Estates and Communities Panel - 8 September 2026
Location: North Tyneside Council offices, Quadrant, Cobalt Business Park
Attendees
Tenant members – Hilary (Chair), Margaret, Linda , Christine, Marie Christine, Gaynor, Mary, Evelyn, Clare
Gary Wilson, Neighbourhood Housing Manager; Julie Brown, Operations Manager, Community Protection; Leeanne Rooney, Service Manager – Neighbourhood Housing; Angela Melvin, Housing Engagement Manager
Apologies
Clare
1. Notes of the last meeting and action log
These were agreed
2. Consultation updates
The panel had received a briefing note ahead of the meeting, covering:
- Tenancy Agreement review
- Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs)
- Draft Pet Policy
The panel had been involved in earlier reviews of the Tenancy Agreement proposals, and the PSPO consultation.
Tenancy Agreement: This is being reviewed to make sure it is up to date, clear and reflects current legislation and how services are delivered. There has been no removal of any core statutory rights, meaning basic tenancy rights have mostly stayed the same. It is a legal requirement that we write to every tenant to let them know about the consultation and letters will be posted out later in September. The letter will include a QR code link for the online materials if people wish to take part online; the letter also directs people to their nearest library for a paper copy. The consultation will be open until 1 November 2026.
PSPOs: JB outlined that consultation on extending the existing orders ran during the summer and 618 responses were received. Overall, there was huge support for the proposals. Additional suggestions were made as part of the consultation and consideration will be given on how those might be managed. There may be further consultation at a later date on additional PSPOs, such as to cover e-bikes or face coverings. The team is also looking at the levels of fines issued, to increase these to be more in line with other local authorities and act as more of a deterrent. AM added that we know how important anti-social behaviour (ASB) issues are to people. With that in mind, focus groups on our approach to handling ASB have been arranged for September/October, two for council tenants and leaseholders focused on housing-related ASB; and one open to all residents looking at open spaces.
Pet Policy: GW explained that a draft Pet Policy has been prepared, in line with Government guidance to ensure fair treatment of pet requests and encourage responsible pet ownership. The draft has been prepared after early consultation with the Dogs Trust and RSPCA. This was shared at our Landlord Panel last week and wider consultation, open to all tenants, will take place later in the autumn. The panel will be kept up to date on the further progress of these items.
3. Emergency and Essential Repair Decant Procedure
At the last meeting, the panel had expressed an interest in understanding more about the decant procedure. A briefing note had been shared with the panel ahead of the meeting.
An emergency decant is when a tenant needs to leave home for urgent reason, for example after a fire or flood. The intention is for the tenant to move out only temporarily, returning when the property issue is resolved.
There are relatively few emergency decants, around 12 this year so far, however we haven’t previously had a mapped out process for dealing with this. A draft procedure has subsequently been developed to provide a consistent, clear, customer-focused approach to ensure tenants are supported and can return home as quickly as possible.
GW went through the arrangements for assessing and managing emergency decants. Each case is assessed individually, considering the type of accommodation needed, any pets or children in the household, and any vulnerabilities or care needs.
We consider using existing properties, setting up properties in each area so something local would be available. However, temporary accommodation may be needed and we may have to use bed and breakfasts overnight while the assessment is carried out.
The Housing Officer works with the tenant to assess needs and risk, and is the designated contact for the tenant throughout the process.
The panel was asked for their views and questions were raised about the impact of increasingly bad weather, pest control issues and flexibility.
After discussion with some examples of real-life cases, the panel noted the approach being taken and were supportive of the proposed formal procedure.
4. Countering Tenancy and Application Fraud
LR introduced this item, on behalf of the council’s Senior Counter Fraud Officer, who was unable to attend today.
A briefing paper had been circulated ahead of the meeting, giving an overview of the work to combat fraud.
The council has a duty to protect public funds and manage risk and exposure to fraud. The highest risk is around the applications stage (eg someone provides incorrect information to get a larger property than they would otherwise be entitled to, or they already own a property).
Housing fraud prevents properties being available to allocate to those most in need and on the register.
Additional resources have been assigned to address fraud. A total of 75 cases have been prioritised, with ongoing enquiries to understand the situation, contact the person living in the property and see what the property is being used for. Our tenancy home visit programme can also elicit information.
Partnership work regionally and nationally shares good practice and training, identifying fraud trends currently prevalent across the region.
LR explained that while we do take a firm stance against tenancy fraud, we do take a compassionate approach where appropriate. For example, to support adult children with re-housing after a parent has moved out.
The team does get a lot of phone calls and emails from neighbours concerned that properties are not being lived in and, while we may not have evidence at first, it may emerge at a later date.
The panel found this work very interesting and asked questions around homes that were obviously not being lived in, and whether neighbours were asked about these. GW explained that we will ask neighbours if we receive a report about a property and that part of the ‘notice to quit’ process requires this. We will continue to try and make contact during that period, eg if rent is up to date, last repairs visit or gas service, any knowledge of social worker involvement or vulnerabilities, or other services. A range of checks are done before it will go to the manager to approve further action.
With Right to Buy (RTB) applications, we go and do a home visit to check the applicant is living there and they do have the ‘right’ to buy. There are several instances where we have had evidence they are not living there, so the RTB has been declined and the home has been returned to us.
The panel welcomed this approach and agreed with the work being done to counter fraud.
5. Performance update
The panel had received the regular complaints report and performance scorecard with their meeting papers.
Scorecard
Tenancy home visits are up to 91.6%, showing consistent improvement. These visits are focused on a quality conversation with targeted visits – eg homes where we don’t hear from the tenant. Hoarding, self-neglect issues and mental health issues are very prevalent. Often, repeated visits are needed to support the tenant appropriately. We are keen to increase performance against this target to 100% by the end of the year.
New tenant contacts are now at 100%, as are estate walkabouts and block inspections.
Complaints report
A tenant member raised concern about the number of MP, councillor and Mayoral complaints. JB replied that the service is not always able to do what the complainant will want – eg in cases of anti-social behaviour we cannot simply evict someone. We understand that people may not be happy with the explanation they get from the complaints team, therefore they look to escalate it to other available offices. There is a lot of duplication here, the majority of these queries will already have been known to the service.
There were no further questions about these reports.
Any Other Business
Marie Christine volunteered to chair the next meeting.
Here to help booklet: This has been developed based on feedback from tenant panels on what tenants would find useful to know. AM thanked the panel for their feedback which led to this, and explained it will be distributed over the coming months by the Neighbourhoods and Repairs team as they visit tenants at home.
Rent statement newsletter: AM explained that this is now being included with every quarterly rent statement, to help provide tenants with relevant, useful information. Again, this is based on feedback from our panels about the importance of keeping tenants informed and not relying on digital channels.
Contacting the Neighbourhoods team: In response to a panel member raising issues about getting in touch, GW updated the panel about a problem with the new IT system which had led to calls not being allocated correctly to the team. This has now been resolved. Two new Neighbourhood Assistants are now in post, a third is due to start soon. The main part of their role is answering calls for the team.