Empty homes and lettings policy

Introduction

We are a customer-centred business, passionate about our vision of ‘creating great homes together’. We are committed to meeting local housing needs and to providing safe, secure and high-quality homes for our customers. This policy covers the work we do to get empty homes ready to be lived in again, and our approach to letting them.

Who this policy applies to and what it covers

This policy applies to new and existing rented homes and garages. It does not cover sales, resales or staircasing of shared ownership homes or other leasehold sales.

Our empty homes and lettings policy

We will let our homes in a fair, transparent and efficient way. We will comply with: the relevant requirements and standards of the Regulator of Social Housing; legislation, including (where relevant) the right to rent regulations 2016; charity law; section 106 agreements; our tenancy agreements; and the requirements of commissioners of care and support services.

Sometimes we may use local lettings plans (LLPs), which are agreements with local councils that allow us to set criteria for letting certain homes to address issues or concerns in a specific community for a limited period of time.

We will co-operate with local councils in places where we have homes. This includes helping tackle homelessness and meeting our obligations in nominations agreements. We will work together on councils’ common allocation policies, common housing registers, choice-based lettings (CBL) schemes and extra care nominations, as long as candidates meet our eligibility criteria and it is in our interests to do so. We will keep our participation in CBL schemes under review to ensure we can let our homes efficiently and continue to house people in need.

We will sometimes advertise homes through other means, including on the open market. Examples of when we might do this include when a home proves difficult to let through local CBL schemes. Where a home is likely to be hard to let, we will advertise through CBL and other avenues at the same time. We also do this where we have homes that we need to let at market rents.

In exceptional circumstances, we reserve the right to allocate homes through direct matching rather than through the CBL scheme. The Head of Customer Contact and Community Support is authorised to approve direct matches where there are significant factors that make advertising inappropriate or not in the best interests of Magna or the community. These factors may include, but are not limited to:

Where a required managed allocation will protect relationships or community cohesion.
Operational necessity – where urgent operational needs arise that require immediate allocation to a specific household.
Other exceptional circumstances – any other situation, as determined by the Head of Customer Contact and Community Support, where direct matching is justified to protect the interests of Magna or our stakeholders.

All decisions to bypass the CBL scheme must:

Be authorised by the Head of Customer Contact and Community Support.
Be clearly documented, including the rationale for the decision and any supporting evidence.
Be reported to the Director of Customer Operations for transparency and monitoring.

In accordance with our charitable objectives to provide social housing and associated facilities, services and amenities, we give priority to rent garages to our customers. Where there is no demand from our customers, we will let garages to non-Magna customers in order to avoid losing rent.

Eligibility

We will let homes in accordance with our charitable objectives. To be eligible, applicants must be in housing need due to:

Their financial circumstances, which mean they cannot obtain suitable housing on the open market.
Their age, disability, mental illness or chronic sickness, which mean they need accommodation that is specially adapted or otherwise suitable for them.

In certain circumstances, we will let homes to existing customers or members of their household who do not meet the criteria set out above. Examples include customers who have to move so we can demolish or make improvements to their home and people who are entitled to a new tenancy following the death of a customer in accordance with rights set out in our tenancy agreements.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, we will not let homes to:

Applicants with a debt to Magna or another social landlord who is a partner in the relevant CBL scheme.
Applicants who have materially breached the terms of a current or previous tenancy, for example through anti-social behaviour, within the last two years.
Applicants whose behaviour would pose an un-manageable risk to Magna colleagues and/or the community. Exclusion for this reason will normally require the authorisation of the Head of Customer Contact and Community Support and advice or guidance from other organisations, e.g. the police, probation service or health professionals.
Applicants who are unable to afford to pay the rent and any other charges or otherwise maintain a tenancy without the need for support at a level we are unable to provide either directly or indirectly.

We expect applicants to pay rent in advance in accordance with their tenancy agreement, unless there is a good reason why they cannot.

We will fully participate in relevant protocols dealing with dangerous or potentially dangerous offenders and use these when considering applicants who pose an actual or potential public protection risk.

