Agenda item - Residents Question Time

Responses to items raised at the Tenant Only Meeting held on 28/11/17 

28.1    (Item 1 – Review of the Estate Development Budget) In response to queries raised by the Panel the Officer clarified:

·         The Tenant EDB Group would be conducting the review and would consult widely with tenants. Alison Gray and Muriel Briault were the representatives for the West Hove and Portslade area and would feedback concerns raised by residents.

·         The underspend from 2017 would remain in the EDB budget.

28.2    The residents raised queries regarding the representation on the Tenant EDB Group and noted that there should be more representatives on the group as the decisions being made were citywide. There was also a lack of consultation between the Tenant EDB Group and the residents before making decisions. The Head of Tenancy Services agreed to feedback the comments raised to the Housing Service Operations Manager and would liaise with the tenants and the Chair. The Panel requested there was a future report presented at the West Hove and Portslade Housing Area Panel regarding the EDB budget.

28.3    (Item 2 – Tackling Social Isolation) The Panel raised the following comments and queries:

·         Council staff should contact tenants and ask if their details could be provided to the housing associations to encourage community engagement.

·         It needed to be remembered that tenants might prefer to be alone and their privacy should be respected.

·         The Tenancy Checks should be more regular than five years.

28.4    In response to queries raised by the Panel the Officers clarified:

·         The Tenancy Checks were at least every five years; however, these were tailored according to the tenants needs. If there were concerns raised then the Tenancy Checks would be more regular.

·         The Tenancy Checks focused on who was living in the property, checking their welfare, offering training and development sessions and officers discuss resident associations and community involvement with the residents.

·         Due to data protection the officers could not give residents details to the Housing Associations.

·         It was suggested that the associations could produce flyers that could be provided to new residents.

·         Concerns regarding the tenant’s welfare could be reported to the Housing department by Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Mears, local GPs and mental health services.

·         Tenancy Checks seemed too impersonal and should be renamed “Tenant Checks”.

·         Community events and resident associations should be promoted.

·         It was suggested that the footer of letters sent by the Housing department should say “When did you last see your neighbour?”.

28.5    (Item 4 – Affordable Housing) In response to queries raised the Head of Tenancy Services explained that affordable housing was often debated at the Housing & New Homes Committee and it was noted that there was a housing crisis in the city; therefore, the Committee had to ensure they were getting the most housing on one site. Affordable housing was beneficial to families as it was cheaper than private renting. The Chair added that the Committee was considering more cost effective housing that were still of a good quality.

28.6    In response to queries raised regarding the allocations policy the Head of Tenancy Services explained Council Interest comprised of situations where improvements could be made; for instance, adapting a home for a disabled child to prevent them being placed into care. It was explained that allocating resources to transfers insured a flow of transfers which utilised the housing stock. The resources towards home seekers included families who were in need of a council property and were currently in private accommodation. It was added that the majority of homeless people, which the 40% of resources were allocated to, were in temporary accommodation. The Chair added that there would be a review of the allocations policy at the end of 2018.

28.7    (Item 6 – Rubbish in tenants gardens) The Panel raised the following comments and queries:

·         The increase of rubbish in gardens was concerning for health and safety reasons but also unpleasant for the residents.

·         Leaving Christmas trees by the communal bin was fly-tipping.

·         The communal bins were overflowing due to fly-tipping and the food waste was attracting rats.

·         Residents should try to get photos of fly-tipping and the vehicles and report it to the Enforcement Team and CityClean. The Head of Tenancy Services agreed and added that number plates of the vehicles was useful. The Enforcement Team had recently prosecuted someone and they were given a suspended sentence for fly-tipping.

·         Fly-tipping hotspots had CCTV that were moved to areas that were experiencing problems.

·         The dump in Shoreham no longer charged unless it was building waste.

·         Bins should be located where they could be seen to prevent fly-tipping.

28.8    RESOLVED – That the Panel agreed to note the responses.