Decision

The Assistant Director of Housing Services has approved the purchase of the properties listed in the exempt appendix 1 with an estimated acquisition cost of £450,000

Reasons for the decision

Successive governments have recognised that Local Authorities such as Wirral Borough Council which have welcomed Ukrainian and Afghan arrivals, continue to face challenges in securing settled accommodation for these households, which unless alleviated will further impact on existing housing pressures.

In December 2022, the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) was launched, providing Local Authorities successful in securing funding, 40% of the total costs to secure properties for both this purpose and to support councils in increasing their temporary accommodation for homelessness pressures.

Match funding comes from eligible ring fenced grants, which means the Council can purchase these homes at no capital cost. Owning the properties directly allows the Council to generate regular rental income and make significant savings on housing benefit subsidy losses by using them as emergency temporary accommodation. This, in turn, helps reduce the need for expensive bed and breakfast placements.
The objectives of the LAHF programme are to:
a) 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.
b) Provide sustainable settled housing for some families on the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP) so that they can build new lives in the UK, find employment and integrate into communities.
c) Support local housing markets by assisting the delivery of new housing stock or new developments to grow overall housing supply.
Wirral Council has been allocated funding under LAHF 2, 3 and 4. The purchase of 3 properties previously approved under LAHF2 have now fallen through so alternative properties need to be found as a priority in order to complete the funding programme.

Officers from Strategic Housing Services and the Asset Management Team are working collectively to identify suitable properties to purchase utilising this funding.

The Total number of properties acquired under the overall LAHF programme to date is 25 with a further 1 progressing through the conveyancing process.

Property acquisition details are set out in the attached exempt appendix 1. Appendix 1 is exempt from publication pursuant to paragraph 3 of the part 1 of Schedule 12 A of the Local Government Act 1972 (Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) because it contains or refers to information relating to the financial and business affairs of the Council and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

Alternative options considered

The Council could have given this grant funding to Registered Providers to acquire additional housing stock in the borough, but the preferred option is to acquire the properties for Council Ownership so that an income can be generated in the future from rental income and reduce the burden on housing subsidy loss for use of bed and breakfast.

The Council already has an existing management agreement in place with a local Registered Provider of Affordable housing in relation to its small social housing stock base and these homes can be added to this agreement without the need to procure a further partner.