Issue - meetings

Report of the Director - Neighbourhoods

The Strategic Housing Manager presented the Social Housing Models report, which set out the Council’s approved policy and operational framework for the provision of affordable housing, the different delivery models and the current approach to meet housing need.

The Strategic Housing Manager provided an explanation of the definition of affordable housing, which included affordable housing for rent and affordable housing for sale. She said that in 2003 the Council had transferred its housing stock to Metropolitan Housing Thames Valley who were currently the largest registered housing provider in the Borough, of approximately 15 in total. She said that the Council was responsible for managing the allocation of social rented housing in the Borough which it did through the housing register.

The Strategic Housing Manager confirmed that the Council did not own any housing stock nor run a Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and said that most councils who provided council housing stock usually also operated an HRA. Current regulation allowed councils to own up to 200 dwellings without the need to open an HRA and she said that factors supporting a council house building programme usually included; where there was exceptional housing need, and the resultant temporary accommodation costs were a big financial drain, where delivery by existing registered providers was limited, where the council had land  assets, where it wished to develop bespoke housing and where it had funds which it wished to invest in affordable housing. She said that council owned housing stock was subject to right to buy.

The Group were informed that the Council had an affordable housing capital budget of £4.5m, the majority of which was a commuted sum from large site developments. The Strategic Housing Manager said that as the council did not have any land to build on, it allocated the funds through the work of its registered housing partners in identifying and acquiring sites either on the open market or through their own land assets and that the Council provided the grant funding to them to develop affordable housing. She said that without land assets the Council was dependent on the cooperation of third parties who had access to land or developers who undertook housing developments in the Borough.

In relation to housing need, the Strategic Housing Manager explained that the Council’s current housing assessment was carried out in 2022 as part of the Local Plans process and identified an unmet need for 294 affordable rented dwellings per year. She said that the total percentage of affordable housing of new completions was 25%

In relation to specialist housing needs, the Strategic Housing Manager explained that provision required both capital and revenue funding and as such Nottinghamshire County Council played a significant role in commissioning support for vulnerable residents.

The Strategic Housing Manager said that there were time limits on the allocation of some commuted sums and that if not allocated within that period they may need to be returned to the original party. The complexity and resources required to set up a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9