Selective LicensingSalford
Selective Licensing Designation Approval
Part 3, The Housing Act 2004
Langworthy, Weaste and Seedley Area
Contents
Chapters
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. The Proposed Area
Chapter 3. Selective Licensing – Seedley/Langworthy 2007 to 2012
Chapter 4. Rationale
Chapter 5. Links and Relationships
Chapter 6. Resourcing the scheme
Chapter 7. Option Appraisal
Chapter 8. Stakeholder Consultation
Chapter 9. Conclusion
Figures
4.1 Value of premises – comparable wards
4.2 Average price of properties available to buy – comparable wards
4.3 Sale price achieved – Terraced properties
4.4 Average rent levels
4.5 Greater Manchester Police Anti Social Behaviour reports 2010
4.6 Anti Social Behaviour reports to Greater Manchester Police 2006-2011
Tables
3.1 Licences issued and refused in Seedley and Langworthy area
3.2 Gas Safety expiry letters
3.3 Number of landlords invited in for interview
4.1 Council Tax records created 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2012
4.2 Council Tax records created with previous Selective Licensing area
4.3 Tenure level
4.4 Tenure levels by ward
4.5 Data from Private House Condition Survey 2010
4.6 Inspections by the Housing Enforcement Team
4.7 Complaints of Anti Social Behaviour in existing Selective Licensing area
7.1 Strengths and Weaknesses of alternative methods
7.2 Risks associated with Selective Licensing designation
8.1 Consultation programme
Annex
Annex 1 Map of proposed Selective Licensing Area
Annex 2 Proposed street list of area
Annex 3 Selective Licence Conditions
Annex 4 Results of Consultation
Chapter 1 – Introduction
Salford prides itself on being “a place where people want to live, by building a community and future that engages everyone”
The introduction of Selective Licensing in 2006 represented the Councils’ strategic commitment to tackling issues in the private rented sector. Building on the success of the implementation of Selective Licensing in the Langworthy and Seedley regeneration area, an area of Broughton and the Charlestown and Lower Kersal area, this report is a submission for approval to designate a fourth scheme.
This proposed scheme will cover an area of Langworthy, Weaste and Seedley, and will form phase four of the Councils’ overall Selective Licensing proposals.
The proposed designation includes an area where Selective Licensing was delivered previously, and is broadened to include a further number of streets.
The existing Selective Licensing scheme has produced some good outcomes, raising standards and identifying problem landlords, however it expired on 25th May 2012 and there is still work to do. We have a proven track record of the difference Selective Licensing makes, however the current economic climate and prevailing socio economic conditions means that low demand still exists within the proposed designation area. The new proposal covers approximately4000 properties, of which approximately 850have been identified as privately rented. The proposed area falls within the Langworthy and the Weaste & Seedley wards.
Salford has a good track record of using a range of interventions to tackle problems within the private sector, from providing support and advice to landlords on disrepair, management issues and target hardening, to the use of legislative powers to bring property standards up to the minimum standard.
In Salford, we recognise the need to introduce measures which compel a landlord and any associated managing agent, to be “fit and proper” and to provide property management services which deal effectively with all aspects of letting, from referencing of prospective tenants, to taking timely and appropriate action for antisocial behaviour. Mandatory House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing has been operational since April 2006 and we believe we have identified every HMO which meets the criteria for licensing. However, this is only part of the solution. We also need to tackle other private rented properties in order to make real changes across the entire sector and this power is provided by the provisions, included within Part 3 of The Housing Act 2004. This report is a submission for authorisation to designate a Selective Licensing scheme in the Langworthy area covering new streets that fall within the Weaste and Seedley ward.
This proposal to designate an area for selective licensing is made on the grounds of Low Housing Demand. This report provides evidence “that the area is, or is likely to become, an area of low housing demand”.
Chapter 2
The Proposed Designation
The proposed Selective Licensing area is located within Central Salford and covers parts of two wards, namely the Langworthy ward and the Weaste and Seedley ward. The area in question is a high density private sector residential area consisting of approximately 4000 properties, over 20% of which are privately rented. As detailed above, the Housing Act 2004 does not require the licensing of properties subject to tenancies granted by registered social landlords or Councils which is approximately 760 properties within the proposed area. There are approximately 850 properties which have been identified as privately rented and would require a licence.
The proposed licensable area of Langworthy is predominantly a high-density private sector residential area consisting mostly of pre-1919 two-bed terraced houses, laid out in a compact gridiron street pattern. During the mid 1990s
emerging problems of accelerating decline in the housing market led to a general decrease in the number of owner occupied homes and a disproportionately high number of rented and empty/boarded properties. The consequences of a combination of these and other factors resulted in the area suffering from a loss of population and services, deterioration in the physical fabric, poor social capital and the low economic activity led to the collapse of the local housing market.
