Agenda item

To receive an update on progress on the Housing Enforcement Policy that has been in operation since July 2018.

Members considered the update on the progress on Housing Enforcement Policy.  Dan Horn, Jo Evans and Councillor Hoy were welcomed to the meeting.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

• Councillor Miscandlon thanked the team for their report stating that it was very comprehensive and deserved merit.
• Councillor Booth made the point that Members had previously asked to receive tracked change documents and wanted officers to continue doing so. He stated that the principles on when to take enforcement action may be more useful as one appendix at the back for presentation as they seemed to be repeated throughout the policy.
• Councillor Hoy outlined the changes that had happened across the service in the past few years and how this was reflected in the policy. She informed the panel that they now have a different way of working after employing a further two officers through funding from controlling migration and that these new officers had been utilised for door knocking and taking action which had helped improve housing standards. Councillor Hoy explained that most of the work had been focused on Wisbech as this had been where the funding had been allocated and where the most work was required and that despite the fund running out they had wanted to keep the officers on and that this had been a reason behind introducing fining. She explained that the fines had been aimed at individuals who were breaking the law and needed to be fined and that the profits from this had then been used to fund the service, with the new approach working well with several fines having been served with no issues or problems. Councillor Hoy stated that they had not been served when they had not needed to be and that all tribunals had been successful up to date, with the team having all done a great job and she wanted to thank them for this. She explained that one big change had been the introduction of energy performance certificates and that they can now fine landlords that do not have these in place. Councillor Hoy informed the panel that the role of the Empty Homes Officer was also now reflected in the policy, with the policy having proven successful and hoped that it would continue to be.
• Councillor Hay stated that there was a team visiting households as part of the Ukrainian hosting scheme and asked whether this was impacting on the day-to-day work. Jo Evans explained that there had been around 30 visits so far and that Housing Officers had done extra hours outside of work for this so it had not impacted their normal role. Dan Horn explained that costs for the work being undertaken would be recovered from the Government scheme.
• Councillor Miscandlon asked whether there had been an increase in overall inspections due to Covid and whether the inspections were random or intelligence led. Jo Evans informed him that they worked using both but that they prioritised intelligence from organisations such as the Police and self-references from residents. Councillor Miscandlon asked whether they had seen an increase in the number of reports regarding landlords being negligent and blaming it on Covid. Jo Evans explained that the team had to understand that contractors were hard to acquire during Covid and that the electrical legislation change also resulted in a surge for contractors, which had meant that the team had been quite lenient in letting them hit compliance by 2021 if they could provide email trails to show that they could not get contractors due to Covid. She stated that there had been less property inspections during Covid due to the restrictions on entering properties but that this work had picked up as soon as they were permitted to. 
• Councillor Mason asked whether the amount for the fines were fixed statutorily or whether there was a level of movement on the amount of fine allowed. Councillor Hoy explained that there was a matrix set out in the document depending on the level of severity and that this would be assessed when the officers served the fine. She informed the Panel than Dan Horn undertook the next check and that an extra test was in place to make sure the fine had been scored correctly. Councillor Mason asked whether the income was recycled back into service. Councillor Hoy confirmed that it was.
• Councillor Booth queried whether the policy report should fall under Licensing Committee going forward due to their experience of looking at similar policies. Councillor Hoy agreed that there was no reason as to why it should not go to Licensing Committee but that the item was on the work programme for Overview and Scrutiny. She stated that she was happy as long as the report was out there in the public domain to allow people to pass comment and make corrections as needed. Councillor Hoy explained that going forward she was keen to bring the subject of support to landlords before the panel to scrutinise whether there was more that they could do in this area, clarifying that landlords were providing a service and that private landlords were needed in Fenland. She noted the concerns regarding changes down the road for landlords, giving the example of HMO landlords who must pay the bills for the property and provide minimum standards of heat and stated that this can be hard due to the recent increase in energy costs causing some to struggle to pay the bills and then get fined for not doing so. Councillor Hoy explained that they did not want to lose these landlords as this would result in extra people to house. She made the point that there were always unintended issues with policy making and said that they were keen to look at ways to mitigate these. Councillor Booth explained that the panel were not a decision-making committee whereas Licensing were but agreed that it would be valuable to look at support areas for landlords.
• Councillor Miscandlon asked what was being done to encourage landlords to come to Fenland. Councillor Hoy explained that they do a lot with speaking to landlords and assisting with property searching but they were working with a very small team. She said that ideas were good to hear along with any suggestions on how to implement them and stated that this was an area worth exploring.

The update on progress on Housing Enforcement Policy was noted for information.

(Councillor Count left the meeting for the duration of the item due to a conflict of interest)