Priority 2: Accommodation
Our objectives
- To procure temporary accommodation at a fair price and drive down costs while achieving value for money.
- To ensure the provision of temporary accommodation is sufficient to manage demand and to meet homelessness duties.
- To ensure temporary accommodation is suitable, compliant with health and safety specifications and in a decent condition.
- To reduce the use of nightly paid (including B&B) short term accommodation and increase the portfolio of longer term Dartford Private Leasing Scheme accommodation.
- To strengthen partnership working with landlords to ensure private rented housing is a more accessible longer term housing solution.
- To empower homeless applicants to find their own accommodation.
- To increase the supply and choice of affordable/social rented housing.
Temporary accommodation
There is a statutory responsibility on local housing authorities to provide temporary accommodation if applicants are homeless, eligible for assistance and in priority need, and at the relief stage, or under the interim duty to accommodate. This can be through short term self-contained or shared (including B&B) accommodation, or through our longer term Dartford Private Leasing Scheme accommodation.
The homelessness review highlighted that the demand for temporary accommodation has increased. In the first quarter of 2021-2022, there were 274 households in temporary accommodation, whereas in the fourth quarter of 2022-2023, the figure was 320.
A shortage of temporary accommodation in Dartford means that we are having to increasingly place homeless applicants into temporary accommodation outside of the borough. This is, in part, due to shortages created by London boroughs placing their homeless applicants into Dartford and being in a position to offer more financial incentives to landlords. Another factor is landlords selling up and withdrawing from the sector.
In the first quarter of 2021-2022, 87 households were placed into temporary accommodation in another local authority district outside of Dartford. The figure was 128 in the fourth quarter of 2022-2023. This represents 40.0% of households in temporary accommodation outside of the borough which is higher than the figure for England (28.6%). This presents challenges for households who are being separated from their support networks and also makes it more difficult for us to support them.
In order to help address this, we are working in partnership with the Kent Housing Options sub group to develop a new Temporary Accommodation Placing Protocol to ensure that, where placements are made outside of the borough, they are appropriate and well managed, and that there is effective communication between local authorities. The group is working in partnership with Homeless Link to introduce a County Homeless Forum. One of the main focus areas of this forum is to help improve standards in temporary accommodation provision and undertake work to help develop Temporary Accommodation Action Groups. These are multi agency groups that help local authorities address the standards, costs and availability of accommodation used for homeless applicants.
In 2022, we also developed a two year Temporary Accommodation Strategy setting out an approach to procuring temporary accommodation now and in the future. We will monitor and review the progress made in delivering the strategy, and if necessary, refresh our strategic approach to ensure the provision of temporary accommodation is future proofed.
Private rented sector
The private rented sector plays a vital role in our strategy to prevent and relieve homelessness. In 2022, we recruited a Landlord Relationship Officer dedicated to securing additional accommodation in the private rented sector and building relations with landlords. Alongside this, we operate a Deposit Guarantee Scheme, which aims to assist people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness to find suitable private rented accommodation.
It is recognised, however, that factors such as a buoyant rental market, high rent levels against restricted Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates, high initial upfront payments for rent in advance, fees and guarantor requirements, can mean that securing private rented accommodation within the borough is increasingly difficult and unaffordable for households on low incomes.
Given this, we need to look at ways for private rented housing to become more accessible as a longer term housing solution. Alongside this, we also want people to be empowered to find their own accommodation in the private rented sector and to be tenancy ready for when they do secure it.
The Dartford Landlords’ Forum is an opportunity to explore how private rented housing can work for both homeless households and landlords. The Forum is a platform on which landlords can share their experiences of letting accommodation, both with each other and with the Council, to help landlords provide good quality accommodation in Dartford. We also use this time with member landlords to increase awareness of changes in legislation, procedures and policies and to respond to their concerns and needs. The Forum has not met for some time and we will be relaunching it to connect with landlords and promote how we can work together.
We will also be closely monitoring the passage of the Renters (Reform) Bill 2023, which will abolish Section 21 evictions and create greater security for tenants. Ending of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) is a main reason for homelessness for applicants owed a prevention duty, where a proportion of ASTs are ended due to the service of a Section 21 notice. As a result, the landlord can regain possession without having to establish fault on the part of the tenant, therefore no reason is required for the notice. Hence it is sometimes referred to as the ‘no-fault’ ground for eviction.
Social/affordable rented housing
Latest government data on dwelling stock, estimates there are 4,236 Council social housing properties and 2,077 Private Registered Provider (e.g. housing association) properties in Dartford.
Social/affordable rented housing is allocated to people in housing need through a choice-based lettings scheme; Kent Homechoice. Applicants are placed into one of four bands (A to D) which determine their level of priority for housing (Band A being the highest priority).
In accordance with the Housing Allocations Policy, applicants who are owed a main homelessness duty will be given reasonable preference and placed into Band D. Where properties become available for letting to homeless applicants, they will be advertised specifically for Band D applicants owed a housing duty under homeless legislation. Additional priority will be given, for example, if medical or welfare issues are assessed or for applicants that are homeless as a result of fleeing domestic abuse.
Unfortunately, there is not enough social rented housing in the borough to meet demand. The homelessness review identified that in 2021-2022 there were 1,029 applicants on the housing register, whereas 329 lettings were made that year.
