Backing for York Council housing – stock transfer option to be abandoned

LibDem policy to buy more homes for rent on open market also set to be adopted

A major new report on the York Councils Housing Revenue Account is set to be debated next week.

There are two pieces of good news in it.

First the Council is set to abandon its plans to hive off its Council housing to an “Arm’s Length Management Organisation”. The justification for this always seemed very fragile and recent revelations about the way in which some of these “ALMOs” have operated would have been enough to cause a rethink. The Grenfell Towers Inquiry may reveal even more.

Now claims that the government would continue to force down Council house rents, making the housing account unviable, have proved to be groundless.

Similarly, a government threat, to make Council’s sell off high value Council Houses when they became vacant, has also been struck into the long grass.

The Council said, when it originally announced the review, that it would spend £200,000 on consultants. The report doesn’t reveal how much of that budget has been spent. Hopefully not much

Perhaps even more importantly, a Liberal Democrat policy favouring increasing the number of Council homes available in the City, is about to be adopted.

The Council will use a £20 million fund to purchase empty properties on the open market. Most of this money will come from the accumulated profit currently showing on the housing account. New “right to buy” receipts will also be used.

Some former Council houses will be repurchased while other empty properties may also be brought into use.

This was the policy so bitterly opposed by Labour when they were in office in the City between 2011 and 2015. Prices were lower then, so more might have been achieved if an initiative had been taken more quickly.

How precisely the £20m fund will be managed is unclear. Hopefully it will not be used as an excuse for a risky cavalier foray into housing development.

Full marks though to the Council’s Executive for at least trying to address the housing problems in the City.

So how safe are Council flats in York?

We’ve been out checking today

Clearly a check needs to be made on those blocks which have not recently been redecorated to ensure notices are up to date.

Fire procedure notice

We think that the housing department needs to proactively communicate with tenants to reassure them following this weeks tragic news from London.

Combustible storage notice

York has relatively few high rise blocks but, even at those with 2 or 3 storeys, checks need to be made on alarm systems, lighting, fire doors and electrical safety.

The results of the latest Fire Service safety audit needs to be publicly displayed in each block

We think that tenants should be offered smoke alarms and free electrical equipment safety checks.

We hope that the council will ensure that both primary and secondary safety requirements are highlighted in any planning decisions made on new or modernised flat developments ( including conversions such as the one agreed for the former Nestle factory as recently as Thursday).

Fire exit direction sign

Finally the Council needs to reconsider whether it should be consulting on transferring its stock into the management of an “arms length company”. This weeks events point to the insensitivity of such arrangements with both tenants and Councillors frustrated at a lack of engagement by officials.

Better to refine the tried and tested Council housing model which at least allows tenants to exercise some control through the ballot box.

The present system is far from perfect but appears to be better than the other available options.

Threat to York Council housing

It looks like Tory Councillors are following up their threat to demolish many Council house in York.

Council house building The idea was first raised in February in a report that was rushed through the Council with little debate and no consultation.

Now an item has been placed in the Council’s forward plan which lists upcoming decisions.

It includes another opaque statement which is bound to cause concern amongst tenants. A report will recommend that the Council undertakes “a full housing stock options appraisal and at the same time develop tenant and staff panels and establish an ad-hoc cross party member scrutiny panel to consider the long term sustainability of the service and assess the different organisational governance models to support the final decision making process”.

So 15 years after tenants in York decisively rejected a move, which would have seen their homes transferred to a housing association, it looks like the idea is being revived.

For a while the neo privatisation of Council housing was a key Labour party policy. It saw several authorities in the 1990’s transfer their housing stock to housing associations. Some were relatively successful but they were outnumbered by many which completely lost contact with their tenants. Lack of accountability became -and still is – a major issue in some Cities. So called “Arms Length Management Organisations” have fared little better.

In York tenants decisively voted to remain with the Council.

While we have not been impressed with several aspects of the management of Council housing in the City over the last 5 years, we believe that a shake up in the people involved will lead to improvements.

Some communal areas are neglected by housing managers in York

Problems can be traced to a lack of attention to detail particularly in communal area maintenance and estate improvements.

Housing standards are generally good. Even the system built homes – the target of Tory criticism in February – continue to provide accommodation which is regarded as satisfactory by most occupants.

The housing account has built up a £20 million surplus although it continues to carry a £120 million historic debt burden. Council house sale levels – even after recent increases to discount rates – remain modest.

However, the Council may have to contribute towards the costs involved in the present governments scheme to discount the sale of resident’s association properties.

Successive councils have failed to use funding streams such as the new homes bonus to pay for additional Council homes. They have failed to supplement stocks by buying on the open market when prices are favourable.

The Council has in recent years also failed to support local Residents Associations and is now even consulting on reducing their influence on the use of the annual estate improvement budget.

Weaker tenant representation will make it easier for politicians to impose drastic change without proper discussion.

A meeting to discuss the – currently secret – plans will take place on 13^th October.

The distribution of Council houses in York by ward is:

Ward	No Council houses
Acomb	398
Bishopthorpe	66
Clifton	891
Copmanthorpe	41
Dringhouses	414
Fishergate	143
Fulford	120
Guildhall	723
Heworth	1258
Holgate	447
Hull Rd	698
Micklegate	568
Osbaldwick	78
Rawcliffe	19
Rural West	95
Westfield	1717
Wheldrake	44
TOTAL	7720

We also understand that a meeting on 29^th September is likely to look again at the discredited plan to develop the garage site to the rear of Newbury Avenue.