Glasgow Housing Association Better homes, better lives Our approach to tenancy sustainment and prevention of Homelessness 15 th June 2010

Glasgow Housing Associationwww.gha.org.uk

Better homes, better lives

Our approach to tenancy sustainment and prevention of Homelessness

15th June 2010

Housing Support and Accommodation / Catherine Wilkie

2Better homes, better lives

GHA context

•GHA established 2003, following stock transfer from Glasgow City Council

•High rents - insufficient investment

•Unmodernised stock – poor condition

•High turnover and poor tenancy sustainment rate


Tenancy sustainment – key problems 2006

Heriot-Watt research jointly commissioned by us and Glasgow City Council found:

• High turnover – particularly in ‘non-core’ stock (programmed for eventual demolition)

• Glasgow - high levels of homelessness and high repeat homelessness rates

• High early termination rates

• High cost of early termination – £1,300 per void for repairs, security and rent loss– Staff resources – GHA and GCC– Cost to individuals


Tenancy sustainment research

Who is most at risk of early termination?

Both homeless and waiting list applicants had similar high early termination rates (25%)

•Under 25’s have very high risk of early termination– but relatively few are housed

•Profile of most common ‘early terminators’ – male,

– aged 25-45,

– single person,

– with community care needs,

– living in multi-storey or tenement flat


Risk Factors

Property

• Lack of choice• Poor property condition• Anti-Social Behaviour/crime• Lack of furniture

Personal

• Sorting out HB• Debt problems• Feeling isolated - lack of support• Lack of joined up working


Tenancy Sustainment Strategy

GHA developed Tenancy Sustainment Strategy in 2006, based on research and a series of joint training events

• Tenancy sustainment Key Performance Measure.• Developing GHA homechoice (choice-based letting,

pilot in West area)• New Letting Standard for voids• Starter Packs and Fab pad projects• Employability schemes• Support for credit unions• Energywise projects/employment of energy advisors• Resource Directory for staff• New Neighbour Relations Manual


Homeless prevention strategy

•First RSL to develop a homeless prevention strategy – Dec 2008

•Training for staff through National Housing Information and Advice Standards (Homepoint) & CIH level 2 certificate of housing

•Focus on early intervention for customers experiencing problems

•Developing SMART technology around vulnerable groups; domestic abuse, harassment, fire and anti-social behaviour

•Supporting tenants to get a house, employment, training and education

•Improving assessment of need and appropriate allocations – pilot of Homechoice

•Development of personal housing plans and risk based sign-up process


Our redesign…some guiding principles

•Put the customer at the heart of everything we do

•Consistent excellent service provision - learning from the best

•Design our business responses via the application of system thinking (what the customer wants, not more, not less)

•Value for money - reducing waste by designing out failure and creating capacity to do good things

•Designing “one and done” service provision


Our redesign principles …Common System, Common Sense

Design IN value, design OUT failure

Switch emphasis to front end and away from legal process

Themes:

• Pre tenancy support

• Early and personal action if things go wrong

• Consistency of approach (doing what we say, when we say, every time!)


Common System / Common Sense ………………..We can’t do it alone

Joint re-design projects with GCC Revenue & Benefits and the Glasgow Homelessness Partnership

• Rent and debt strategy

• Preventing homelessness strategy

• Tenancy sustainment strategy


Tenancy sustainment focus was a start …………………….what were we doing about prevention of Homelessness

Arrears example - Where we were in 2007/8 …with our rent system

23,000 tenants in rent arrears

Business system drove action for recovery

– 8,000 Notice of Court Proceeding– 6,500 Court Callings– 1,000 Decrees for Eviction– 575 Evictions– Leaving more than £1m of debt

…lots of activity, but customer/ business outcomes?


Notice of Proceedings served

No. of NPRPs authorised periods 1-13(unadjusted)

(30th March 2008 to 29th April 2010)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1period


Evictions are decreasing

NPRPs raised and evictions carried out 2008-09 and 2009-10

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

No.. of NPRPs No. of evictions for rent arrears


Evictions for rent arrears

No. of evictions for rent arrears 2007/08 to 2009/10

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

No. of evictions

Fin

anci

al y

ear


Our redesign of Homelessness

Jointly redesigned process – real partnership

•Mapped out our homeless process and designed out waste

•Understand the issues for Homeless Households - complex needs of Homeless Households

•Work together to resolve problems and have an understanding of respective organisational pressures.

•Set challenging targets 45% - 09/10

•42 day ministerial guidance - driving wrong behaviours

•Positive impact on homeless refusals – getting it right first time

•Check, plan, do ……………………………………………….Much more to do here!


Offers to Section 5 Referrals2003 to date

2008/974% of all homeless cases rehoused by GHA (Validated)26% of all other homeless cases rehoused by other RSLs/Private Rented Sector

Year Total number of lets

Lets to Homeless Households

Percentage of Lets to Homeless

2003/04 10416 1870 17.9%

2004/05 8373 1496 17.8%

2005/06 7982 1539 19.2%

2006/07 7458 1321 17.7%

2007/08 6991 1336 19.1%

2008/09 6264 1828 29.2%

2009/10 5064 2102 41.5%


Little things mean a lot

Welcome bags for Homeless households


Employability initiatives

Aim to maximise opportunities for our tenants

Environmental Employability Programme

From June 2006:

• 645 Training Places• 368 individuals into work• 81% GHA tenants


Employability

Participants evaluation – June 2009

“I’ve found it a real benefit to come into work. It really helps after being stuck at home for so long. I think back to the person eight months ago and what my state of mind was like. I’m absolutely a different person; more relaxed, confident and self assured

Scott - unemployed for 20 years


Our performance: context year end 2010

•Rent Arrears reduced from 5.14% debit in 2007/8 to 3.62%

•Current tenant arrears down from £10.1m in 2007/8 to £7.1m

•End to End re-let time down from 56 days in 2007/8 to 26 days for lettable property

•Letting performance is the best since inception of GHA – lets within 4 weeks was 49.07% for the year 2007/8, now 71.9%

•Tenancy sustainment levels improved from 2007/8 to 84.95%, now 87.88%

•Increase in lets to Homeless Households 19.1% 2007/8, now 41.5%


Common System / Common Sense Whole system redesign

CapitalWorks

Voids Allocations Homelessness

Housing Benefit

RentalIncome

Repairs

Former Tenant Debt

Legal

ComplaintsGHA(M)



QUESTIONS

15th June 2010



Documents

Glasgow Housing Association Better homes, better lives Our approach to tenancy sustainment and prevention of Homelessness 15 th June 2010