciesasanoptionalremedyasappropriatefordealing withanti-socialbehaviourbeapproved. 2.2 Thatthedraftpolicyandprocedureshownin AppendixB beapproved. 2.3 ThatdelegatedauthoritybegiventotheAssistantDirector–HousingandHealthto makethefinaldecisiononwhethertoproceedwithimplementation following the serviceofthepreliminarynotice,includingtheissueofaformalnoticeofvariationto allTenants(unders.103HousingAct1985). 2.4 Thattheimplementationprocesssetoutunder5.1tobenoted. 2.5 Thatmembersnotethereviewprocesswithintheprocedures. Page1of54 3.0 BACKGROUND 3.1 The2003Anti-SocialBehaviourActintroducedarangeofnewpowerstoenablethe police,localauthoritiesandsociallandlordstomoreeffectivelymanageanti-social behaviour. 3.2 Part2.oftheAct,whichcameintoeffectinEngland in June 2004, gives social landlords new and more effective tools for dealing with anti-social behaviour, includingdemotedtenancies,allowingthelandlordtoapplytotheCountyCourtto bringatenancytoanend.Upongrantingoftheorder,calledaDemotionOrder,the tenancyisreplacedwithalesssecureformoftenancy. 3.3 TheCourtwillonlyawardaDemotionOrderifthefollowinggroundsaresatisfied underSection82AoftheHousingAct1985:- a) That the tenant or a person residing in or visiting the dwelling-house has engagedorhasthreatenedtoengagein(i)housingrelatedanti-socialconduct, or (ii) conduct to which Section 153B of the Housing Act 1996 (use of the premisesforunlawfulpurposes)applies,and..." b) Thatitisreasonabletomaketheorder. 3.4 ThelevelofevidencerequiredwouldbethesameasthatrequiredforaPossession Orderappliedforongroundsofanti-socialbehaviour. 3.5 OnceinplaceaDemotedOrderwouldlastforaninitialperiodof12months.Atthe endofthisperiod,ifthelandlordissatisfiedwiththeconductofthetenantandhas not served notice to seek possession of the property, then the demoted tenancy wouldrevertbacktoasecuretenancy. 3.6 IftheTenantparticipatesinanyotheranti-social behaviour during the 12-month periodanoticeofseekingpossessionwouldbeserved.Thisgivesthetenantthe opportunity,withinaspecifiedperiod,toaskforareviewofthedecisionbyGCH.If theTenantdoesaskforareview,oriftheoutcomeofthereviewistoupholdthe Officer'sdecision(andthereisthennojudicialreviewapplication,see3.7),thenan application may be made to the County Court for a possession order. In these circumstances,theCourtwillonlylookatwhetherthereviewprocedurehasbeen followedcorrectly.Ifitissatisfiedthatithas,ithasnodiscretionotherthantomake anoutrightorderforpossession. 3.7 Thetenant’sremedyforchallengingadecisiontoendthetenancyisjudicialreview, a process which provides sufficient protection against unreasonable decisions by thelocalauthority.JudicialreviewisonlyavailabletotheTenantinrelationtothe review process itself.Any appeal against decisions ofthe Courtfollow a different appealroute. 3.8 TheeffectoftheDemotionOrderdependsonthetype of tenancy it replaces (or ‘demotes’).Inthecaseofasecuretenancy(thetypeoftenancynormallyheldby Page2of54 localauthoritytenants),theorderwillendthesecuretenancyandreplaceitwitha ‘demotedtenancy’. 3.9 Thetenantwillloseanumberoftherightsenjoyedunderasecuretenancy.Thiswill include: • Therighttobuytheirhome • Therighttoexchangetheirhomewithanother tenant. 3.10 Manyofthetermsofthedemotedtenancyremainthesameasthosewhichapplied tothetenancyheldpriortodemotion.Thesetermsinclude: • Thepartiestothetenancyagreement • Theperiodofthetenancy • Theamountofrent • Thedatethatrentispayable • Anyarrearsofrentremainpayable • Anyrentinadvanceorcreditiscarriedover 3.11 Thedraftpolicyandprocedureshownin AppendixB providesanenhancementto theGCHAnti-SocialBehaviourPolicyandProcedure,whichcontainsaprocedural guidetoofficersdealingwithASBcasesinrespectofanumberofgenericissues, for example, data protection, confidentiality and disclosure, partnership working, prevention, publicity, reporting and recording anti-social behaviour, supporting victims and witnesses, supporting perpetrators and tackling the causes of anti- socialbehaviour. 4.0 PROGRESS 4.1 On15thJanuary2007,Tenants’Forumapprovedtheuseofdemotedtenanciesas anoptionalremedyasappropriatefordealingwithanti-socialbehaviour.Thiswas approvedonthebasisthatthefollowingworkbecompleted:- • Consultationwithalltenantsonthechangeinpolicyandtheimplicationsofsuch orders.ThiswascompletedasaseparatesheetwithintheTenantTimes,issued inApril2007.Theresultsoftheconsultationwerepositivewith358(89%)forthe introductionoftheuseofdemotedtenancieswithjust45(11%)against.Please see AppendixA. • Gloucester City Homes would need to prepare relevant procedures and, documentation in partnership with legal services as well as relevant publicity. Pleaseseethedraftproceduresattachedin AppendixB . 