[KF] A new guide will help landlords tackle more than 230,000 overcrowded social housing homes in England.
Overcrowding and Under-Occupation: Self-Assessment for Social Landlords is a new tool for landlords to help them to review and progress their approach to tacking relevant issues.
The Guide looks at:
It is estimated that some 554,000 households in England are overcrowded - and 234,000 of these are in the social housing sector. There are significant issues with overcrowding in London, where some 37% of all overcrowded households live, as well as in other cities such as Birmingham, Bradford, Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester.
The guide has been produced by the Homelessness Action Team, which is jointly managed by the Tenant Services Authority and Communities and Local Government . The team works with social housing landlords and local authorities to tackle homelessness and related issues, including overcrowding and under-occupation.
Homelessness Action Team Project Manager Tim Gray said:
"Living in overcrowded accommodation can have a devastating effect on families. Under-achievement at school can be caused by a lack of space for children to do their homework, and older children may spend more time outside the home on the streets simply to find privacy.
"Children growing up in difficult housing conditions, including in overcrowded households, are 25% more likely to suffer severe ill-health and disability during childhood and early adulthood.
"Under-occupation is also a major issue, as there are twice as many under-occupiers in the social housing sector as there are overcrowded households. We’re encouraging social housing landlords to look at their current allocation schemes and identify where tenants who might be under occupying large homes can move into smaller social housing properties."
The Tenant Services Authority is developing national standards for social housing landlords to raise the standard of services for tenants. The standard on Tenancy will require registered social housing providers to develop and deliver services to address under-occupation and overcrowding in their homes.
New Guide for Tackling Overcrowding
Housing Minister John Healey launched the first-ever national crackdown on tenancy cheats to recover up to 10,000 council and housing association homes fraudulently sublet, and release them to those in real need.
Tenancy cheats live elsewhere and can earn thousands of pounds a year by unlawfully subletting their properties at higher rental rates. If caught they will lose their tenancy, and could lose their right to social housing in future.
Those occupying these properties may not know about the fraud but 80% do not qualify for a council or housing association home, and instead have to find a new home through the private rented sector.
The Audit Commission have suggested that the number of social homes unlawfully acquired or sublet could range from one in 100 to as many as one in 20 in some inner-city areas - totalling as many as 50,000 homes nationwide.
A total of 147 councils have signed up to the Government's first ever national crackdown on housing fraud, including every council in London. With councils working alongside the housing associations in their areas, they will benefit from a share of £4 million to set up their own anti-fraud initiatives - including special hotlines and squads to investigate allegations of fraud.
As a start, the Government has today handed over to councils and housing associations around 8,000 thousand leads to follow to potential tenancy cheats in their communities. These were found through data sweeps by the Audit Commission, matching tenancy records against records held by councils, housing associations and other public bodies.
Half of all homes recovered from cheats are done so after tip-offs from neighbours. To encourage tip-offs, the Government is offering a reward of £500 to anyone whose information leads to the recovery of one of the first 1,000 homes.