In terms of supported accommodation, a lack of this is limiting opportunities to prevent and relieve homelessness for single homeless people, and creating a ‘revolving door’ of homelessness for some people with complex needs.
Affordable housing development
The consistent stream of new build housing is crucial for increasing the supply of affordable housing, including social rented housing. We work with housing associations and developers to enable affordable housing development, and in 2022-2023, 227 affordable homes were delivered in the borough.
We also have our own new build and property acquisition programme to increase the Council’s own housing stock, which to date has delivered 102 much needed new homes for local people on the housing register. 25 additional units are likely to be delivered in 2024-2026. A further 35 properties have also been purchased on the open market to assist those who require subsidised housing.
We will continue our efforts to work with developers to increase the supply of affordable housing, including looking for further opportunities under our own new-build and property acquisition programme.
How we will meet our objectives
Monitor the implementation of the Temporary Accommodation Strategy 2022-2024
The strategic objectives under this strategy are to procure temporary accommodation at a fair price and drive down costs while achieving value for money; to ensure the provision of temporary accommodation is sufficient to manage demand and to meet homelessness duties; and to ensure temporary accommodation is suitable, compliant with health and safety specifications and in a decent condition.
Monitor out of London temporary accommodation placements in the borough and participate in meetings with London Boroughs, Kent County Council and other relevant agencies to discuss any ongoing issues
We want to work with other boroughs to reach a solution on out of London placements, ultimately to ensure that we have an adequate supply of temporary accommodation for our own homeless households.
Work in partnership with the Kent Housing Options sub group to develop and deliver a new Temporary Accommodation Placing Protocol
Moving homeless households out of the borough is something we do reluctantly if there is a shortage of accommodation in the borough. We need to ensure that placements are appropriate and that households are given all the support and guidance to settle and to access the services they need.
Develop and implement a Social Lettings Agency
Social Letting Agencies are a form of private renting access scheme to help homeless and vulnerable people to access and sustain private rented sector tenancies. It is a scheme that offers varying levels of property management for landlords, which in turn provides a flow of properties that are made available for people who are in need of accommodation.
Develop a landlord package and options to support low-income households to access the private rented sector and encourage partnership working with private sector landlords
We are developing our offer to landlords. This currently includes access to landlord insurance products, tailored and personal provision of a Landlord Relationship Officer to act as a contact with the Housing Solutions team and the tenant and tenancy management advice. We aim to improve this offer to include benefit advice, financial assessment, access to additional grants and relief to assist with rental payments and negotiation between landlords and tenants.
Ensure there is a regular agenda item at the Landlords’ Forum on how private rented housing can work for both homeless households and landlords
The Landlords’ Forum is an opportunity to develop further relationships with local landlords and promote the Dartford Private Leasing Scheme and other initiatives to assist homeless households.
Establish a branded ‘self-help’ rent deposit scheme
The ‘self-help’ rent deposit scheme aims to work with private landlords to devise a competitive offer, making best use of the benefits we can provide, such as assistance with benefit claims, tenancy sustainment support, and a named point of contact. The aim is to empower applicants to find their own accommodation in the private rented sector.
Review the offer to support applicants to be tenancy ready for when accommodation is secured
We will explore what we can do to offer more in terms of tenancy ready workshops/support in finding private rented accommodation as part of personalised housing plans for first time renters.
Explore whether relocation out of the borough can be supported for homeless applicants who are interested
Housing mobility schemes, such as Homefinder UK and Bridge Housing, help homeless people or those at risk of homelessness who want to move out of high demand areas to find a home. They engage directly with home seekers in order to broker the move. Such schemes could expand options, particularly for single people wanting to access affordable housing and are interested in this being out of the borough.
Explore the extended use of housing association properties to discharge functions under homeless legislation
This means working with our housing association partners to access more of their housing stock with a view to creating assured shorthold tenancies, affordable market rent lets and accessing more of their hard to let stock. The Council currently only accesses this stock via the Housing Register.
Ensure the Housing Allocations Policy is kept under continuous review
The Housing Allocations Policy sets out the criteria and procedures used to prioritise applicants for housing owned by the Council and a proportion of homes owned by housing association partners in the borough. It is important to keep this Policy under review to ensure it continues to meet our statutory and regulatory requirements for assisting homeless households.
Monitor the progression of the Renters (Reform) Bill 2023
We will monitor the progression of this Bill to ensure we are ready for it, including updating our Private Sector Housing Renewal Strategy.
Deliver new council housing and enable the delivery of other affordable housing across the borough
We will continue to enable affordable housing and look for further opportunities under our own new-build and property acquisition programme.
Look into whether there are any opportunities to invest in supported housing
In supported housing, accommodation is provided alongside support, supervision or care to help people live as independently as possible. It helps to equip people with the necessary skills to eventually move on into more permanent independent living.
How we will measure success
We will measure our successes through the monitoring of:
- Number of households in temporary accommodation by type
- Feedback from households in temporary accommodation on their lived experiences in this accommodation
- Number of London borough temporary accommodation placements into Dartford
- Number of Dartford Private Leasing Scheme properties
- Number of social housing allocations made
- Number of affordable homes delivered
- Number of Council new builds and acquisitions