Knowsley Private Landlord Forum Thursday 22 nd November

Knowsley Private Landlord Forum Thursday 22 nd November 2012

Agenda • Landlords Guide to Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) Dan Donovan (Senior Housing Enforcement Officer, Knowsley MBC) • Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week – Safety Advice Tony Brunt (Chairman, Carbon Monoxide Awareness Ltd) • Selective Licensing Consultation – Bluebell Estate, Huyton Alan Broadbent (Group Manager – Housing, Knowsley MBC) • Proposed Changes to Council Tax Benefit Bernie Benbow (Revenues Manager – Housing, Knowsley MBC)

Housing Health and Safety Rating System How does it work and how do we use it Dan Donovan Senior Housing Enforcement Officer

Before we start A few short comments on what Housing Enforcement do. • We are not “on the tenant’s side” • Nor are we on the landlord’s side • Our duty is to protect people from harm • We work just as closely with yourselves as we do with tenants • We have a common sense approach and find it more beneficial to work with people rather than against them. • We do have powers that we can use and will do if we need to

Before we start Conversations we would like to avoid having: Landlord- “Tell me what to do and I’ll do it” Housing Enforcement- “I want you to comply with your legal responsibilities under housing law” Landlord- “If you put it in writing I’ll do it” Housing Enforcement- “Where should I send the formal notice and the invoice for £ 480? ”

What are the landlords responsibilities? The landlord is always responsible for repairs to: • the property’s structure and exterior • basins, sinks, baths and other sanitary fittings including pipes and drains • heating and hot water • gas appliances, pipes, flues and ventilation • electrical wiring • any damage they cause through attempting repairs

What is the HHSRS? “An approved system for assessing housing conditions and enforcing housing standards” • The Housing Health and Safety Rating System is part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 • It is a risk based assessment that uses a numerical scale (instead of a straight pass or fail test)

How does the HHSRS fit with other LA enforcement sections? • The Planning Department • Building Control • Housing Enforcement All work to in partnership to ensure that housing is fit for the purpose it is intended for. Get housing right, everything else should follow.

How does the HHSRS fit with other LA sections? The Planning department decides developmental control and is the means by which an area is allowed to ‘work’ in a manner that is acceptable and appropriate. In short, Planning makes sure it looks good

How does the HHSRS fit with other LA sections? Building Control ensures that construction methods used in building comply with building legislation Sometimes people try to go their own way

How does the HHSRS fit with other LA sections? Housing Enforcement works mainly in the private rented sector, but not exclusively. The Housing Act 2004 is tenure neutral and a growing part of our work is giving advice to owner occupiers and working with RSLs to ensure they effect repairs in a timely fashion

How does the HHSRS fit with other LA sections? Planning lets it happen Building control makes sure it is built properly Housing Enforcement prevents it from harming people, including visitors to the property The HHSRS is our main tool to ensure that housing is safe for occupation

What came before • Housing Act 1985 • Fitness Standard (Section 604) • Pass or fail test • Failure meant ‘unfit for human habitation’ • No room for manoeuvre • Limited range of options • Officers fell into a complacent comfort zone

The main difference between S. 604 (the fitness standard) and the HHSRS…………. • The Fitness Standard looked at the structural condition of the property……The defect • The HHSRS looks at the risks to the health and safety of the occupants……The effect of the defect

So why do we use numbers? Housing hazards differ widely - • Dampness and cold are insidious, slow and can lead to chronic conditions. • To put it bluntly, cold kills the old

So why numbers? Falls and trips are unexpected and can happen quickly, sometimes with serious consequences.

So why numbers? Noise is unlikely to be fatal……. But can still cause major problems Quite often for the noisemaker So numbers allow comparison of different hazards

Little or no chance of an event occurring Almost definitely will happen 50/50 You will eat and drink too much over the Christmas holiday Fuel prices at the pumps will fall sharply Liverpool will finish in the premiership top ten The important thing is not to get a ‘correct’ number but for us to be able to justify our decision HHSRS Guidance gives us the ability to do so

So why numbers? • Numbers let us display statistical data in an understandable format • Numbers allow us to take account of the potential frequency of an occurrence • Performance Indicators love numbers • But don’t get hung up on the numbers! • You rate things more often than you think

So what do we do when we inspect your properties • We take a methodical approach. We now have to consider everything within the curtailage of the property, not just the building. • A consistent approach leads to consistent results • The main two things we consider (apart from the property condition obviously)…. v How would I feel if I lived here and; v somewhere in the middle lies the truth

My general approach when inspecting a property • • • Front elevation and external condition of roof Front garden and side elevation. Any outbuildings and boundaries to the front and side. Ground floor front to rear Basement/cellar if present Rear garden and rear elevation. Any outbuildings and boundaries to the rear. First storey front to rear. Subsequent storeys in sequence

My general approach when inspecting a property • I also ask lots of questions of the occupants as they know a lot more about the property than I do • I Draw a plan. Not to be to scale but it helps me with my assessment • I TAKE LOTS AND LOTS OF PHOTOS (a good picture really is worth a thousand words)

Well annotated Plans and Photographs make our actions a whole lot easier to justify Halogen light (not selv) in zone 2 Ceiling lowered ‘to make bathroom warm’ Average 6 ft student Untreated plasterboard strip Shower tray raised ‘to allow drainage’

Where does the landlord’s responsibility end? Next to a tap It’s a deep fat fryer With a fire extinguisher hidden in the corner How could this have avoided? On top of a microwave Balanced on a plastic bucket

It’s not all office work and phone calls Housing Enforcement can be challenging work

What are looking for during our inspections The short answer is signs of anything unusual. There are 29 specific hazards listed in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) The most common hazards we encounter are: • Damp and Mould Growth • Excess cold • Falls between levels • Falls on stairs • Electrical safety • Asbestos (artex panic) • Fire • Explosions (lack of a gas safety record) • Entry by intruders

