Homeless problems – still too many long term empty Council houses in York

The was some surprise a few days ago when a scheduled report on homeless problems in the City was pulled.

The Council failed to explain why the report was abandoned and it remains unclear what the report contained.

It may be that the Council is embarrassed by the seeming increase in the number of empty homes that it owns.

Two on Foxwood Lane have been empty for over 6 months (i.e. from before the pandemic caused delays) . Both properties are bungalows which are always popular with “downsizers”, so finding new tenants shouldn’t have been a problem.

On the basis of the last published stats, there were 22 homeless households with dependent children in living in temporary accommodation in York.

According to the Councils own figures, the average number of days to re-let empty properties has risen from 27 days to 37 days during the last couple of years.

There are 1597 people registered on the York housing waiting list.

Some better news for those on the housing waiting list in York

Mean waiting times on the waiting list for those seeking to rent one and two bedroomed properties reduced last year.

In 2015/2016 the median waiting time for a property from the housing waiting list was 259 days

Last year (2016/2017) this had fallen to 222 days

Waiting times for 3 bedroomed properties increased.

Listed below by year are the median waiting times for a property by assessed bed need

 2015/16 2016/17

· 1-bed home

 277 162

· 2-bed home

 255

237

· 3-bed home

 226

371
· 4-bed home 321

326

By the end of April 2017 the numbers on the waiting list in York for different sizes of property were

  • 1038 applications for a 1 bedroom
  • 642 applications with a 2 bed need
  • 200 applications with a 3 bed need
  • 45 applications with a 4 bed need
  • 5 applications with a 5 bed need

Applicants seeking to rent properties from social landlords in the City should visit the following web site. https://www.northyorkshirehomechoice.org.uk/

York housing waiting list falls to 1546

The number of residents on the social housing waiting list in York fell from 2311 in 2014 to 1546 in March 2015.

During last year 241 people were rehoused by Housing Associations in the City.

That figure compared to 209 in the previous year.

454 people from the housing waiting list were offered accommodation in Council houses.

That is down from a high of 551 which was seen in 2012.

New options for tenants looking to downsize

The Council is encouraging tenants, of properties which are too large for them, to apply for new homes which will shortly become available in Clifton.

In the main, the new homes will have two bedrooms though, so offer little relief for the majority of people on the York Housing waiting list who are looking for one bedroomed properties.

An artist’s impression of the finished schemeCouncil and housing association tenants in York who are considering moving to a more manageable and affordable home, are invited to find out more about a new scheme for 23 affordable homes in the city.

Broadacres Housing Association in association with City of York Council, is holding a public information event at Clifton Green Primary School on Wednesday 12 March from 4.30-7pm.

The event will feature a new scheme to be built on the site of the former YWCA hostel in Water Lane. There, Broadacres is building 16, two-bedroom apartments for affordable rent. Priority will be given to people aged 55 and over who would benefit from moving to a smaller property.

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