Tenant influence in landlord housing policies Yvonne Davies Scrutiny & Empowerment Partners Limited Dec 2016

All change The Housing and Planning Act 2016 and U Turns Right to Buy Pay to stay Mandatory Fixed Term Tenancies Local Housing Allowances Different for LAs (Councils and ALMOs - Arms length Management organisations) than HAs – Recent changes to this

Where are we with the Right to Buy (RTB) for HA tenants? Deal for HAs to extend the RTB on a voluntary basis to HA tenants What success from the HA pilots? U Turn – 5 year regional pilot – test 1 for 1 replacement U Turn – postponed to after 2018 at the earliest Government can pay compensation to HAs who lose homes Sale off of high value council homes also delayed Portable discount HCA will monitor HAs compliance with RTB criteria, which they must publish

Where are we with Pay to Stay? NOW VOLUNTARY for all tenures – U turn on 21st November Costly and a disincentive to earn Tenants with more than £31k a year, or £40k in London could pay a higher rent. This rent would be set and updated annually (CPI linked) Tenants must declare income and LAs will share data with HMRC Additional income is paid to the Treasury HAs can choose to implement this policy

Fixed term tenancies NO change Govt will and lifetime tenancies for social housing – starting with council tenants HAs can choose to implement this policy Most new LA tenancies 2-10 years fixed (Inc ALMOs) Min of 5 years, max of 10 if the child in the home is under 9 years Some secure tenancies may be agreed Landlords can take account of local circumstances End of term – LAs/ALMOS will agree to extend or offer an alternative home Government will review the use of ‘lifetime tenancies’ for social housing with the aim of limiting their use and ensuring that best use is made of stock

Local Housing Allowance Local Housing Allowance – Private Sector 2018 – U Turn to 2019 start Includes service charges Benefit entitlement for shared accommodation Those under 35 years Those in sheltered or supported accommodation “Shelter” benefit calculator or contact LA Greater Liverpool Shared Accommodation Rate:£57.77 per week One Bedroom Rate:£90.90 per week Two Bedrooms Rate:£104.60 per week Three Bedrooms Rate:£119.67 per week Four Bedrooms Rate:£156.00 per week

So how can residents engage in policy? Get a presentation from your landlord The risks you and they face Their intentions to develop policy in these areas The content of the White paper due out by Dec 2016 List questions you have Invite the manager back to answer your points at another meeting Agree how you will be kept informed of changes and how other tenants will too Agree how your views will be considered in policy development

Any questions? yvonne@tenantadvisor.net www.tenantadvisor.net 07867974659