NEW COUNCIL HOUSING MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS APPROVED

Plans that will see a new organisation take over the management of council housing in Thanet, with the aim of improving the service to tenants and leaseholders, has been given the final go-ahead.

The proposals were agreed last night (Thursday 24 February) at a meeting of full council, which agreed to set up what’s known as an “arms length management organisation” (ALMO) called East Kent Housing. It will be managed jointly with three other East Kent councils, Canterbury, Dover and Shepway.

Tenants and leaseholders across East Kent gave the idea their broad support following an extensive consultation during summer 2010 and the proposals were also approved by the Tenant Services Authority earlier this year.

Thanet District Council will remain the owner and legal landlord of the council housing stock in Thanet and tenants and leaseholders’ rights and responsibilities will be unchanged. East Kent Housing will manage and maintain council homes across the four council areas and will have to achieve standards set by each council. The key aims are to involve tenants and leaseholders in the planned improvements for their housing service. East Kent Housing will be responsible for:

looking after council estates, including managing grass cutting, gardening contracts, cleaning and maintenance of communal areas
managing improvements to tenants’ homes
collecting rent and helping tenants who are having difficulty in paying
making sure that tenants stick to their tenancy agreements
involving and communicating with tenants, including producing newsletters, leaflets and supporting community groups and activities
working with the police, the council and other agencies to reduce anti-social behaviour
re-letting empty properties, approving mutual exchanges and changes to tenancies
running sheltered housing schemes and organising adaptations to homes of tenants with disabilities

East Kent Housing will be run by a Board of people, made up of four tenants or leaseholders, four councillors who represent the four council areas and four local independent people. They will oversee the day to day running and management of the organisation. The council’s current housing staff will transfer to East Kent Housing and the usual contact details for them and repair contractors will remain the same in the new organisation.

Cllr. Chris Wells, Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “I’m really pleased that this has been approved because of what it will mean to our tenants and leaseholders. A huge amount of work has gone into creating East Kent Housing and we’ve done that because we genuinely believe that its introduction will mean a better service for tenants and leaseholders.

“By bringing our services together with neighbouring councils, we can bring together all the best bits of council housing services, as well as make savings that can then be reinvested back into our housing stock. This will be a dedicated housing service, led by the needs of our tenants and leaseholders and we want their help in shaping the housing services that East Kent will deliver in the future.”

The creation of East Kent Housing is part of an ongoing project to share services in East Kent to provide the best value for money to the taxpayer and make the best possible use of the councils’ resources and staff expertise.

Tenants and leaseholders will be informed about how the new organisation will work through a dedicated local magazine which will be sent out at the end of March and through a new website. In the meantime, the latest information can be found at www.thanet.gov.uk/sharedhousing