Richmond upon Thames Council has unanimously adopted a new policy aimed at tackling homelessness and reducing the cost of temporary accommodation.
The Private Rented Sector Offer Policy, approved by the Adult Social Services, Health and Housing Committee, will provide a framework for assisting individuals and families facing homelessness to secure settled accommodation in the private rented sector.
This policy is designed to discharge the council's main homelessness duty by helping people find accommodation that can be reasonably occupied for at least six months. It is expected to be implemented immediately.
Key aspects of the policy include a thorough suitability assessment for any offered accommodation, ensuring it is affordable, meets the household's physical and medical needs, and is located within a reasonable distance of essential services like schools. For primary school children, a guideline of 45 minutes is used for travel to school, and for secondary school children, 75 minutes. However, this is a guideline and each case is assessed on its own merits. For other facilities like health or support networks, a 90-minute journey time is considered, again assessed on individual circumstances.
Households will have the right to request a review if they believe an offer is unsuitable, with further legal appeal options available. If a household is still not satisfied after a review, they can seek a legal appeal through the courts on a point of law, with eligibility for legal aid typically available.
The financial implications of the policy are significant, with projected savings estimated to rise from £40,000 in the first year to £1.92 million by 2029-30. The full realization of these savings is projected for the financial year 2029-30, with interim savings of £590,000 expected in 2027-28 and £1.39 million in 2028-29. These savings are based on an estimated 48 private rented sector offers per year, benchmarked against similar London authorities.
The policy also aligns with the Renters' Rights Act, requiring landlords and letting agents to be fit and proper persons. The council will check this through landlord databases, Companies House records, and by reviewing any outstanding prosecution or criminal records. If a landlord or letting agent has flags against them in these areas, they will no longer be able to act as a landlord.
The council's strategy for ensuring the availability of suitable private rental properties involves working with letting agents and landlords to find these properties. They verify tenancies, check the condition and suitability of properties, ensure landlords are 'fit and proper', and help sustain tenancies.
While the council's formal contractual relationship with landlords ends upon accommodation offer, officers will aim to maintain contact to intervene if a tenancy is at risk, as part of their prevention duty. Support services will also be available to help households maximise their income, access welfare benefits, and find employment or additional working hours, which can increase their housing options.
Paul Chadwick, Executive Director of Resident Services, highlighted the policy as a crucial part of a wider homelessness transformation programme. Our real aim is to make the whole service that much better for anyone in the borough who is at risk of homeless or who is already homeless,
he stated. We're doing our level best to provide them a much more certain service, a much more helpful service, one that's not so crowded, so chaotic, frankly.
Councillor Chris Varley, Lead Member for Housing, emphasised the policy's immediate implementability, stating, this particular policy that we're going to look at is one which is going to set the direction of travel for the Council in dealing with our temporary accommodation costs.
Further details on the committee meeting can be found in the public reports pack and the agenda frontsheet.
