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.
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.
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.
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.
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%.
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.
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 |
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Registered Provider Liaison and Monitoring:
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Housing Partnership |
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Allocations Policy and waiting list management |
New Tees Valley Lettings system |
October 2019 |
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Strategic Housing Market Assessment |
Review the SHMA |
Within 5 years |
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Housing Database and monitoring in relation to the Local Plan Monitoring Framework. |
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Housing Management |
R&N – Economic Growth and Regeneration |
Housing Market Regeneration
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Develop and adopt a multi-agency Housing Regeneration Strategy
Oxford Road Regeneration Study to Regeneration Services Committee |
By November 2020
October 2019 |
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Housing Management of the Council’s Housing Stock:
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Complete work to allow repairs reporting on-line. |
March 2020 |
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Development of Affordable Housing Stock:
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Carry out the first development of affordable homes on a Council site. |
March 2021 |
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Empty Property Purchase Scheme (phase 3) |
Acquire and refurbish an additional 8 empty homes. |
March 2020 |
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Social Lettings Agency (Quality Homes Lettings Agency) |
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Student Accommodation |
Complete and occupy the student accommodation units at Avondene, Church Street |
December 2019 |
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Affordable Housing delivery through S106. |
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Private Sector Housing |
R&N – Environment and Neighbourhoods |
Housing Conditions
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Insecure empty homes |
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Public health nuisances relating to housing |
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Enforcement of standards |
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Financial Assistance for owner-occupiers (Grants & Loans) |
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Houses in Multiple Occupation, e.g. bedsits, shared houses |
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Area Walkabouts |
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Unsightly dwellings |
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Energy Performance Certificates |
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Warm Up Hartlepool scheme |
Continue to develop partnership working to attract funding to improve energy efficiency in homes |
Ongoing until 2022 |
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Fuel Poverty |
Develop and link a fuel poverty strategy to the Council’s anti-poverty strategy |
March 2020 |
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Special Needs Housing |
Adult and Community Based Services -Adult Social Care |
Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) and Major Adaptations |
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Minor Adaptations and Handyman service |
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Rehousing Service for people with medical needs |
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Housing Advice |
Childrens and Joint Commissioning Services – Prevention, Safeguarding and Specialist Services |
Housing advice and homelessness prevention:
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Rough Sleeper Count |
Winter 2019 |
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Private Rented Sector Tenancy Relations;
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Supported Housing Coordination and Chair of Supported Housing Panels (Adults and Young people) |
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Selective Licensing |
Evaluate the current Selective Licensing designation |
July 2020 |
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Good Tenants Scheme |
Introduce an on-line service and tenant matching service |
December 2020 |
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VEMT (Vulnerable, Exploited, Missing or Trafficked children) |
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Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) |
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Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) |
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Safeguarding Boards (Child and Adults) |
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