Section: Housing Management

National Standard on Sharing Re-housing Information

The Housing Corporation launched a new tool, which aims to set a national standard on information sharing about applications for re-housing.

The Housing Information Sharing Protocol has been developed to provide a comprehensive and detailed framework to help develop a consistent information base for an effective allocation process and for staff to manage tenancies effectively.

It is aimed at the range of agencies, including housing associations and local authorities that nominate households for re-housing, as well as landlords that house those households.

Using the protocol will assist with:

Housing Corporation Chief Executive, Steve Douglas said:

"In areas where good and effective nominations arrangements are in place, housing providers work seamlessly together to meet the needs of homeless people, and much can be learnt from them.

"There are, however, areas where relationships aren't as effective as partners would like. Housing associations, councils and ALMOs can look to adopt and adapt this tool to their local needs to help them to deliver a better service and make better use of their resources.

"It should help those who make nominations provide the required information and understand what landlords need."

This protocol is now to be piloted by a number of volunteer pathfinder local authorities and housing associations. Each volunteer will then undertake a self-evaluation exercise, which could lead to revisions of the protocol.

200 Landlords Choose HomeSwapper

Only six months after the launch of its landlord functionality, HomeSwapper, the online mutual exchange service for both tenants and landlords, has already secured partnership agreements with over 200 social landlords. Importantly, this news means that almost 15% of the UK's social rented stock is now represented by HomeSwapper.

Landlords, including the Islington Council, Amicus Horizon, Swan Housing, Perth and Kinross Council and Midland Heart, are amongst those of have partnered HomeSwapper’s thriving online community.

Speaking about why they chose to partner HomeSwapper, Riaz Somir from Islington Council said:

"HomeSwapper is a great service and, unlike others we looked at, there are no restrictions. It allows our tenants to not only find a swap locally but further a field too - representing a fantastic housing option."

Uniquely, HomeSwapper is a service available to any tenant of all social landlords across the UK, meaning that tenants from partnering and non-partnering landlords alike are able to use the service to find a swap.

John Carthew, Managing Director of HomeSwapper, explains:

"By designing our service to be available to all social housing tenants, we are dramatically increasing the opportunity for swaps. In October alone, more than 7,000 tenants registered for the first time or renewed their membership. In fact, three out of every four tenants who join HomeSwapper will automatically be matched to a potential swap within 24 hours."

By seeking Landlords to partner the service, HomeSwapper are ensuring that as many tenants as possible can enjoy using HomeSwapper for free. Partnering landlords not only benefit by having a mutual exchange service that ticks the relevant box when it comes to meeting the KLOE guidelines for providing additional housing options, but it is a highly effective way of delivering more choice to tenants whilst reducing costs, including void costs.

Unacceptable Troops' Accommodation

Ministers were condemned for spending cash on resurfacing tennis courts at military bases rather than improving troops' unacceptable accommodation. The Public Accounts Committee also warned that living quarters for the forces would remain substandard for decades unless upgrade work was made a higher priority.

Chairman Edward Leigh pointed out that half of all the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) single housing and some 19,000 of its family houses were poor. He said:

"The MoD is aware of this and trying to improve things, but it is planning to upgrade only 900 family homes each year. Which means for the next 20 years some servicemen and women and their families will have to put up with living in substandard accommodation.

"In response to funding cuts, the MoD put off essential maintenance work, such as re-roofing buildings, but still found the cash to build all weather sports pitches and spruce up tennis courts.

"Nobody is saying it is inappropriate to offer a range of leisure facilities on site, but the department has to get its priorities straight. Let's mend the leaking roofs first, and then worry about the state of the tennis courts."

The committee highlighted that the MoD had cut £15 million from its estates management budget in 2006-7 in response to 'unforeseen rises in the cost of fuel and other problems'. It cut planned maintenance work, including reroofing projects and repairs to hangar doors, rather than postponing other work such as the construction of all-weather pitches and the resurfacing of tennis courts.

The report was the second time in a week that MPs had hit out at the Government over the state of military accommodation. A few days earlier, the Defence Committee said it was "extremely disappointed" with the Government's "complacency" over housing improvements.

KeyFacts

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Reporting on November 2007

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