simone russell director of operations - cih
TRANSCRIPT
A landlord’s perspective
Simone Russell
Director of Operations
Welwyn Hatfield Community Housing Trust
1 October 2013
Welfare reform is confusing!
(and scary...)
How are landlords and tenants dealing with it??
Things are changing –
there’s no going back
• Landlords
• need to keep up to date with
the changes
• need to work with tenants and
other organisations
• need to provide the right type of
information and support
• Tenants
• Should be prepared to listen to
and work with landlords and
other agencies to sort things
out
– We are an ALMO, launched in 2010
– We manage 9,300 homes and other services on behalf of Welwyn Hatfield
Council
– A strong track record in core services, including rent arrears management
– Nearly half our tenants receive housing benefits
Our dilemma...
• Large number of three +
bedroom homes
• Allocations policy allows
one bedroom per child,
regardless of age
• We promote choice
‘Feeling the pinch’
who is affected?
• Spare room subsidy
– 2+ bedrooms = 186 cases/1 bedroom = 685 cases
– Represents loss of £13,000 in Housing Benefit per
week
• Benefits cap
– Around 50 cases (due to relatively low rents)
• Universal Credit
– Unknown at present – main concern is ending of
direct payments
• Other benefit losses, e.g. disability, social fund
• Council Tax Benefit – ave. loss of £8 per week
Preparing for the changes...
• We:
1. set up a new housing management team
2. developed a Welfare Reform Action Plan
3. worked out which tenants would be most affected
4. started a new tenancy visit programme
5. looked at the best savings/bank accounts
6. recruited a new Home Mover Officer
7. changed our tenancy agreement to make it easier for
people to move where they are underoccupying
8. helped the council develop a new Allocations Policy
9. committed to re-classifying some homes/made
structural alterations to some houses
10. built on partnerships with other organisations,
including the Citizens Advice Bureau
Welfare Reform Action Plan
• Involves all our services
• Sets out all measures, with timescales and milestones
• Flexible, regularly updated
• Reports to Tenants Panel, Board and Council
Changes to our
Housing Management Team
• New ‘specialist team’
• New Home Mover post
• CAB workers
Getting the message across
‘Help Us Help You’ tenancy visits
• Building relationships with tenants who we
don’t usually see
• Building an accurate picture of tenants and
their households – current/future
• Identifying who is most at risk from welfare
reforms/loss of Council Tax Benefit
• Assessing property size/type
• Referring tenants for extra help (inside and
outside of the Housing Trust)
• Identifying tenancy fraud
Helping tenants move to a smaller home
• Financial incentive to downsize (moving costs)
• Giving greater priority on the waiting list
• Allowing people with rent arrears to move
• Home Mover Post
• We have helped 50 people move so far this year
• 200 current clients
• ‘Trading Places’ event being planned for November
• People wishing/needing to remain in their homes –
– CAB help
– Discretionary Housing Payments
Want/need to move?
• Consider a mutual
exchange...
– Increases your chances of
getting a move
– If you are on the transfer list
you should also sign up for
a mutual exchange
Money matters
• Tenancy Support
• Promoting bank accounts and
payment by direct debit
• Credit Unions
• CAB and other advice
agencies
• Exploring money-saving
options
Credit Unions
• Credit unions are safe, secure and fair
• You can save as little as 50p per week
• And borrow at fair rates
• You can pay your rent and other bills by direct debit
• You can buy things online and get your cash easily
• We will pay your membership if you join
• There are other banking services around, eg
Credecard Plus, which offer a pre-paid debit card,
cashback and online money management
• We are promoting two products to our tenants and
helping with membership costs
Helping people get online
• Helping people :
– save money
– apply for benefits
– keep in touch with family
and friends
– find a job
– open up their world!
• We are increasing access
through
– training
– community initiatives
– broadband access to
tenants
An affordable warmth strategy
• Will help our tenants get
more from their money and
promote better health
• Physical changes to
homes, eg. new heating
systems
• Information and advice on
switching energy providers
• Importantly it’s about
education