Where an applicant is aged 16 or over but not yet 18, we require an appropriate guarantor (aged over 18) and may also require appropriate support to be in place before offering a tenancy.

Other eligibility criteria

We will let our homes in accordance with specific eligibility criteria where this applies in certain areas or to certain homes. This includes:

Where we have adopted a local lettings plan (LLP) (see below).
Where section 106 agreements, other planning conditions or other binding agreements specify conditions such as a local connection or minimum age criteria.
Where homes are reserved for specific applicants such as key workers.

Local lettings plans (LLPs)

LLPs are agreements with local councils that allow us to set criteria for letting certain homes to address issues or concerns in a specific community. For example, this could be an area where there has been a problem with anti-social behaviour.

LLPs will:

Be different depending on the issue that they are addressing.
Not conflict with our charitable objectives.
Comply with all relevant legislation.
Not discriminate either directly or indirectly unless Magna can show there is good reason for doing so.
Be used proportionately to achieve a legitimate aim.
Have clear aims and objectives.
Be time-limited and evidence-based.
State clearly the area or homes to which they relate.
Be discussed and agreed with the local authority where the LLP will be applied to: section 106 sites; new developments where the LLP applies to all new lets; and where the local authority has nomination rights and we propose to apply the LLP to homes covered by those rights.
Be measurable.

Advertising empty homes

We will normally advertise empty homes through the CBL scheme in the area. However, we reserve the right to let homes without advertising them through CBL; for example, where we have been unable to let a home through CBL or where we identify an eligible charitable beneficiary who is in housing need but is not eligible to register with the relevant local authority scheme, or who has an urgent need to move and needs a ‘direct match’ to an empty home.

Applicants who are registered in the relevant CBL scheme can express interest in our advertised homes for which they are eligible in accordance with the common allocation policy operating in that area.

We will let all homes in accordance with our own eligibility guidelines and, where appropriate, the relevant local authority CBL policy. If there is conflict between these, our eligibility guidelines will take priority.

We will state any eligibility guidelines on our adverts.

Where there is more than one eligible applicant for a general needs or sheltered home through CBL, we will prioritise the applicant with the highest banding.

Where there is more than one applicant in the relevant banding, we will prioritise the applicant with the oldest application date in that band.

Where we advertise homes through routes other than CBL, we will prioritise applications on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

Making best use of homes

We aim to make best use of our housing and will normally ensure our homes are fully occupied when we let them. To calculate bedroom eligibility, we will allow a single or double bedroom as appropriate for a single applicant or a couple. For children to be allocated a bedroom the applicant must be in receipt of the child element of universal credit or child benefit for that child. We will allow one additional single or double bedroom as appropriate for each of the following:

Two children of the same sex under the age of 16.
Two children under 10 irrespective of sex.
Any other person aged 16 or over.
Any other child (other than a child whose main home is elsewhere).

A carer who does not live in the household and who provides a household member with regular long-term overnight care where the person/child who needs the care is in receipt of one of the following benefits:

o Mid or high-rate care component of Disability Living Allowance.

o Daily living component of Personal Independence Payment standard or enhanced rate.

o Armed Forces Independence Payment.

o Constant Attendance Allowance.

o Attendance Allowance.

A disabled child who receives the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) care component at the middle or higher rate, who would otherwise be expected to share a bedroom but due to their disability would not be able to do so, will be allocated a bedroom to themselves.
And a member of a couple who is unable to share a bedroom with their partner because of either partner’s disabilities, and the disabled member of the couple is in receipt of:

o Middle or high-rate care component of Disability Living Allowance, or

o Daily living component of Personal Independence Payment, or

o Attendance Allowance at the higher rate, or

o Armed Forces Independence Payment.

We may allow homes to be under-occupied in certain circumstances, which include but are not limited to:

To help improve an applicant’s financial situation.
Where a home has low demand or is otherwise difficult to let.
In certain sheltered housing homes.
And to help those who may wish to remain in a specific rural community where there is limited stock available.

Before under-occupying homes, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the home is affordable and the tenancy is sustainable.

