Working Well - Community

Housing

Introduction

Housing has an important impact on health and well-being: good quality, appropriate housing in places where people want to live has a positive influence on reducing deprivation and health inequalities by facilitating stable/secure family lives.  This in turn helps to improve social, environmental, personal and economic well-being.  Conversely, living in housing which is in poor condition, overcrowded or unsuitable will adversely affect the health and well-being of individuals and families.

The value of good housing needs to been seen as more than ‘bricks and mortar’. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG, 2006) define a decent home as ‘a home that is warm, weatherproof and has reasonably modern facilities’. Failure to address the investment needs of poor housing conditions will have a detrimental impact on the occupiers’ health and well-being.

A decent, affordable home is an essential requirement for tackling health inequalities and reducing the burden on health and social care services and cost to the public purse.

Housing

Hartlepool’s housing market is defined as a self contained housing market, as communities and local government guidelines suggest that anything over 70% internal migration is a self contained housing market. In Hartlepool internal migration levels are 80.2% using census 2011 migration data. The three biggest reasons for households moving within Hartlepool were wanting a larger home, 16.7%, being forced to move, 11.3% and wanting own home/live independently, 10.5%. Overall, the vast majority (74.1%) of properties are houses, 12.1% are bungalows, 13.6% are flats/apartments and maisonettes and 0.9% are other types of property including park homes/caravans. Of all occupied properties, 11.3% have one bedroom, 29.2% have two bedrooms, 43.6% have three bedrooms and 15.9% have four or more bedrooms.

Property type by sub area

 

The tenure profile of the Hartlepool Borough area, based on survey evidence, is 60.2% of occupied dwellings are owner occupied, 16.0 % are private rented (including tied accommodation), 23.1% are rented from a social housing provider and 0.7% are intermediate tenure dwellings.

Up to 2014 median house prices in Hartlepool were lower than both the England and north east averages. Median house prices in Hartlepool peaked at £115,000 in 2013, but fell to £101,250 in 2014.

median house price trends 2000 to 2014

 

The gap between the median house price in Hartlepool and England has widened from 2000 to 2014. Within Hartlepool the median house prices have a range of £145,500 across the wards, from Victoria’s £57,000 to Rural West’s £202,500. Two wards, Victoria and Manor House, have upper quartile prices below £100,000.

House prices in hartlepool by ward

 

Hartlepool median house prices 2013 14

 

The level of affordability of housing in Hartlepool is the second best in the north east, with an income to house price ratio of 3.9, compared with the regional average of 4.6. That means that housing prices are 3.9 times larger than annual salaries, compared with 4.6 times larger for the north east.

Relative affordability of lower quartile prices by district

 

Overcrowded housing is most prevalent in the Manor House and Headland & Harbour wards, where 7.1% of housing is overcrowded. For both Hart and Rural West this is less than 2%.

Overcrowded households

 

The 2014 Household Survey reviewed the extent to which households were satisfied with the state of repair of their dwellings. Overall 79.6% of respondents expressed satisfaction (43.1% were very satisfied and 36.5% were satisfied); 11.0% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied; a total of 9.4% expressed degrees of dissatisfaction, of whom 6.8% were dissatisfied and 2.6% were very dissatisfied.

Dissatisfaction with state of repair by sub area property tenure age and type

 

Within Hartlepool the greatest level of dissatisfaction was in Burn Valley where 1 in 5 were dissatisfied with the state of repair of their dwelling.

Current and future

HOUSING SERVICES ACROSS HBC – SEPTEMBER 2019

 

SERVICE AREA

COUNCIL DEPT/DIVISION

SERVICES PROVIDED

FUTURE INTENTIONS

ANTICIPATED TIMESCALE

Housing Strategy

R&N – Economic Growth and Regeneration

Housing Strategy and Action Plan (including the Homelessness Strategy)

To produce a separate Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy

March 2020

 

 

Registered Provider Liaison and Monitoring:

  • Local lettings
  • Nominations

 

 

 

 

Housing Partnership

 

 

 

 

Allocations Policy and waiting list management

New Tees Valley Lettings system

October 2019

 

 

Strategic Housing Market Assessment

Review the SHMA

Within 5 years

 

 

Housing Database and monitoring in relation to the Local Plan Monitoring Framework.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Housing Management

R&N – Economic Growth and Regeneration

Housing Market Regeneration

 

Develop and adopt a multi-agency Housing Regeneration Strategy

 

Oxford Road Regeneration Study to Regeneration Services Committee

By November 2020

 

 

 

October 2019

 

 

Housing Management of the Council’s Housing Stock:

  • Allocating
  • Letting
  • Rent collection
  • Arrears recovery
  • ASB
  • Repairs
  • Stock condition and planned Maintenance
  • Gas safety
  • Exchanges
  • Estate management
  • Housing Revenue Account management

 

 

 

Complete work to allow repairs reporting on-line.

 

 

 

March 2020

 

 

Development of Affordable Housing Stock:

  • New Build
  • Purchase & Repair of empty homes.
  • Housing Development on Council owned sites

Carry out the first development of affordable homes on a Council site.

March 2021

 

 

Empty Property Purchase Scheme (phase 3)

Acquire and refurbish an additional 8 empty homes.

March 2020

 

 

Social Lettings Agency (Quality Homes Lettings Agency)

 

 

 

 

Student Accommodation

Complete and occupy the student accommodation units at Avondene, Church Street

December 2019

 

 

Affordable Housing delivery through S106.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Private Sector Housing

R&N – Environment and Neighbourhoods

Housing Conditions

 

 

 

 

 

Insecure empty homes

 

 

 

 

Public health nuisances relating to housing

 

 

 

 

Enforcement of standards

 

 

 

 

Financial Assistance for owner-occupiers (Grants & Loans)

 

 

 

 

Houses in Multiple Occupation, e.g. bedsits, shared houses

 

 

 

 

Area Walkabouts

 

 

 

 

Unsightly dwellings

 

 

 

 

Energy Performance Certificates

 

 

 

 

Warm Up Hartlepool scheme

Continue to develop partnership working to attract funding to improve energy efficiency in homes

Ongoing until 2022

 

 

Fuel Poverty

Develop and link a fuel poverty strategy to the Council’s anti-poverty strategy

March 2020

 

 

 

 

 

Special Needs Housing

Adult and Community Based Services -Adult Social Care

Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) and Major Adaptations

 

 

 

 

Minor Adaptations and Handyman service

 

 

 

 

Rehousing Service for people with medical needs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Housing Advice

Childrens and Joint Commissioning Services – Prevention, Safeguarding and Specialist Services

Housing advice and homelessness prevention:

  • Homelessness relief
  • Duty to Refer
  • Rough Sleeper Assertive Outreach (pilot)

Rough Sleeper Count

Winter 2019

 

 

Private Rented Sector Tenancy Relations;

  • Landlord and tenant advice
  • Protection from Eviction
  • Mediation
  • Enforcement

 

 

 

 

Supported Housing

Coordination and Chair of Supported Housing Panels (Adults and Young people)

 

 

 

 

Selective Licensing

Evaluate the current Selective Licensing designation

July 2020

 

 

Good Tenants Scheme

Introduce an on-line service and tenant matching service

December 2020

 

 

VEMT (Vulnerable, Exploited, Missing or Trafficked children)

 

 

 

 

Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA)

 

 

 

 

Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC)

 

 

 

 

Safeguarding Boards (Child and Adults)

 

 

 

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