This meeting was scheduled to focus on the Camden Council Housing Revenue Account (HRA), service standards, participation, and an update on existing and future bids from Tenant and Resident Associations (TRAs). The meeting also included a number of information reports on a range of housing issues including heat metering, procurement, domestic abuse and neighbourhood working.

Housing Investment and Revenue Budgets

The report pack included reports from the Director of Property Services and the Cabinet Member for Better Homes, Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali, that provided details on the financial pressures facing Camden's HRA and the recently adopted Housing Investment Strategy.

The report pack described the long-standing financial strain on Camden's housing budget. The reports set out how historic underfunding, insufficient government support and rising costs for maintenance, repair and safety compliance mean that the HRA faces a significant deficit in the years ahead.

The reports from the Cabinet Member for Better Homes and the Director of Property Services noted an urgent need for the Council to invest in new, good quality homes and highlighted how the Housing Investment Strategy, through the Community Investment Programme and Camden Living, would increase the supply of social homes by 1,800 units. To support the aims of the Housing Investment Strategy, the report pack provided details of a five-year investment plan to improve the quality of the Council's existing 22,000 social rented homes and ensure that they meet safety and Decent Homes standards.

The report pack included the Council's proposed Housing Asset Management Strategy, which identified that an additional £670 million is needed to cover the cost of investment. These costs would cover, completing all fire safety work including work arising from the Building Safety Act 2022, achieving zero non-decency by ensuring all homes meet the Decent Homes Standard, making suitable investments in communal Mechanical & Electrical (M&E) systems, and attending to any other major capital repair works. The proposed Asset Management Strategy provided details on how this £670 million of investment would be delivered through the Capital Programme (Appendix B1) and outlined a proactive approach to managing the Council's housing stock.

Housing and Repairs Service Standards

The report pack contained a report from the Housing Policy and Change Lead that provided details of the newly developed Housing and Repairs Service Standards.

The report explained how service standards, a set of guidelines that detail what residents should expect from a service, provide a framework for teams delivering services to residents. The report outlined how these service standards were co-designed with residents and staff across the directorate.

The report explained how the standards outline the customer service approach for Housing and Repairs and set out service standards across six key touchpoints where residents may engage with housing services:

Finding a place to call home Safer and connected neighbourhoods Getting involved Resolving repairs Paying your rent When things go wrong

The report outlined that Housing and Repairs services would always work to meet these standards but acknowledged that there may be circumstances that prevent the directorate from doing so.

The report noted that Camden Council would actively track compliance with the Housing and Repairs Service Standards through satisfaction surveys, including the annual Tenant Satisfaction Survey, performance monitoring systems, publication of service performance, monitoring and review of complaints, inspection of homes and estates and conversations with residents.

Housing and Repairs Participation Redesign

A report from the Head of Property Customer Service and Engagement in the report pack shared details of the proposed redesign of tenant participation in Camden, a move described as a renewed approach for participation in Camden.

The report explained how Camden is responding to the new regulatory requirements for social housing set out in the Charter for Social Housing Residents. The report outlined how these regulations, the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, require landlords to:

give tenants a wide range of meaningful opportunities to influence and scrutinise their landlord’s strategies, policies and services

The report outlined how Camden would work with DMCs, TRAs and residents to grow local networks, build new relationships and support social action. The report also noted how Camden would support TRAs through the provision of information and ‘how to guides’, and by investing in five ‘Community Champions’ projects.

The report explained how the Tenant Participation and Property Consultation and Engagement teams would be merged into a unified Engagement Service, organised according to Camden's five Neighbourhoods. This would mean that each Neighbourhood would have a dedicated Engagement Officer, responsible for supporting TRAs, DMCs and the delivery of ten annual Neighbourhood Action Days. The report described the intention to bring this unified Engagement Service under a new Neighbourhoods model. The report outlined how the Neighbourhoods model would:

bring council services, community organisations, and residents closer together

DMC Budgets, Bids and TRA Activities

The report pack included a report from the Tenant Participation Coordinator that provided an update on the Holborn DMC budget for 2024/2025 and details on existing and new bids. The report noted that the total budget for the year was £141,920, of which £43,020.51 had been approved, leaving a balance of £98,899.49 available.

The report included details on two new bids for consideration, these were: *A request from Brunswick TRA for £12,050 to fill 72 planters on O'Donnell Court and Foundling Court with soil and plants, which had been requested by residents. *A request from Tybalds Close TRA for £9,855 to redecorate the fencing along Blemundsbury Windmill passage and around the Rose Garden.

In addition to these bids, the report pack contained details of a request from the Holborn DMC for £26,575 to fund the purchase of three rapid deployable CCTV cameras, and a bid from Medway Court TRA for a total of £12,069 to cover the cost of painting communal areas (£3,175), rejuvenating the communal garden (£3,902), and jet washing walls in communal areas (£4,992). The report pack also included details of a request from Seymour House TRA for £5,664.72, which would cover the cost of replacing flooring in the lift, installing cycle rack planters, replacing noticeboards, deep cleaning the communal stairwells and entrances, and repainting the entrance doors.

The report provided details on the process for applying for bids, eligibility criteria and outlined how unspent funds can not usually be carried forward from one year to the next.

Procurement Act 2023

The report pack contained a report from the Director of Property Services that provided information about the Procurement Act 2023. The report noted that the Act went live in February 2025 and outlined how it consolidated a range of existing procurement legislation into a single Act. The report noted how the Act:

introduces a new procurement regime

The report included slides (Appendix) that summarised the main changes the Act would bring, including new procurement objectives, new transparency duties, a new Central Digital Platform, new procurement routes and conditions, new requirements for contract management and a central debarment list for excluded suppliers.

