Minutes:
Rob Mills, the Regional Housing Director, Accent South gave a presentation on the Accent Group, its governance, the work of the Group in Surrey Heath and local initiatives/joint working with the Council.
The Accent Group was a national Housing Association with Headquarters in Yorkshire, but the biggest number of properties managed were in Surrey Heath and Accent South had an office in Camberley. The Housing Association’s structures were functional rather than geographical, with 3 Directorates and a single Accent Board and Executive, leading to quick and clear decision making.
A Regional Customer Services Committee focussed on service delivery, value for money, improvements to property management/maintenance and influencing local decision making. Councillor Colin Dougan was an active member of this committee.
The Accent Group had over 20,000 properties. In Surrey Heath, its stock consisted of 3,000 dwellings and 700 garages. The main targets for the Group were delivering effective services, providing value for money, as well as improving housing management and property maintenance.
In terms of its customers, with a staff of 47, including 8 housing officers with their own ‘patches’, one home ownership officer and one supported housing officer, and a contact centre which dealt with 80% of all contacts, Accent was committed to provide high quality services.
Accent offered a range of tenure types including social rent (65% or market value), affordable rent (80% of market value), starter tenancies, assured tenancies, temporary accommodation, sheltered accommodation, shared ownership and leasehold.
The Group was working jointly with partner agencies in Surrey Heath on a Joint Housing Register/Allocations policy, temporary accommodation and down-sizing projects. All new tenants started on fixed 12 month tenancies, before moving onto more secure ‘assured’ tenancies. The Group currently continued to issue lifetime tenancies. Temporary accommodation could last for anything from 6 to 12 months.
Accent had evicted 10 single people and 3 families from properties in the previous year, of which one was due to anti-social behaviour and the remainder due to rent arrears.
In terms of anti-social behaviour (ASB), the group had a number of measures in place and was building an ever closer relationship with partner agencies to reduce the impact thereof. In addition to address existing ASB, the Group employed 2 tenancy support officers to assist those flagged up as being most at risk of becoming involved in ASB. It also had a community fund (£10,000 per annum) available for grants of up to £2,000 with the main criteria being benefits to Accent customers.
Mr Mills listed a number of achievements in the previous year, including the development of 175 new homes in Runnymede, 175 tenants being supported under tenancy sustainability, investment in the community and disposal of stock in Kent, which generated a capital receipt for investment in new housing locally. In terms of challenges, he listed the impact of welfare reforms, the lack of new affordable housing and difficulties renting out or re-developing 700 garages in the Borough due to restrictions imposed by the Special Protection Area (SPA). Reductions in rent, ‘pay to stay’ for those households with combined earnings of more than £30,000, the compulsory introduction of fixed term tenancies, welfare caps and the extension of ‘Right to Buy’, would set further testing challenges for Housing Associations.
In response to Members’ questions, Mr Mills noted the following:
(i) Housing Allocation – In terms of the allocation of Housing Association built/rented properties in the Borough, the actual organisation purchasing/building had no impact on the allocation, as 100% of all new lets were nominated by the Council. Shared ownership went locally in the first instance and was only offered further afield if there was no local take-up. Some accommodation would be allocated to those fleeing domestic abuse, but, again, the majority of this allocation was from Surrey Heath.
Accent was in competition with other housing associations when bidding for available land. Sometimes, for developments such as Deepcut, the numbers of units would be too high for an individual Housing Association and Accent would bid in partnership with other Groups.
(ii) Temporary Accommodation – Kitchens and bathrooms in Temporary accommodation were due to be renovated this year, but the available accommodation was basic.
(iii) Mental Wellbeing/Disability - Housing Officers would initially assist those with mental wellbeing issues or disabilities, but support officers could be called in and the officers liaised closely with the Community Mental Health Team and related charities. There would be additional training for staff on this area of work within the next 12 months.
(iv) Challenges – Accent, like other providers were heavily impacted upon by the Special Protection Area and the Group had concerns around the percentage of affordable/social housing which would come forward following the recent easing of planning regulations.
(v) Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) – Mr Mills accepted difficulties in addressing issues around ASB, noting that the example of a Mytchett tenant who was finally evicted after 7 years of complaints, whilst an exceptional case, was a failing. Measures had been put in place subsequently and Accent worked closely with partner organisations, including Surrey Police, to expedite any necessary measures in a more timely fashion. However, if it is necessary to take action through the courts, the timescales would be 6 to 9 months and often, outcomes would depend on affected people coming forward.
(vi) Maintenance – An example was given of a resident living with serious mould issues in an Accent property for a number of months. Mr Mills noted that this was as a result of a structural issue, but that Accent accepted that the delay had been unacceptable. The matter had now been rectified to the tenant’s satisfaction.
Mr Mills emphasised that emergencies should be turned round inside 24 hours and urgent repairs sorted within 5 days. Accent currently met the required standards for 95 -96% of its properties.
RESOLVED, that
(i) the presentation be noted;
(ii) the Group be invited to provide an update to a future meeting.
Note: Councillor Colin Dougan declared a disclosable pecuniary interest as he was the Council’s representative on Accent South and received remuneration. He was, however, attending to support the Regional Manager.