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North Warwickshire Community Partnership - Decent and Affordable Housing

Aim:

Develop a range of affordable housing options, including social and private rented and low cost ownership schemes, to meet a range of housing needs.

Key priorities:

• Create sustainable communities through understanding community needs and how affordable and good quality housing contributes to community life
• Increase the range of housing available
• Ensure all housing is kept in a fit state to modern standards
• Assist vulnerable groups and address the level of homlessness, particularly looking at the issue of hidden homelessness and to influence the Supporting People programme to bring more support to the area
• Address the number of empty homes in the area by bringing them back into occupation

Key Facts:

Council and private rented properties both have a high proportion of unsuitable stock, 16.7% and 14.8% respectively. This compres to 5.0% of all owner-occupied properties. This is due to the need for repairs and adaptations, which would enable people to stay in their properties.

By household type, households containing children are more likely to be in unsuitable housing. For example, some 12.5% of lone parent households are living in unsuitable housing and the current waiting list consists of approximately 1900 applicants.

Of those residents in unsuitable housing, 39.9% would need to move to different accommodation, representing 814 households and of these, 721 wish to remain living in the Borough.

It is estimated that 416 new households will form each year and that 74.0% cannot afford private sector housing without housing benefit. This makes for 308 additional households in housing need per year.

There is an estimated annual shortfall of 303 affordable homes. The target given in the Warwickshire Structure Plan states that 1,300 affordable homes are required in North Warwickshire between 1996 and 2011. At April 2005, 135 of these affordable homes had been completed since 1996.

Affordable housing is an issue due to rising property prices in comparison with the average earnings. The lower end of the market tends to be where people who are less financially well off residing in properties that are likely to require repairs to meet the requirements of the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System.

Why this is a priority

Demand for afforable housing needs to be met due to rising house prices and private sector rents, and the declining supply of social housing. This is essential to ensure that people who are on benefits or low income can access the housing market and that key workers providing services such as health and education can continue to live and work in the Borough.

The condition of some housing in the Borough falls below the Decent Homes Standard. Our aim is to maintain the standard of homes with modern facilities and provide an adequate supply of affordable housing.

Homes should meet identified needs, be located across the Borough and have appropriate social infrastructure.

We aim to achieve this by creating:

• Sustainable communities; - a secure home limiting the fear of crime and burglary, good access to transport, economy, education, health care and leisure facilities

Our key targets are:

• Meet the Governments Decent Homes Target in relation to Concil homes: achieve 66% reduction in homes not meeting the standard by 2007 with all homes to meet this standard by 2010
• Deliver 1300 additional affordable homes by 2011
• Seek through planning negotiations a minimum of 40% of all new units of accommodation as affordable housing
• Establish the level of hidden homelessness that exists locally by 2007
• Increase the coverage for vulnerable residents of all ages in accordance with the Borough Care 5 year Business Plan by 2011
• Produce a private sector decent homes housing policy by 2007

During 2006/07 we will:

Over the next three years we will:

• Continue to use Council owned land and Housing Corporation funding to provide affordable homes
• Continue to negotiate and deliver affordable housing in accordance with the Development Plan
• Develop new (more accessible) models of home ownership through land trusts, cooperatives, equity schemes etc
• Implement an annual improvement programme to improve social housing in line with the principles of sustainable communities
• Address issues identified by the stock condition survey
• Implement actions of the private sector decent homes housing policy
• Extend the Borough Care Service to all vulnerable residents of all ages
• Prepare an action plan to address hidden homelessness
• Devise strategies looking at older persons, gypsies and travellers and an Equality and Diversity Housing Strategy, which will deal with all potential groups such as young people and people with disabilities

Further information can be obtained from:

Partnerships and organisations responsible for this priority include:

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