Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Director of City Development.

Agreed:

RECOMMENDED that Council agree option 2 at the Extraordinary meeting on 10 June as follows:-

(1)  to accept the full allocation of £594,000 in Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) grant funding;

(2)  the purchase of four properties off the open market;

(3)  that the Council’s Capital contribution is funded through £297,000 of S106 funds;

(4)  the identification and purchase of suitable properties to let;

(5)  that the rents be set at affordable rates in accordance with the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding between DLUHC and Exeter City Council and the DLUHC recommended rental funding model Rent Standard – April 2023;

(6)  that the MOU (Appendix 1) be signed and returned to DLUHC by the 12th of June 2024 confirming the Council’s participation in the programme; and

(7)  that delegated authority be granted to the Director of City Development and Housing and the relevant Portfolio Holder to proceed with the acquisitions and to amend the number of properties purchased in line with the above agreement. This is to include where additional government grants may become available (provided that no further capital contribution is required from Exeter City Council).

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report on the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) round 3, in which the Council had been invited to bid for a national £450 million of funding to deliver high-quality temporary accommodation for homeless families and to provide housing to those on the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).

Particular reference was made to:-

·         the housing of seven families under rounds one and two, with a further number of families waiting to move;

·         the Council had been allocated nearly £600,000 to purchase four more homes and was using a matching process for the third round of funding;

·         the Council would need to contribute a further £297,000, as part of the grant fund agreement and it was recommended that uncommitted Section 106 funding be used for this purpose;

·         the recommendations would also support the Council in meeting its temporary accommodation needs without having to incur borrowing; and

·         delegated authority was being sought to sign the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) to access the grant funding before the deadline to enable the Council to undertake the purchases.

Opposition group leaders spoke on the item and made the following points:-

Cllr Moore – thanked the officers for the work undertaken and enquired:-

·         what was the reason for the delay in undertaking the matching process for the homes purchased under previous funding rounds; and

·         why was the rent of the two bed properties proposed to be a higher than the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) level, given that housing and universal credit rent was based on the LHA level?

Cllr Mitchell – enquired on whether assurance could be given on whether the money was guaranteed, given the forthcoming General Election?

During the discussion, the following points were made:

·         regardless of the election, the Council needed to proceed with accessing the grant funding;

·         clarification was sought on the Council loans programme and options for Section 106 money to ensure there was enough to make the programme happen;

·         was the council getting value for money?

·         the outlay costs for maintenance and repairs appeared to be the same for both options, how were the figures made and did they reflect the costs of buying former council homes?

·         the report highlighted Exeter being a welcoming city and beneficial to the Council’s medium- and long-term housing provisions and the recommendations were supported in principle ;

·         the positive impact within the equality impact assessment was welcomed; and

·         the report and work undertaken in the report was welcomed.

In response to questions and points raised, the Director City Development advised that:-

·         a written response to Councillor Moore’s questions would be provided outside of the meeting;

·         the money had already been agreed and the signing of the MOU would release the funding for use;

·         the report provided full transparency on the land property and potential use of S106 funding and borrowing options;

·         the Government calculated the amount of money awarded to a local authority through a median house price calculation, which for Exeter was £300,000;

·         if the Council were looking to purchase  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61