4.2 Following the above, on 21 st May 2007, Customer Forum approved the implementationofdemotedtenanciesandagreedthatGCHrefertothecitycouncil forapproval. Page3of54 5.0 FUTUREWORK 5.1 Following Council approval, the following further steps will be necessary to IntroduceDemotedtenanciesasaremedyby1stOctober2007: 5.1.1 GCH meet with legal services to discuss the amendments required to the draft policyandprocedure,bytheendofJune2007.Thisworkisongoing; 5.1.2 Confirmreviewprocessandagreedandadoptedapanelconstitution; 5.1.3 Issueformalnoticeofvariationtobeundertakenundersec103HousingAct1985. TheprocesstobefollowedunderSection103isasfollows: • ApreliminarynoticewillhavetobeserveduponeachTenantinformingthemof theintentiontoserveanoticeofvariation.Thispreliminarynoticewillspecify the proposed variation and its effect (therefore a new term will have to be draftedandexplanatorynoticesoftheeffectofdemotedtenancies).Thisnotice will also invite the tenant to comment upon the proposed variation within a reasonable time. Since we have already participated in the Section 105 consultationprocess,areasonabletimeforcommentsonthiswouldbe14days. Anycommentsthenhavetobeconsideredbythe'Landlord' e.g. the Council, withinareasonabletime,andthenafinaldecisionmustbemade • IfadecisionismadebytheCounciltoproceedwithdemotedtenancies,itwill thenbenecessaryforeachTenanttothenbeservedwith a formal Notice of Variation,whichexplainsthevariationandwhenitwillcomeintoeffect(which mustnotbelessthan28days).TheNoticeofVariationshallnottakeeffectif theTenantservesavalidNoticetoQuitwithinthistime 5.1.4 Write to all tenants allegedly participating in ASB advising individuals of intended policychangeandimplicationsofdemotedtenancies; 5.1.5 UpdatetheTenancyAgreementHandbookforallTenants; 5.1.6 Arrangeexternaltrainingforofficersdealingwithcasesandpanelmembers. 6.0 CONCLUSIONS 6.1 The introduction of demoted tenancies as another tool to tackle anti-social behaviourissupportedbytenantsandhasbeenapprovedbyCustomerForum. 6.2 Thedraftdemotedtenanciespolicyandproceduresarepresentedwithinthisreport forapproval,tosupporttheworkoftheGCHAnti-socialBehaviourteam.. Page4of54 7.0 FINANCIALIMPLICATIONS 7.1 The cost of employing a dedicated Anti-social Behaviour Team in 2007/08 is £90,000.Anycourseofaction,whichsupportstheirwork,willensurethattenants receivethebestpossibleoutcomesforthismoney. 7.2 Financialprovisionhasalreadybeenmadeforthecostofdealing withanti-social behaviour and it is anticipated that any costs associated with the use of these powerscanbecontainedwithinexistingbudgets. 7.3 NameoftheOfficer: RobertWharton 8.0 LEGALIMPLICATIONS 8.1 To ensure compliance with the law, the process required to introduce demoted tenanciesasdescribedin5.1.3ofthisreportmustbeobserved. 8.2 The process for obtaining demoted orders are summarised within this reportand describedfullywithintheproceduresin AppendixB . 8.3 NameoftheOfficer: PaulMasters 9.0 RISKMANAGEMENTIMPLICATIONS 9.1 TheCouncilhasadutytoeffectivelymanageanti-socialbehaviourasfailuretodo socouldleadtoclaimsagainsttheCouncilundertheHumanRightsActwhereby tenants are entitled to the quiet enjoyment of their homes. Serious anti-social behaviourcanalsohaveadevastatingeffectoncommunitiesandqualityoflifeof residentsifnoteffectivelymanaged. 10.0 PREDICTIVEIMPACTASSESSMENTS(EQUALITIES) 10.1 The most vulnerable members of the community can be victims of anti-social behaviourandthereforeitisimportantthattheCounciltakesallreasonablestepsto protect them through effective policies and procedures in partnership with other statutoryandvoluntaryagencies. 11.0 OTHERCORPORATEIMPLICATIONS 1. CommunitySafety Itisexpectedthatthemeasuresrecommendedwithinthisreportwillhavea beneficialimpactoncommunitysafetybyprovidingmoreeffectivetacklingof anti-socialbehaviour. Page5of54 2. Environmental None 3. Staffing None 4. TradeUnion None BackgroundPapers : GloucesterCityHomesAnti-socialBehaviourPolicy PublishedPapers : Anti-socialBehaviourAct2003 Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 1502 (C.61) Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (Commencement No. 3 and Savings) Order2004 StatutoryInstrumentNo.1627-SecureTenancies(Notices) (England)(Amendment)Regulations2004 Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 1679 - The Demoted Tenancies(ReviewofDecisions)(England)Regulations2004 DemotionOrders-ODPMAnti-SocialBehaviourFactsheet3, 2004 PersonstoContact : LouiseBeard,DirectorofHousingServices-GCH