Council to Help Homeowners With Loft Conversions to Combat Overcrowding
6th June 2012
Luton Council has agreed to set up a scheme to offer homeowners up to £30,000 to carry out loft conversions where overcrowding is a problem.
This is thought to be a 'pioneering' scheme for a local authority and the Council has set aside a 'nominal budget' of £100,000 for the scheme in 2012/13.
The funding will be in the form of a loan, secured against the property and repayable if the home is sold.
The loan is also subject to specific conditions, including:
Applicants must also be in receipt of one of a list of specific benefits, which includes Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Income Support and Jobseekers Allowance.
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Crackdown on Housing Fraudsters Leads to Double Figure Property Reclaim
7th June 2012
Almost 40 council properties have been reclaimed following a London Borough of Hillingdon crackdown on people committing housing tenancy fraud.
Since April 2011, 36 properties have been reclaimed from tenants who had been illegally sub-letting their homes, or who were not entitled to live there.
Cabinet Member for Social Care, Health and Housing, Cllr Philip Corthorne, said:
"People who illegally sub-let local authority tenancies are denying those residents in real need of a home. In Hillingdon this is something we will not tolerate and anyone caught faces losing their property for good."
To date, reclaiming the crackdown has saved the Council around £1/2 million and has led to Hillingdon Council being recognised across the country for its success.
The Council's Blow the whistle on housing cheats campaign has also helped identify fraudsters thanks to residents calling in with their concerns.
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Council Tenants to Get New Landlord
8th June 2012
Plans have been agreed for Charnwood Borough Council to take back the direct control of housing management.
In a move which could save £638,000 per year, The Council's Cabinet voted in favour of returning management of the 42,000 homes from Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing (CNH), the Arms Length Management Organisation which has managed them since 2007.
The transition could take between three to nine months to complete, with CNH staff being transferred to the Council.
A financial appraisal of how the Council's housing services are delivered was carried out by CIH Consulting, which identified the savings which could be made by bringing the service back under Council management.
In addition, a test of opinion was also carried out which resulted in 75% of tenants opting for housing services to be brought back under the direct control of the Council.
LGA Update - a monthly diary of news and views, relevant to housing and communities, from the Local Government Association.
For further information about any of the reports below, visit the LGA website.
LGA 'Housing the Nation' Campaign Call for Councils to be Free to Tackle the Housing Crisis
6th June 2012
A survey of frontline councillors carried out by the LGA reveals that public opposition is the single biggest barrier to the building of new homes. However, development which comes with appropriate infrastructure is nearly four times more likely to be supported by the public.
The LGA has launched a 'Housing the Nation' campaign, calling on Government to remove some of the restrictions hampering local authority efforts to tackle the housing crisis.
It is warning that councils' efforts to ensure that all new developments come with the appropriate infrastructure - like roads, schools and parks - risk being undermined by Government proposals to allow developers to force councils to reopen Section 106 agreements previously agreed with developers.
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Response to the Government's Troubled Families Announcement
11th June 2012
Responding to the Government's announcement on new funding for troubled families, Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell, Chairman of the LGA, said:
"Councils have a longstanding commitment to improving the lives of vulnerable families and their communities, so it is unsurprising that so many have signed up to this new scheme to take the agenda forward.
"Town halls have been clear about the importance of upfront funding and are therefore pleased the Government has listened to their representations. The only way to find savings in the long term is to make the initial investment.
"Make no mistake though - councils have been working closely with local partners for quite some time to put into action intensive intervention work. This isn't a new approach - but the degree of funding can help take this to the next level.
"Councils are leading the way on tackling troubled families and appreciate the commitment of their local partners and the Government to pull in the same direction."
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Poorest Hit Hardest by £500 Million Council Tax Benefit Cut
12th June 2012
The Country's poorest areas will bear the brunt of the Government's £500 million cut to Council Tax Benefit funding, local government leaders warn.
New analysis from the LGA shows that the cut, which is being introduced alongside moves to pass responsibility for administering Council Tax Benefits from Whitehall to local authorities, could see more than two million people, including the working poor and young unemployed, paying on average £247 more in council tax each year.
Under the reform, councils will be allowed to recoup some of the cut by discontinuing discounts for second homes and empty properties. However, the Government has enshrined council tax discounts for all pensioners and those living on their own, regardless of their income.
The LGA is concerned that the money available from scrapping discounts for second homes and empty properties falls well short of the £500 million cut councils are required by the Government to implement.
It warns that the cut is also likely to hit hardest councils and residents in the poorest, most deprived areas of the country, where the numbers of second and holiday homes are usually low and the number of benefits claimants high.