Agenda item

To consider a draft Housing Enforcement Policy to inform the final version being considered by Full Council in July.

Members considered the Housing Enforcement Policy report, presented by Councillor Mrs Laws.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows;

1.    Councillor Boden thanked Councillor Mrs Laws and said the report has a slightly negative bias, which is understandable given the subject matter, however suggested the policy may benefit from providing information on the Council’s PIE policy (Prevention, Intervention and Enforcement). He said the policy would also benefit from an index or table of contents in order to make it more user-friendly.

2.    Councillor Booth asked in relation to point 5.5 in the report, what experience Amber Valley had had of the policy and how many times they had used the enforcement process. Sarah Gove said there were very few examples of this policy being used, with Amber Valley Council being one of them. The policy there has been well received however she agreed to provide members with further information on this.

3.    Councillor Booth asked if feedback had been received from Amber Valley Council. Sarah Gove agreed to provide that information and said officers had liked the staged approach Amber Valley Council had taken in enforcing the policy.

4.    Councillor Boden said 26.2 mentions vulnerable tenants and uses the example of tenants with pre-school children in the household. He asked officers if this was the best example of vulnerable tenants as he believes this is too wide a description. Sarah Gove said officers will assess individual cases and agreed to remove this example.

5.    Councillor Booth asked if there was a requirement for tenants to put all communications in writing as this seems outdated as most tenants will liaise with managing agents and landlords via phone. Sarah Gove confirmed that when a report for repair is made, proof of communication is requested therefore putting issues in writing allows an audit trail of correspondence.

6.    Councillor Count said in relation to point 26.1 in the report, it is best practice for tenants to put into writing any complaints or issues as it provides a record.

7.    In relation to point 26.2, Councillor Owen asked if it was necessary to have a further exception for individuals whose first language is not English. Sarah Gove reiterated that assessments will be carried out on a case-by-case basis and if there were concerns regarding a communication barrier between a tenant and landlord, this would be dealt with.

8.    Richard Cassidy thanked members for highlighting this as if the examples are too broad, they are open to abuse. He agreed to review the wording and said examples will still be included but not so definitively. He also clarified that correspondence in writing is for evidential purposes as it can be used if a case was to go to Court. Councillor Booth asked if phone records can be used as evidence of contact. Richard Cassidy confirmed that anything written, either electronically or hard copy can be used as a record.

9.    Councillor Hodgson asked if the e-mail address in the report was available for public use, as he has received a complaint from a landlord in relation to the policy. Sarah Gove confirmed that both tenants and landlords can use this e-mail address to contact officers.

10. Councillor Hodgson asked when the policy will be available for the public to view. Sarah Gove confirmed that the policy is out for consultation at the moment and is available to view on the Council’s website and Social Media accounts. Councillor Boden confirmed that the final policy will be available after it has been approved by Council.

11. Councillor Count suggested in future, that the Overview & Scrutiny Panel should only consider reports once public consultation has ended, as this will allow the public’s comments to be considered.

12. Councillor Count said in relation to point 23.8 of the report, the Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) should be utilised more to tackle empty buildings in the area and said there is a lack of activity in this area.

13. Councillor Boden asked in relation to point 19.5 of the report; whether the Council can impose the fine of £5000 or does it need to go through the Magistrates Court. Sarah Gove confirmed that the Council could set this as it is a civil penalty and explained that the level of this fine would be used as a graduated approach and in line with the Council’s PIE policy.

14. Councillor Owen asked if an appeal procedure was in place for this policy. Sarah Gove confirmed this would fall under the Residential Property Tribunal.

15. Councillor Booth said there needs to be a balance between imposing fines on landlords and ensuring the issues are rectified. Sarah Gove confirmed that the main aim is obtaining compliance as this will improve the quality of private rented accommodation in Fenland.

16. Councillor Booth asked officers to amend the formatting of the report as there are several errors in the layout. Officers agreed to this.

17. Councillor Booth asked how the officer’s hourly rate, in point 16.2 of the report, had been calculated. Richard Cassidy agreed to look into this.

18. Councillor Booth asked why housing associations are not covered by this policy, as discussed in Section 22 of the report. Councillor Boden said following past issues with Clarion, they should have to comply with the policy too. Sarah Gove confirmed that legislation is different for housing associations. Richard Cassidy explained that the majority of legislation does not apply to registered providers however agreed to look at the wording of this section to clarify this further.

19. Councillor Boden said in relation to point 22.4 of the report, it mentions that registered providers ’programme of works’ will be considered and asked if this would be the same case for private landlords with a large portfolio. Councillor Count said this section could be removed from the policy as it shows the same process for both registered providers and private sector landlords and is therefore unnecessary. Councillor Owen agreed with this.

20. Councillor Booth asked if Appendix B of the report (The Equality Impact Assessment) will be included in the final policy. He also suggested that point 3.5 of Appendix B contains comments that are relevant to other sections of the assessment and asked officers to consider applying these to these sections too. Sarah Gove agreed to take this into account and they will also consider feedback from the public consultation too.

21. Councillor Booth said members will be able to consider consultee’s comments once the final report goes to Council and said it will be important to see how these have been applied to the policy. He asked if the policy can be reviewed by Overview & Scrutiny Panel in a years’ time to see how it works in practise. Officers agreed to this.

(Councillor Count declared that he was a private-sector landlord)

(Councillor Hodgson declared that his daughter is a private-sector tenant and the policy may affect her)