Landlord Panel meeting notes - 24 October 2024
Attendees:
Tenant members – Linda, Kimberley, Trish
Cllr John Harrison, Cabinet Member responsible for Housing
Cllr Sandra Graham, Cabinet Member responsible for Climate Emergency
Dave Foster, Head of Property Services
Toby Hartigan-Brown, Head of Housing Management
Angela Melvin, Engagement Manager
Apologies:
Tenant member – Sav
1. Minutes of the last meeting and matters arising
The minutes were agreed and it was noted that the new action log contains most of the matters arising.
2. Action Log
We have begun an action log for Landlord Panel matters, to make it easier to see what the Panel wants to see actioned, progress towards each action, and who is responsible. This will be updated on a rolling basis and will be a standing agenda item at future meetings.
3. Annual Tenants’ Event feedback
Linda, Kim and Sav attended on the day. There was a good turnout, but predominantly older age groups and we need to increase involvement of younger tenants.
AM said that we are looking to do more in local areas shortly, at different times of day. Panel tenants asked for evening options and using different venues in the community. There could be an element at each one to include local information. (AM to follow up.)
4. General service update
This written update gave an overview of recent activity across the Housing and Property Service, in line with the new Consumer Standards. Panel tenants had some general questions and comments:
People don’t know about free bulky waste collections. There needs to be clarity around what will be taken and the amount/type of waste that counts as one collection. (THB to action.)
Sav had sent a query around pavement improvements and parking enforcement. DF stated the council’s partner, Capita, are largely responsible for highways. In most cases, they will letterdrop properties nearby in advance where there are major or larger works planned. Small individual repairs would not always be notified due to their short duration. Parking on pavements is a national issue, with many streets built before current levels of car ownership. We do encourage considerate parking, and people may have to park on pavements to avoid blocking narrow roads for emergency vehicles.
THB commented that tenancy reviews can look at parking issues. If cars are parked on a green, the Community Protection team do get involved to locate the car owner and follow up with them.
JH reminded the panel that residents can request a local parking scheme, subject to criteria, and can raise parking issues with their ward councillors.
Linda asked about the apprenticeship programme. DF confirmed we have 21 finishing their programmes this year, with all those that complete assessments and training going into employment with us. We have taken on a further nine apprentices across a range of trades this year. Apprenticeships are available to all ages.
5. Anti-Social Behaviour and Neat Streets
THB gave an update the Neat Streets programme and our Community Protection work. Tenants have told us we need to be more visible, with a stronger presence on estates, improve cleanliness and maintenance and continue to listen to tenants to drive improvements.
There has been a redesign of the service, with a focus on neighbourhoods. The council’s Community Protection team, which previously came under our Environment service, has now transferred to Housing.
Our Estates and Communities Panel will help us continue to improve. We are learning from complaints and hope to involve more tenants in our work.
THB asked the panel if they agreed with these commitments and whether anything was missing.
Trish asked about tenants volunteering to help others who may have a garden but struggle to maintain it. Linda added that she was aware of issues too with a local community garden. (THB will follow these up.)
Trish felt Neat Streets was a very positive programme to increase pride in local areas, she asked about the timeframe for the commitments being made and what a successful outcome would be. THB replied that we hope to see fewer complaints and higher satisfaction in our Tenant Satisfaction Measures survey, alongside a reduction in anti-social behaviour.
Kim highlighted an issue of tenants not wanting to report anti-social behaviour for fear of the perpetrator finding out. THB said we want people to be confident that if they report it, we will do something about it. The perception of anti-social behaviour is that it is at higher levels than it actually is. We do need to manage expectations in dealing with it, as some will be the police’s responsibility – we do take a joint approach though.
6. Budget 2025-26 considerations
DF took the panel through some background information covering the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), sources of income and the services we provide. It is expected that the 2025-26 rent formula will see a rent increase of 2.7% for tenants.
Our proposed budget for the next year will be focused on tenant priorities. The Neat Streets programme will continue, and monies will be allocated to cover the tenancy support team and condensation, mould and damp issues.
Investment in our homes to maintain them will remain a key priority, with around £29m allocated.
The panel was asked if they agreed with our proposed priorities, which they did.
AM informed the panel that budget information will be shared on the Our North Tyneside Voice website as part of the overall council budget consultation, and we are looking into doing some in-person consultation later in the year.
7. Performance and Complaints reports
These reports were considered together, as there were areas of crossover. At the last panel meeting, more detailed information was requested and this had been shared ahead of the meeting in briefing notes accompanying each report.
Income was quite low for Q1, which is often the case. This year’s has been impacted by restructuring and complex needs in collecting income. We are seeing the benefits of working with the tenancy support team on income collection.
SG commented that void times are high and asked if we conducted end of tenancy inspections before a tenant leaves. DF confirmed these did not always happen as we are not always given access to the property. Recovery of any recharge costs can be difficult too.
Trish asked if the 37% of complaints upheld was across the board or in one particular area, as this sounds a significant amount. DF replied that we do need to do more work internally to benchmark that. A complaint being upheld is us accepting that we need to put something right. JH added that complaints have gone up across the council, not just within the Housing and Property Service.
The panel agreed that future complaints reports should include those going into our Member Enquiry system and Mayor’s Office.
They also agreed that information should feed down to our other tenant panels, on matters relevant to them. AM will follow up.