Agenda and decisions

Minutes of the meeting held on the 17^th May 2022.

Report of the Statutory Deputy City Mayor.

Salford City Council - Record of Decision (Cabinet)

I Paul Dennett, City Mayor, in exercise of the powers contained within the City Council Constitution do hereby approve:

1. Authorises the designation of a Selective Landlord Licensing Scheme, under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 in parts of Eccles, Barton and Winton.
2. Confirms the boundary of the Scheme with consideration of the options set out in Annex 3 of this report:
3. Authorises the Licence Conditions for the Eccles, Barton and Winton Selective Landlord Licensing Scheme as detailed in Annex 4 attached to this report;
4. Authorises the fee structure for the Eccles, Barton and Winton Selective Landlord Licensing Scheme as detailed in section 5 of this report;
5. Authorises officers to carry out all necessary actions to publicise the designation of the area for Selective Landlord Licensing so as to comply with the requirements of the Housing Act 2004

The Reasons are:

The Reasons are that: having considered all of the available evidence and the representations made in accordance with the public consultation (and not withdrawn) I am satisfied that the above area is an area of low housing demand and that making a designation will, when combined with other measures taken in the area by the local housing authority, or by persons together with the local housing authority, contribute to the improvement of the social or economic conditions in the area.

I have considered whether there are any other courses of action available to the local housing authority that might provide an effective method of achieving the objective that the designation would be intended to achieve and consider that making the designation will significantly assist the local housing authority to achieve the objectives (whether or not they take any other course of action as well). It is considered that the scheme will complement the wider regeneration in the area that Salford City Council is helping to deliver.  Selective Licensing will address existing issues of poor property and tenancy management in privately rented accommodation.  The scheme will also ensure that new landlords investing in the designated area understand what is expected of them and will sustain the strong community that the regeneration programmes have worked hard to establish.

• Options considered and rejected were take no action – this would be inconsistent with established Council policy and would fail to address the legitimate concerns of residents, local elected members and other stakeholders regarding the impact of the private rented sector on the local housing market.

•   Defer the introduction of selective licensing Eccles, Barton and Winton area – A review of available evidence identifies the area of Eccles, Barton & Winton with the highest priority for the use of Selective Licensing.

Assessment of Risk:

The Council believes it has made a robust case for the designation of a Selective Licensing Scheme.  The consultation shows that there is support for the scheme amongst local residents, and some local landlords.

The majority of landlords who responded to the consultation did not support the proposal.

Any  ...  view the full decision text for item 4.

Joint report of the Strategic Director of Service Reform and the Strategic Director Place.

Salford City Council - Record of Decision (Cabinet)

I, Paul Dennett, City Mayor, in consultation with the Cabinet and in exercise of the powers contained within the City Council Constitution do hereby re-affirm:

A final decision, post call-in, of the recommendations in the 8^th February 2022 Cabinet report ‘Rent and Service Charge setting for 2022/23 for the stock managed by Pendleton Together and the Duchy Caravan Park’ with the following positive enhancements:

§  The Pendleton Hardship Fund is open to all tenants in the PFI council owned stock, this was previously restricted to those not in receipt of Housing Benefit / Universal Credit;

§  Additional funding has been made available to fund a support post for a 2 year term to provided 1:2:1 advice and assistance to residents to maximise their income; and

§  The Hardship Fund eligibility criteria has been extended to provide assistance with the payment of fuel bills capped at a maximum of £226 per household. 

The Reasons are:

·         In line with government rent setting methodology the rental increase is based upon the CPI inflation measure at September 2021 plus 1%.  Additional rental income will help to meet the costs included within the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) business plan which must be balanced on a 30 year basis.  The resulting rents are below Local Housing Allowance rates which are used to calculate entitlement to housing benefits.

·         Pendleton Together and the Council have reviewed the current charges and have proposed revised charges based upon actual costs. The actual costs of services will vary from block to block depending upon services received.  The table below identifies the average service charge per block to show the variation across blocks.

·         Service charges were reduced in year as a result of reduced costs being passed onto residents.

·         Over the last year the country has experienced rising costs of living due to COVID and a significant increase in the cost of utility bills. The addition of a rent and service charge increase for 2022/23, will place financial pressures on many households and in some cases extreme financial hardship.

·         The recommendation to increase rents by CPI +1% has not been taken lightly. Following careful consideration of the options available by senior officers, members have been briefed on how these options have been assessed and the associated risks / impact, including the short to long term implications for the housing revenue account. In the current economic climate these are very difficult recommendations to make but are being proposed to ensure future investment and good quality services can be maintained, alongside the need to consider the long term impact on the HRA business plan.

·         Residents of the Pendleton Tower  ...  view the full decision text for item 5.