The problems in Seedley and Langworthy saw Salford become the first local authority in the country to obtain formal approval from The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) on the 26th February 2007, to introduce a Selective Licensing Scheme and implement new measures to clampdown on unscrupulous landlords operating in this area, this scheme expired on 25th May 2012. Significant progress has been made during the five years the licensing scheme has been running in terms of improving management standards within the existing area, however, there is still work to be done.
The proposed licensable area also includes sections of Weaste and Seedley ward north of theM602. This area is primarily residential, characterised by Victorian and inter-war semi-detached and terraced houses with gardens. Weaste is the 9th most deprived ward in the city with higher unemployment than both city and national averages. Not only is income in Weaste below these averages, it is growing at a slower rate, so the gap between incomes in Weaste and across the city is increasing.
History shows that the proposed area as a whole has suffered exceptionally high levels of deprivation; this has been exhibited by very poor quality housing of which private renting was becoming the predominant sector, and very low levels of owner occupation. Statistical information available to the Council from sources that include the 2001 census and the 2007 Index of Multiple Deprivation has shown the proposed licensing area to fall within the 3% most deprived nationally.
Empty properties are also a matter of concern in the proposed area. Empty properties attract anti social behaviour, fly tipping and vandalism. They cause blight and have a negative impact on the area. Empty properties are also a lost resource to the community at a time of limited housing supply and can cause the depreciation of housing values within the proposed area.
Private sector vacancy levels within Salford have fluctuated over recent years but there was a noticeable increase between 2007 and 2008. The areas with the highest concentrations of vacant properties are found in the Central Salford wards. Salford’s Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix 2009 revealed the proposed licensing area has a property vacancy rate of 6% to 8%, well above the national average of 3.8%.
The Council has recently submitted asuccessful bid to the Home and Communities Agency (HCA) for funding to be utilised in the Langworthy area. This funding is being targeted at empty properties whereby the owner is not able to manage the property and the scope of the work required to bring the property to a habitable standard is beyond the owners ability due to lack of knowledge and experience. It is proposed that the owner will sign up to a five year lease agreement and the Council will provide a loan towards the repair work. This loan will be repayable over a period of time. A tenant will then be sourced and the management of the property will be provided by Salix homes acting as agent. This investment will return a valuable empty property back into use, and will improve the environment for the local community. The funding is to be spent on empty properties that are located with a tightly defined area to ensure maximum impact.
Overall the lack of quality housing to meet the needs and demands of local people and attract new residents has resulted in a high turnover, low demandand a distinct drop in population across the proposed area.
This issue was identified as one of the key challenges of theCommunity Plan and the corporate Housing Strategy.
A map of the proposed area can be found in Annex 1 and a full street list found in Annex 2.
Supporting Housing Market Renewal and Regeneration
In April 1999, a bid for Single Regeneration Budget Round 5 (SRB5) resources was approved by Government. The purpose of the Salford SRB5 programme was to secure the comprehensive regeneration of Seedley and Langworthy. This area was awarded £13.75 million of the funding over the life of the bid and this contributed to developing the area through a number of sub-programmes aimed at strengthening the community and stabilising the housing market.
The SRB 5 programme was part of a much wider strategy of regeneration and renewal which is still progressing through a range of programmes and initiatives for tackling market failures and addressing urban decline. The SRB resources have had a significant impact on Seedley and Langworthy, bringing 129 empty dwellings back into use and improving 611 homes. Alongside this, there have been crucial improvements to housing throughblock improvement, group repair and alley gating. The Urban Splash development will provide 349 new high quality dwellings benefitting from innovative design, 318 of these properties have been completed to date with a final phase to be brought forward shortly.
In 2003, the programme continued to regenerate the proposed selective licensing areas through the Housing Market Renewal Fund. The Manchester Salford Pathfinder (MSP) was a partnership established between Manchester and Salford City Council in 2003 to develop and coordinate a long term strategic programme to restructure the housing market in the parts of both cities that have suffered from severe population loss and a declining housing market. This included Seedley and Langworthy and Weaste. The partnership was established as part of the government’s Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder programme.
The challenge forMSP, the City Council, and its partners was to create new neighbourhoods of choice across Central Salford - thriving, attractive areas where people choose to live, work and invest. A key element of the Housing Market Renewal programme has been to make improvements to homes by carrying out external refurbishment of existing homes to complement new housing development. This in turn would hopefully encourage new investment and increase the attractiveness of areas to existing and potential new residents.
