Issue - meetings

To outline the increase in workload caused by statutory legislative changes extending the mandatory licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation from 1 October 2018 and to appraise the options for resourcing this additional work demand.

Decision

That the Executive:

(1)       Approves option one as set out in the report, that the purchase of Rocktime Verso software proceeds and that a management of change for one additional establishment Housing Standards and Enforcement Officer is commenced.

(2)       That £25,000 be allocated within the General Investment Programme, funded from the Invest to Save Reserve, for the purchase of the new Verso system and that the ongoing revenue savings are used to replenish the reserve before being contributed to the Towards Financial Sustainability Programme.

None.

The Council had a mandatory duty to identify and license larger Houses in Multiple Occupation. The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018 extended this duty to one and two storey Houses of Multiple Occupation from 1 October 2018. Combining intelligence of the existing licensable Houses in Multiple Occupation and the stock modelling from the British Research Establishment, it had been estimated that the total licensable properties would rise from 318 to over 900. This increase in work demands could not be accommodated within the existing housing team establishment structure.

It was proposed that, in order to manage the increase in the inspection and formal enforcement of the additional 600 properties, that a full time equivalent Housing Standards and Enforcement Officer be added to the establishment, the cost of which would be fully paid for by the additional licensing income.

At present the current administrative Houses in Multiple Occupation licensing process was time consuming and vulnerable to human error. The preferred option to address this was to purchase bespoke IT software as an invest to save initiative. The software offered an online portal for landlords to manage their licensing applications and would automate administrative processes and streamline the workload for the Council’s officers, assisting with the identification of higher risk and unlicensed premises as well as maximise income.

Councillor Metcalfe understood how significant the private rented sector had become in the city and the importance of trying to maintain and improve standards. He was therefore supportive of the proposal.

Councillor Murray reiterated this point and felt that the proposal would have a positive impact for tenants in the city.

Councillor Nannestad, noting that additional licence fees should cover the additional resource implications, said that costs would need to be monitored with the situation reviewed in due course should volume be greater than anticipated.

Councillor Jackie Kirk suggested that the City of Lincoln Council’s licence fees were relatively low in comparison to other local authorities, so there may be an opportunity in the future to increase the licence fee.