Purpose

To provide an update and summary of the Local
Authority Housing Fund programme, round 1 and 2, and to accept the
allocated funding under the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF)
Round 3.

Content

The
Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Economy and Place /
Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing, which sought approval
to accept and spend the Local Authority Housing Fund, Round 3
(LAHF3).
 
The
Head of Strategic Housing (People) and the Principal Officer
(People) were in 
attendance to present the information and to answer the
questions of the Cabinet Members.
 
Officers informed that the Local Authority Housing Fund, round
3 (LAHF3) had been launched in March
2024. The details of the fund had been shared with the Council in
the document ‘Local Authority Housing Fund - third funding
round: Prospectus and Guidance’ (‘the
Prospectus’) (background papers).
 
Local
Authority Housing Fund, Round 3 (LAHF3) provided £450 million
for a third round of funding used to deliver high-quality temporary
accommodation for homeless families, and to provide housing for
those on the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). Initial
allocations for LAHF R3 had been made to 203 local authorities
(LAs), using an allocations formula.
 
The
Council was one of the 203 selected local authorities to receive
funds.
 
Cabinet
was asked to accept and spend grant
funding awarded from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government (MHCLG) to deliver LAHF 3 in line with the agreed
criteria and target.
 
The
Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) had
introduced the Local Authority Housing Fund, under which DLUHC
provided partial grant funding to support the purchase of local
housing.
 
The
Council had previously participated in LAHF rounds 1 and 2. The
intention of LAHF 1 had been to help councils obtain accommodation
for families with housing needs who had arrived in the UK fleeing
the war in the Ukraine and those on Afghan resettlement and
relocation schemes. For LAHF 2, the scheme had
been widened to address wider homelessness pressures and to
house those on Afghan resettlement schemes. However, due to the
limited criteria and short timescale to achieve the target, only
2 properties had been delivered and
consequently funds were returned to central government.
 
Resolved:

1.   
That the Grant allocation of £1,106,686 be accepted. It be noted that the total
allocation comprises the capital grant of £1,099,048 and the revenue grant of £7,638 to deliver 11 homes as per the Local Authority
Housing Fund (3) programme and as part of the Council’s
existing capital acquisitions programme;

2.   
That the Head of Strategic Housing (People) be
authorised to accept the Memorandum of Understanding and return a
completed copy back to the Department for Ministry of Housing,
Communities, and Local Government for the Local Authority Housing
Fund (3). The MOU was not intended to
create legal or binding obligations. It described the understanding
between both parties for the use of funding Appendix 1 of the
report;

3.   
That the Director of Economy and Place in
consultation with the portfolio holder for Regeneration and Housing
be given delegated authority for expenditures under the Local
Authority Housing Fund (3);

4.   
That the delivery model and the acquisition of 11
properties through the Council’s Empty Properties programme,
and ‘off the peg ’‘purchases from recently
approved large developments be agreed;

5.   
That the Assistant Director of Legal &
Governance be authorised to undertake necessary legal work in
connection with the properties and execute such documents on behalf
of the Council;

6.   
That the Director of Economy and Place in
consultation with the s151 officer be authorised to approve the
purchase of the specified properties;

7.   
That it be noted that the Council was unable to
deliver round 2 of LAHF, and completed 2 properties from round
1;

8.   
That it be noted that Grant funding for undelivered
properties in round 1 and 2 would be
returned to government.
 
Reason for decision:
On the
18th October 2022 Rochdale Council at a full council meeting passed
a motion to effectively declare a housing emergency. There was an
immediate imperative to limit the use of bed & breakfast
emergency housing provision, to speed development of housing on
unused land and look at developing its own housing stock in
future
The
Council had core statutory housing duties, particularly relating to
the provision of housing as per Part VII of the Housing Act 1996
and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
The
delivery of this programme would give Rochdale Council additional
housing supply, and support the acute pressures the Council faces
with the demand on homelessness and housing need.
LAHF R3
is a £450m grant fund, with objectives to:

·        
Reduce local housing pressures and use of expensive
and unsuitable accommodation, by providing better quality temporary
accommodation to those owed homelessness duties by local
authorities.

·        
Reduce temporary accommodation costs.

·        
Provide sustainable settled housing to those on ACRS
so that they can build new lives in the UK, find employment and
integrate into communities.

·        
Support local housing markets by assisting the
delivery of new housing stock or new developments to grow overall
housing supply.
This
funding would allow the Council a timely opportunity to address the
acute pressure and housing challenges by providing capital grant
funding to develop cost-effective, high quality
accommodation.
This
accommodation could fill gaps in provision and reduce reliance on
privately managed unsupported temporary accommodation such as
B&B.
There
were very limited alternatives in the current context and housing
landscape.
 
Alternatives considered and
rejected:
To not accept the Local Authority Housing Fund Round 3 allocation would
increase homelessness presentations to the authority by displaced
Afghanistan households.
There
were very limited alternatives in the current context and housing
landscape.
Although this was a small number of properties, it would allow
the Council to build stronger partnerships with delivery partners
and build on the agreed delivery vehicle, and potentially open up
for more investment and funding opportunities from Central
government.
The
Council could choose not to sign the MoU and participate in this round of the scheme.
However, the LAHF scheme provided an opportunity for the Council to
utilise government funding to purchase property for housing, which
supported the Council’s efforts in fulfilling the UK’s
humanitarian duties to assist those fleeing war, and also to support the Corporate plan objectives
regarding housing. It was therefore
recommended that the Council participated in the
scheme.