Heat Metering Update

The report pack included a report from the Director of Property Services that provided information about the Council's heat metering programme since 2009. The report outlined how Camden Council would have over 5,000 heat meters installed by the end of 2025 and explained how the programme has been delivered through four phases.

The report outlined how the Regulations were amended in 2020 and a new cost effectiveness tool published. The report noted how the Council applied the tool to identify 150 homes still needing to be metered, prioritised under Phase 4. The report explained how the cost-effective tool exercise was being updated in 2025 and that the new tool may:

likely be scrapped and replaced with a policy that requires more homes to be heat metered

The report noted that:

75% of tenants are financially better off being on a heat metered charge vs the Heating Pool

The report outlined how the speed of future installations would depend on updates to legislation, budget, resource, supplier constraints, and resident access issues.

Housing and Domestic Abuse

The report pack contained a report on Housing and Domestic Abuse from the Senior Policy Officer Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

The report outlined the Council's work to achieve Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) Accreditation and provided an overview of the work undertaken over the last year to achieve this aim, including the development of new DVA policies and procedures across the directorate, the launch of a DVA Early Detectors Network for frontline staff, and work to embed a multi-agency approach to DVA perpetrator intervention.

The report described the co-production work undertaken with residents to develop a resident-facing DVA Housing Policy and a ‘Know Your Rights’ handbook, with a launch date of early 2025. The report set out how the policy would provide a clear outline of the housing and homelessness support available to DVA survivors, and a rights-based approach to housing support.

The report provided details of the work underway across the Housing Directorate to embed DVA specialist roles, develop a trauma-informed, survivor-led approach to working with survivors of domestic abuse, and deliver a new specialist learning programme for Housing and Homelessness Prevention Advisors.

The report outlined how the Council would embed domestic abuse expertise into the allocations process by establishing a DVA Points Assessment Panel.

The report also included an update on the 'Know You’re Not Alone’ community-wide domestic abuse awareness campaign, which was launched in November 2024. The report detailed how the campaign featured nine DVA awareness posters, digital comms across social media and the website, print and an in-person workshop series. The report highlighted how the campaign aimed to:

raise awareness of the support available to people in Camden who are experiencing or at risk of domestic violence and abuse and to build awareness of the signs of abuse

Property Management Update

The report pack included a report from the Director of Property Services that provided an update on the priorities for the division in 2025. The report outlined a range of priority areas, these included: *Delivering the Council’s remaining fire risk assessment actions by the end of December 2025. *Implementing new laws and regulations, including ‘Awaab’s Law’. *Fully implementing new repairs systems, Madetech and ROCC. *Implementing the new Housing Investment Strategy and Asset Management Strategy. *Continuing to implement improvements to complaints handling. *Implementing new service standards. *Continuing service improvements to repairs. *Completing the Chalcots Major Works Project. *Progressing the retrofit of Council homes through grant-funded projects. *Re-procuring the Council’s M&E contracts covering communal heating, lifts, electrical services, and lighting. *Considering the insourcing of individual heating repairs and servicing.

The report also included a list of senior managers within the Property Management Division.

CCTV Programme Update

The report pack contained a report from the Director of Property Services that provided an update on the CCTV upgrade programme.

The report noted that work to build the new CCTV WIFI network had been completed and that the installation of High Definition cameras was ongoing. The report outlined the progress to date, noting that:

Of the 55 estates that were identified for upgrade, 29 (53%) estates have already been completed

The report described how the Council operates CCTV surveillance for the purpose of detecting and deterring crime and outlined the process for assessing new installations.

The report noted that for estates not currently on the network, a quotation would need to be obtained and confirmation sought on the Council's ability to forward fund any installations. It was also noted that if funding could be accommodated, tenants and leaseholders would need to be consulted on a service charge levy to cover the costs.

Neighbourhood working update – Housing and Communities Team

The report pack contained a report from the Principle Policy and Projects Officer that provided an update on the development of Neighbourhood working in Housing and Community Teams.

The report described Neighbourhood working as bringing Camden teams and staff closer together, and noted how the approach was a response to the challenges of 'siloed' team structures. The report outlined how Neighbourhood working would help Camden achieve its Neighbourhood vision:

In Camden, people and place lead the way...Our services are local, connected and built on relationships, enabling people to find solutions

The report provided details on the five geographical neighbourhoods Camden has established: North, East, West, Central and South, and described how Camden had established themed ‘clusters’ of services, with Housing and Communities as one of these clusters. The report described how the first phase of establishing a Housing and Communities Neighbourhood Team has begun at Holmes Road Depot in Kentish Town, and outlined the three main components of this team building: *Developing new collaborative rhythms and rituals. *Co-location and team building activities. *A flexible, delegated budget.

The report also described how the geographical reach of this team would expand to all three wards in the east.

DMC Registration and Elections

The report pack contained information about the registered TRAs for the Holborn area (Appendix A) and listed those TRAs whose registrations had lapsed (Appendix B).

The report pack included details of the election process for DMC committee officers, which were scheduled to take place at the June 2025 meeting, and the nomination forms for Chair and Vice-Chair.

The meeting was also scheduled to consider the minutes from previous meetings held on Tuesday 3 December 2024 and Wednesday 8 January 2025 and set the dates for future meetings for 2025/2026.

It is important to note that this article only summarises what was scheduled for discussion in the meeting pack and we do not have any information on whether these items were discussed or any decisions made.