Decision details

To agree a Memorandum of Understanding with MHCLG to provide 5 units of accommodation in return for £907k of funding as part of the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) Round 3 funding agreement.

(1)  To accept the MHCLG offer of £944k grant to expand the scheme by a further 5 properties in accordance with the principles articulated and agreed in the original LAHF Round 1 decision (E3480) and supported by the additional high-level business case attached in Appendix 1 of the report.

(2)  To delegate all operational decisions, including agreement of Memorandum of Understanding with MHCLG, individual property business cases, to the Director of Capital & Housing and Aequus loan funding decisions to the s151 Officer.

(3)  To increase the capital programme for the Local Authority Housing fund, having regard to the existing full approval of £3.567m, as follows:

(i)  Full approval of additional capital budget of £1.175m which reflects estimates for purchases of five properties on the open market funded by £938k government grant from MHCLG, £75k Afghan Integration Tariff, £139k Homelessness Prevention Grant and £23k from developer S106 contributions.

(ii)  Noting estimated loans of £637k to Aequus will be reflected in the existing Approval for Property Company Investment - Council (Loan): Developments.

The scheme will secure an additional 5 properties, 4 of which will provide accommodation for those who are being resettled under the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme. This fully aligns and supports the Council’s strategic ambitions, including a January 2024 commitment to resettle 20 individuals arriving via safe and legal routes in approximately 5 households during 2025.

The fifth property will immediately be available for the council to use to as temporary accommodation (TA). Demand for TA is high within the district and the funding provided by this scheme could be usefully deployed to purchase a suitable single unit for those clients that are challenging to house due to placement constraints, such as, proximity to other vulnerable clients, sensitive locations, accessibility etc.

·  Do nothing and miss the opportunity to secure £944k towards the delivery of 5 units for affordable housing.

·  Housing Services internally deliver the programme, requiring the recruitment of specific resources to purchase and manage the properties integrating into B&NES Homes as Registered Provider.