Where can you find out more about the HHSRS and being a responsible landlord? Guidance for Landlords and Property Related Professionals https: //www. gov. uk/government/uploads/system/u ploads/attachment_data/file/9425/150940. pdf

Where can you find out more about the HHSRS and being a responsible landlord? • Guidance that Housing Enforcement Officers use • http: //webarchive. nationalarchives. gov. uk/20120919132719/www. communitie s. gov. uk/documents/housing/pdf/142631. pdf

Where can you find out more about the HHSRS and being a responsible landlord? http: //www. anuk. org. uk/Information/Landlord. Handbo ok/Landlord_trainingmanual_web. pdf Google: ANUK Guide or go to the above website

Any Questions? dan. donovan@knowsley. gov. uk Housing Enforcement Team 0151 443 4712

Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week 19 th – 23 rd November 2012 Carbon Monoxide Awareness Ltd Aintree Community Fire Station, Longmoor Lane, Aintree, Liverpool L 9 0 EN General & Victim Enquires Telephone: 07715 899 296 (Lynn) Email: lynn@covictim. org Technical Enquiries Telephone: 07711 079 428 (Tony) Email: tony@covictim. org Website: www. covictim. org

Selective Licensing Consultation Bluebell Estate, Huyton Alan Broadbent Group Manager, Housing – Knowsley MBC

Agenda • Selective Licensing Overview • Proposed Area • Consultation Process & Timeline • Questions

Selective Licensing Criteria In relation to antisocial behaviour the LA must be satisfied that ‘the area is experiencing a significant and persistent problem caused by antisocial behaviour and that some or all of the private sector landlords have let premises in the area and are failing to take action to combat the problem that it would be appropriate for them to take’ Section 80 Housing Act 2004

Landlord Implications • PRS Landlords will be required to have a licence • The landlord will have to be satisfy the LA that he/she is ‘fit and proper’ and that they have appropriate management practises in place – landlords can be excluded • Licensed Landlords meeting requirements will be bound to comply with the licence conditions • Criminal offence to fail to licence a property (Max £ 20 K fine) and for failure to comply with conditions (£ 5 K) • Rent payment orders

Councils Implications • Requires Management arrangements in circumstances where the landlords fails to licence, is refused or a licence is revoked • Requires either the Council or any agent to manage the property • Council would need a budget to front fund all costs e. g. consultation, set up/running, insurance, maintenance, renovations etc • Excess rent after costs payable to landlord – they can challenge accounts

Financial Implications • Landlords would be charged a licensing fee per property • Licence fees should only cover the set up and running of the scheme • Evidence from schemes Nationally indicate that full costs are rarely recovered in full

Selective Licensing Map

• • • • • Adswood Road Alamein Road Alexander Green Anzio Road Ardennes Road Arnhem Road Atkinson Grove Bakers Green Road Bluebell Lane Bower Road Brookwood Road Coppice Crescent Derna Road Fullerton Grove Geneva Close Glade Road Horrocks Close • • • • • Ironside Road Lester Grove Liverpool Road Malta Close Montgomery Road Mossbrow Road North Atlantic Close Northwood Road Paxton Road Reeds Road Rome Close Rotherham Close Salerno Drive Slim Road Tobruk Road Wavell Road Wellcroft Road

Consultation Timeline

Questions Further Information: http: //www. knowsley. gov. uk/residents/housin g/selective-licensing. aspx

Council Tax Technical Reforms Bernie Benbow Revenues Manager – Knowsley MBC

Local Government Funding • £ 30 m plus spending cuts in last 2 years • £ 37 m over next 2 years • Services provided directly by the council – net expenditure of around £ 117 m (2012/2013)

Localism Agenda • Local retention of Business Rates • Local council tax support scheme • Technical Reforms of council tax

Local retention of Business Rates • Currently collect around £ 42 m of business rates • National Pool – redistributed • New Scheme – base line; surplus/deficit is shared with central government

Local Council Tax Support Scheme • • Replaces council tax benefit Part of the welfare benefit reform Currently £ 20. 3 m is paid as council tax benefit Minimum 10% reduction in funding from April 2013 • Protection for pensioners • Working age claimants may pay up to 20%

Technical Reforms of Council Tax • Currently Class A (Vacant Property); major repair exempt up to 12 months • Currently Class C (Vacant Property); vacant exempt up to 6 months • Both classes – 50% charge after period of exemption • 2 nd Homes – 50% charge

Technical Reforms of Council Tax • From April 2013 Classes A & C can have the exemption removed & replaced with a discount anywhere between 0% & 100% • The current 50% discount on empty homes can be replaced with a discount of 0% • Many neighbouring authorities already charge full council tax

Technical Reforms of Council Tax • 2 nd Homes discount can be reduced to 0% • Neighbouring authorities already have reduced the discount to 10% • Long term empty (over 2 years) can be charged a 50% premium

Technical Reforms of Council Tax • Consultation on council tax support scheme had over 70% respondents agreeing that the removal of discounts on empty homes would encourage owners to let or sell

Technical Reforms of Council Tax • Consultation of technical reforms was loaded on our landlords portal & web site • It reduced the discounts to the minimum for all classes • Comments & observations received have led to a review

Technical Reforms of Council Tax • Considering a one month exemption for Class A & Class C • Considering a 75%; 90% or 100% charge after the 31 day period • There will be 100% charge after Class A & Class C have expired • The premium on long term empty properties (over 2 years) – further Government consultation.

Technical Reforms of Council Tax • Decision will be made by Members in January 2013 • Support the Empty Homes Strategy • Affordable

Questions ? ? ?