Purpose

To terminate 10 property leases with SYHA on
the request of SYHA and reissue the leases directly to the service
providers, Rush and Roundabout.

Decision

ROTHERHAM METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL

 

RECORD OF OFFICER NON-EXECUTIVE DECISION

 
 

Date of Decision:
 

28
November 2023
Housing SMT – 25 May 2022
ASC,
Housing & Public Health DLT – 30 August 2022

Title:

10 Properties leased to South Yorkshire Housing
Association (SYHA), subleased to Rush and Roundabout

Decision Maker:
(Including Job
Title)

Simon Moss
Assistant Director, Planning, Regeneration and
Transport

Details of Specific Committee
Delegation
or Delegation contained in the
relevant Sub-Scheme of Delegation.

Section 42 of Financial Procurement Procedurals.

Decision:

To end 10 leases with South
Yorkshire Housing Association, 5 of which are sub-leased to Rush
and 5 are sub-leased to Roundabout. 
Re-issue new leases directly with Rush and
Roundabout

Reasons for the
Decision:

South Yorkshire Housing Association would like to terminate
these leases. 
All
parties would prefer not to evict the existing tenants who are
vulnerable young people at risk of homelessness.

Where the decision is
made under specific delegation from a decision making body, the
names of any member of the relevant body who has declared a
conflict of interest in relation to the decision and name of the
body granting the specific delegation and the date when it did
so:

None.

Reports or parts of
reports considered

The
report of the Directorate Leadership Team, Adult Care, Housing
and Public Health.
10 Properties leased to South Yorkshire Housing
Association (SYHA), subleased to Rush and Roundabout.
30
August 2022
 
SYHA
wishes to withdraw from the lease arrangements with the Council and
asked if it would be possible for the Council to lease these
properties directly to Rush and Roundabout.  This would prevent Rush and Roundabout serving
notice on their tenants prior to handing the vacant properties back
to the Council.
SYHA’s role is to collect rent from Rush and Roundabout
(currently paid one year in advance) and carry out
repairs.
All
organisations involved would prefer not to displace the
properties’ existing occupants.

Legal
Conversations with Legal Services have confirmed that
terminating the leases, which expired in 2014, is straightforward
and should be carefully coordinated with issuing new leases to Rush
and Roundabout. 
If
new leases are issued with Rush and Roundabout, they
would;

·      
Charge the equivalent of social housing rent, and
increase annually in line with the Council’s annual increases
of social housing rent

·      
Ask Rush and Roundabout to pay the rent either
monthly or annually, in advance, whichever is preferred by the
Council (they currently pay SYHA annually, in
advance)

·      
State that the Council would retain
responsibility for capital works - responsibility for revenue
works/day to day repairs would sit with Rush and
Roundabout

·      
Include provision for RMBC staff to inspect the
properties annually, and prior to handover

 

Procurement and Commissioning
Colleagues in Commissioning have confirmed that Rush and
Roundabout currently provide commissioned services to the Council
through Adults Housing Related Support Services (Roundabout) and
the Children and Young People’s Flexible Purchasing System
(Rush and Roundabout).

·      
Rush is commissioned to provide support with
accommodation and uses the five properties they lease from SYHA to
meet that commissioned service.

·      
Rush and Roundabout have the opportunity to
provide support services/ accommodation and support through the
Children and Young People’s Flexible Purchasing
System.

·      
Both Rush and Roundabout have confirmed that they
would like to go ahead and directly lease from the Council even if
they were not successful in continuing to provide services for the
Council in the future.

 

Risks
Not
issuing leases with Rush and Roundabout
If
the leases are not issued directly to Rush and Roundabout, SYHA
will give notice to Rush and Roundabout who will vacate the
properties prior to SYHA returning the properties to the
Council.
There would be a negative impact on the young people living in
the properties if the properties were to be returned to the
Council.  The people living there
receive support from Rush and Roundabout and are not yet ready to
live independently.  There is high
probability that taking the properties back from SYHA would lead to
the young tenants re-presenting as homeless as the required number
of homes with support into which they could move, is unlikely to be
available.
Seamless transfer of leases
The
transfer of the leases from SYHA to Rush and Roundabout must be
seamless to avoid the occupants becoming tenants of the Council as
this would significantly change the Council/tenant relationship and
the tenants’ rights.
The
new leases would be agreed and signed well in advance of the lease
transfer date.
Rush
and/or Roundabout are not successful in delivering further support
services/ accommodation for the Council
It
is envisaged that the Children’s Flexible Purchasing System
will be used for 10 years, but the length of the contracts awarded
may vary. 
Providing a service through the Children’s Flexible
Purchasing System does not guarantee future work but the listed
providers are expected to provide support and accommodation when
called upon – this applies to Rush and Roundabout.
Losing the five properties they each lease from SYHA could
result in Rush and Roundabout not having the accommodation needed
to provide the requested support to the borough’s young
residents.
In the unlikely event of
Rush and Roundabout not providing support and accommodation through
the Children’s Flexible Purchasing System, they will continue
to provide support and accommodation to the borough’s young,
vulnerable people, at risk of homelessness.

 
I
certify that this is a true record of the decision in relation
to….
 
To
end 10 leases with South Yorkshire Housing Association, 5 of which
are sub-leased to Rush and 5 are sub-leased to
Roundabout.  Re-issue new leases
directly with Rush and Roundabout.
 
Signed by the Decision Maker
 

 
Dated: 28.11.2023 
 
Name:
Simon Moss                                       
Job
Title: Assistant Director, Planning, Regeneration and
Transportation