We will let sheltered housing to people aged 55 years and over or to younger vulnerable people if the environment and communal facilities offered helps to support their need. We will let extra care homes to people with the relevant care and support needs.

We will let purpose-built or adapted homes to applicants who will make use of the existing adaptations wherever possible.

We will let homes that have been designed or designated as supported housing to those with relevant support needs unless there are good reasons not to.

Fairness and accessibility

We will have a clear application, decision-making and appeals process. The appeals process is via Magna’s Customer Complaints Policy except where applicants wish to refuse a reasonable offer of housing and have been awarded a homeless duty by the local authority. These appeals would be made directly to the local authority in line with its allocation policy.

We will give no preferential treatment to Magna Board members, colleagues, existing and new customers, and those with whom such persons are closely connected, in our lettings processes.

We aim to ensure that our lettings processes can be used by all applicants and we will let our homes in accordance with our equality, diversity and inclusion policy.

Verification of circumstances

We will aim to ensure that each home is let to the person(s) entitled. We will verify the identity and circumstances of customers.

We may take steps to recover possession of any home that was let on the basis of false information supplied by an applicant.

Preparing homes for letting

We aim to visit all homes prior to the outgoing customer(s) leaving to identify any repairs and remedial works that are the customer’s responsibility and identify any authorised improvements that the customer has carried out for which they may be entitled to claim compensation.

We will advise customers of remedial work they are responsible for and of the recharges if these aren’t completed. Our aim is to give clear advice and ensure customers have maximum opportunity to put anything right before they move out to minimise recharges for the customer and costs for Magna.

If we have to clean or clear out the home, repair any damage the former customer or members of their household or visitors have caused, or put right any alterations that they have made which do not meet our standards, we will recharge reasonable costs and an administration fee for doing so and we will pursue any outstanding debts.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, we will not allow a customer transferring from one Magna home to another to move until they have carried out all repairs or remedial works that are their responsibility in the home they are leaving. Examples of what we might consider exceptional circumstances include but are not limited to:

Where a management transfer application has been approved.
Households that need to move to avoid further hardship if their current home is unaffordable.
Households that are unable to return to their current home for medical/welfare reasons, for example if they are in hospital.

We aim to carry out all works to empty homes before the new customer moves in. From time to time, we may carry out post-occupation repairs. Where possible, we offer a choice of fittings and fixtures to new customers if we are carrying out improvement works in the period between lettings.

Adapted homes

We aim to make the best use of our housing stock and to let adapted homes to applicants who will benefit from the adaptations. If we cannot let an adapted home because of the specialist adaptations, we may remove the adaptations.

Our standards

We will repair, clean and decorate all homes in accordance with the current Magna Lettable Standard.

We will inspect all empty homes following works and prior to letting to a new customer, to ensure the work carried out meets quality and cleanliness standards and our lettable standard.

Always safe

We will ensure that a landlord’s safety check (LGSR) is carried out during the period the home is empty in all homes with gas, oil or solid fuel heating appliances. All work identified will be completed before the home is re-let. A copy of the relevant certificates will be provided to the new customer.

We will ensure that an electrical check is carried out in empty homes before they are re-let. High priority work identified will be completed before the home is re-let. A copy of the test certificate will be provided to the new customer.

Responsibilities

The Director of Customer Operations is the accountable person in relation to all aspects of empty homes and lettings planning delivery at Magna and is responsible for the development and review of the policy, ensuring that this meets all relevant legal, contractual and regulatory requirements and guidance.

The Head of Customer Contact and Community Support is responsible for ensuring that the policy is adhered to and for ensuring the policy is reviewed and updated in accordance with the policy review timetable.

The Operations Manager (Income and Lettings) and their team are responsible for the delivery of Magna’s operating procedures relating to this policy, for maintaining accurate data on Magna’s housing management systems and also for reporting on empty homes and lettings in line with governance arrangements.

This policy will be reviewed by the Director of Customer Operations and approved by the Executive Board in line with the timescales set out in Magna’s policy delegation framework.

Tier 1 and 2 performance indicators will be set and monitored in line with the performance management framework.