Let’s work together

Homelessness in Northampton has increased by more than 50 per cent in the past year. Over the same period, homelessness charity Shelter has seen a 23 per cent increase in the number of people seeking its help in relation to problems with their private landlords.

Under the Localism Bill, which is due to become law at the end of this year, local authorities will be able to house homeless people in the private rented sector. While Shelter is asking housing minister Grant Shapps to make all local authorities sign up to a minimum standard accreditation scheme to ensure private rented properties are of a high-enough quality, Northampton Council is taking things a step further - it’s setting up its own social lettings agency. This will allow us to let private rented sector homes to customers on its housing registers.

We already invite landlords and managing agents to join the east midlands landlord accreditation scheme, but Northampton Local Lettings, as our agency will be known when it’s launched on 1 May, will actually match residents on our housing waiting list with private landlords. It is going to protect customers even more, while also providing a safeguard for landlords.

Run in-house by four of the council’s housing solutions staff members, the scheme is costing £90,000 to set up. It aims to prevent homelessness and ensure that the less well-off in the community are not forced to take accommodation that is sub-standard, un-healthy or unsafe. It’s a way of bridging the gap between the demand for affordable housing and lack of supply.

The aim is to have enough homes on our books to prevent homelessness in the borough and we hope to achieve 300 lettings in the first year of running.

Money management

The agency will manage tenants’ housing benefit, keeping on top of overpayments and direct payments to landlords. It will also collect tenants’ rent, mediate in disputes between tenants and landlords, manage voids and repairs for landlords and help tenants access Supporting People funding where required.

We will check the condition of properties before they’re let and ensure all necessary safety certificates and requirements are in place. The scheme also gives us more control over pre-tenancy determinations, which ensure a property is affordable by calculating the customers’ local housing allowance entitlement - all the more important given the changes to housing benefit that came into force at the beginning of this month. Where necessary, we’ll also give the landlord a two-month rent guarantee bond on the behalf of tenants.

Our Northampton Local Lettings team will match tenants to suitable housing and ensure both tenants and landlords are supported through this process. They’ll offer advice and assistance on a variety of matters, including completing housing benefit claims. They will also deal with any issues that arise throughout the tenancy.

Profitable business

The scheme will only cost the council its initial outlay. After the first year, it will make money. Landlords that opt to join the scheme will pay an annual management fee, which will compete with fees charged by private letting agents in the area. We will receive 5 or 8 per cent of the monthly rent for each property depending on the rent level agreed. This means they will have access to our tenant finding service, and they will receive advice from the Northampton Local Lettings team’s account manager.

The agency will also offer landlords the option of a repairs service. It will also provide links to our existing choice-based lettings scheme. We’ll arrange the advertisement of landlords’ properties and viewings; and we’ll link tenants to floating support services where appropriate.

We expect charges for our repairs and gas handling services to generate a profit, depending on how many landlords sign up to them. Our calculations show a possible total income at the end of year one is £150,000, rising to £250,000 by the end of the second year.

Residents housed through Northampton Local Lettings will be assessed by a housing options officer to ascertain their level of need. At first the scheme is aimed at customers in receipt of LHA - but if it proves successful, we’ll open the scheme up to a wider pool of applicants.

Merging schemes

The social lettings agency will consolidate the council’s existing schemes saving the council around £200,000 per year. For example, its lodging scheme will be encompassed in Northampton Local Lettings. This scheme currently provides homeless individuals with temporary accommodation and allows homeowners to rent part or all of their home to generate a tax-free income of up to £4,250 a year. This equates to a monthly rent of just over £350.

The agency will take in our deposit bond scheme, which has secured 800 private rented properties for homeless customers over the past two years. The scheme will also incorporate our rent in advance initiative, which provides landlords with initial rent on behalf of tenants, and our rent deposit scheme, which funds their deposit. In the past two years the council has spent £5,000 securing properties for families that have specific housing needs through these scheme.

In conclusion, the social lettings agency will ensure we meet the needs of our customers by providing quality accommodation in the private sector to some of the most vulnerable members of our community. We believe that everyone has the right to a decent home.

Lisa Kennedy is housing options team leader at Northampton Council