Agenda item

Wards: All

Report Authorised by: Strategic Director of Resident Services: Bayo Dosunmu

Contact for enquiries: Shankar Siva Ananthan, Group Finance Manager, 07904 227175, ssivaananthan@lambeth.gov.uk

The report was introduced by Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, Councillor Maria Kay, who highlighted that:

•           All of the Council’s tenants rents were paid into the Housing Revenue account which was for the management of housing properties as well as maintenance, repairs and major works

•           The Council had no option but to increase  rent as much  investment was needed in the housing stock to get it to a standard that residents’ deserve and expect. The Council had ambitious improvement targets for its housing stock over the next  10 years

•           The Government had forced rent reductions over a 4 year period which has meant a cumulative loss of income of £28.5m to the HRA

•           None of the works were funded by central Government, which meant increasing rents was the only way to generate the income needed for improvements

•           Rents were historically low whereas pressures were historically high, it was imperative to take action to try to ensure balanced budgets

•           The Council was aware that rent increases would place some families in financial hardship, which was not taken lightly. There were a number of iniatives and tools available to support those in need including benefits and debt management.

Cabinet was addressed by Councillor Scott Ainslie of the Green Group, who highlighted a number of questions surrounding:

•           A one-off payment of £2 million referenced in 2.3 of the report

•           The number of voids which were being worked on

•           Housing standards and whether there was a post-completion report ready

•           Homes for Lambeth and the payments made by them into the HRA

In response to some of the questions and comments raised, Officers and the Cabinet Member advised the following:

•               Some of the queries from the Green Group around disrepair and its associated costs would be answered in due course

•               Lambeth had set up a new organisation of direct delivery of communal works which required upgrading to new contracts and investing in new systems. This included when an operative was going to complete a repair, there was a system for resources to be delivered directly to the firm; as well as developing the Housing Portal to improve the system for residents’ use

•               The Officer would look into the status of Housing standards and the availability of a completion report and bring it back to Councillor Ainslie

•               Mitigations were already in place to support residents suffering financial hardship

Cabinet made the following observations:

•           The report required Cabinet to make difficult decision but was necessary.  Thanks were given to the Officers and the Cabinet Member for their work in the report

•           There were some concerns raised around the levels of disrepair and an overspend in dealing with these.

Following consideration, it was resolved that Cabinet:

1. Agreed the approach to setting tenant and leasehold service charges, garage, parking and supported housing charges

2. Agreed the increase in rents of 4.1%, this being composed of Consumer Price Index (CPI) at the applicable rate of 3.1% plus the allowable 1%

3. Noted the October 2021 financial forecast position as detailed in paragraph 2.2 of the report

4. Agreed the proposed growth and savings for 2022/23 as set out in paragraphs 2.26 to 2.37 and Appendix 3 of the report

5. Agreed the HRA Budget for 2022/23 as set out in Appendix 4 of the report.