Council and democracy

The report on pages 17 – 28 was presented by Dulal Ahmed.

The Chair questioned the process of identifying the 2,738 Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) for investigation; the number of suitable and unsuitable HMOs in Thurrock; and whether there was a process in which extra powers could be given to the service similar to other Local Authorities (LAs) as outlined in paragraph 6.3. Dulal Ahmed explained that 2,738 HMOs were estimated through a Property Identification Exercise that looked at council tax records, parking permits and electoral registers which showed names of more than three people living within a property. East Tilbury and South Ockendon showed a lower number of licensed HMOs than Grays, Aveley and Purfleet-on-Thames. The service aimed to visit properties for investigation once lockdown restrictions eased. A selective licensing property identification exercise would also be undertaken for further checks on corporate ownership dwellings purchased in the Borough for shared housing and privately rented.

(Clerk’s note – the Chair allowed other Committee Members to ask questions before the rest of his questions were answered.)

Councillor Redsell pointed out that not every person in a household registered on the electoral register and asked how often were HMOs visited to check the number of people living there. Dulal Ahmed answered that it was a legal requirement for anyone over the age of 18 to register on the electoral roll and a separate team in the Council managed this. He said that the electoral register had been reliable in identifying unlicensed HMOs.

Councillor Worrall questioned why the Council did not include the building of HMOs within the Local Plan as this would allow the Council to manage their HMOs. She also said that HMOs were needed for a wider age group that included middle aged people too. Dulal Ahmed explained that the service was working closely with the Children’s Services Team on the Head Start Programme to procure HMOs in the Borough for young care leavers. Andrew Millard added that the consultation on the Local Plan would provide data and evidence to ensure that the right mix of housing was identified to meet the demands and needs within the Borough.

The Committee questioned why there were only 147 licensed HMOs and if a target, such as a KPI, had been set for the number of properties to be licensed to enable the assessment of the service. Dulal Ahmed answered that the law on HMOs had changed in October 2019 to include properties that had 5 unrelated people sharing an entire house/flat which would require a license. Since the change, the service had published the landlord’s licensing requirement and the Private Housing Team was expanded to meet the level of this demand too. Over the last three years, the service had licensed 142 properties compared to five in 2017/18. Carol Hinvest said that a target could be set for the service at the start of the next financial year.

The Committee raised concerns on the lack of supervision over 16 year olds living in HMOs and that more information on HMOs should be provided to Ward Councillors. The Committee also questioned what the income from licensing fees and fines were used for and the number of staff within the team to manage HMOs. Officers explained that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government awarded private housing funding to inspect young care leaver homes to ensure that these properties and children were safe. Other LAs were placing children in HMO care homes within Thurrock and the Private Housing Team wanted to ensure a better working partnership with LAs on this and also to improve housing conditions for young care leavers. The income from licensing fees and fines were ring fenced and invested back into the service to help maintain and improve the service’s work and there were currently 12 staff members in the private housing team.

RESOLVED:

Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted and commented on the report.