Weaste and Seedley has benefited from being an area of stabilisation in the Manchester Salford Housing Market Renewal (HMR) Pathfinder programme. In the Weaste Renewal Area, £3.8m was invested in private housing and environmental improvements between 2003 and 2007. In the Eccles New Road Renewal Area £2.7m was invested in demolitions, private housing and environmental improvements, between 2003 and 2007. A further £122,000 was allocated to complete the HMR Programme on Nelson Street and Bridson Street during 2008/09.
Overall the Governmenthas provided substantial funding to deliver the renewal in Central Salford however the funding stream for HMR ended on 31 March 2011 but the task to restructure housing markets is still not complete.
Despite all the improvements discussed above, the area in question still faces a number of very real issues which will have a negative impact on its long-term sustainability if not addressed, it is therefore essential to apply lessons learnt through the Pathfinder and build on its successes.
Current and planned regeneration activity.
Although the impacts of the wider economic downturn and the decision to end the HMR Pathfinder programme early have meant that the pace of regeneration in the area has unavoidably slowed, the City Council remains committed to delivering the vision for the area that it developed with the local community and other stakeholders.
Although funding is now more scarce, by working closely with partners it has been possible to secure over £9,000,000 of investment into the area in relation to regeneration projects that will commence or complete during the current financial year; including:
- 66 new affordable homes with secured funding of £8.1million
- 30 empty properties brought back into use with secured funding of £410, 000
- Environmental improvements in the area with secured funding of £438, 000
Further, funding has been secured for planned regeneration activities to be commenced between 2013 – 2015 include:
- 91 new affordable homes with secured funding of £8.1million
- 23 empty properties brought back into use with secured funding of £740,000
- Environmental improvements in the area with secured funding of £400,000
Blodwell Street will also see a proportion of £41.5m invested as part of the Pendleton PFI programme.
In addition to these projects, the council, working with partners is continuing to seek funding to support the development of a further 34 homes for market sale, the completion of strategic land assembly to make attractive development sites available in the area and to support the work of development partners in bringing forward further high quality housing schemes.
In the longer term, the council is also working to secure approximately £5,000,000 of additional funding to facilitate the completion of its ambitious programme of block improvement schemes for homes and further investment in local retail and other businesses. Although attracting this funding will be challenging in the current climate, we are confident that through effective partnership working and with the support of the local community we will ultimately be able to complete the above programmes.
The Private Sector Housing Strategy 2010 -2015 supports the corporate aims and objectives and outlines the significant challenges faced by the local authority in the private sector. The Strategy recognises the private rented sector has a crucial role to play in Salford’s ability to offer a range of flexible housing, however, problems of poor physical condition and poor management are still common, and therefore remain a priority for the council.
The Housing Strategy sets out the key Private Sector Housing challenges and highlights a number of strategic objectives to tackle these challenges including:
- Securing increased investment in the private sector
- Working with Landlords and Agents in the private rented sector and with Houses in Multiple Occupation
- Make the use of current housing stock and improve management of the properties
- Modernise financial assistance opportunities
- Raise thermal comfort of private housing
The Housing Act 2004 has provided the local authority with a number of tools including the Housing Health Safety Rating System (HHSRS) and Empty Dwelling Management Orders, which are being fully utilised by Salford. We are using the new HHSRS power to address property condition within the private rented sector and this with improving management as standard through a dual approach with selective licensing.
Licensing is being used to compel landlords to maintain consistent standards of tenancy management. Through awareness raising amongst the community and across agencies, selective licensing has become a valuable mechanism for identifying and dealing with bad practice amongst private landlords. The data collected through landlord licensing is contributing to the development of a comprehensive database of Salford’s private rented sector using a Flare database system. This is linked to a Geographical Information System (GIS) and ultimately will ensure accurate recording of all activities surrounding individual, private rented properties at a local level.
Selective licensing is also facilitating engagement with private tenants and ensuring they are given the opportunity to become involved in community issues.The use of selective licensing in Salford has made a significant contribution not only to the local housing market and standards across the private rented sector, but by supporting the wide range of tools used to improve, support and sustain objectives and targets across a range of strategies and plans.
Chapter 3 - What we Have Achieved So Far – Selective Licensing Seedley and Langworthy 2007-2012
Selective Licensing was introduced into the Langworthy and Seedley Regeneration area on 25th May 2007. The scheme was approved for a 5 year period.
In order for a licence to be granted, the Local Authority has to be satisfied that the proposed licence holder and any manager of the house are fit and proper persons. The Local Authority also has to be satisfied that any management and funding arrangements for the house are suitable.
Refusing a licence is a last resort. We will try to work with a landlord whose management arrangements do not meet the required standard. Only a very small number of licences have been refused, on the basis that the proposed Licence Holder could not meet the Fit and Proper person test. In such cases, we have worked with the landlord to arrange for a suitable alternative Licence Holder to be put forward, such as a family member or Managing Agent.
The table below shows the number of licences issued and refused during the designation.