Agenda and minutes

Appendix A lists those Tenant and Resident Associations (TRAs), which have satisfactorily completed the registration process at the date of despatch of this agenda. It gives details of the representatives of those TRAs to be co-opted onto the DMC, in accordance with the constitution, together with the names of the substitutes.

Appendix B lists those TRAs whose registrations have lapsed. If a TRA wishes to register it must hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM), open to all members, once a year (with an independent observer in attendance). The minutes must be sent to the Tenant Participation Service together with a membership list and a completed registered form.

The DMC considered the list of registered tenant and resident associations (TRAs) provided by the Tenant Participation Service listed at Appendix A to the agenda and those TRAs whose registration had lapsed, which were listed at Appendix B.

The DMC noted that CASP should be added to the A list.

RESOLVED –

THAT the ‘A’ list information be noted.

Apologies for a absence were received from Richard Caylor (Bayham Place Estate TRA), Brian Gardiner (Churchway TRA), Ramiz Percuku (College Place Tenants and Residents Association), Wolfram Westendorf (Godwin and Crowndale TMO), Sherryl Murphy and Sheila James (Mayford Tenants and Resident Association).

The Chair advised the meeting that David Perris had been appointed to the Camden Housing and Property Residents Panel.

There were none.

There were none.

To consider the minutes of the meeting of Camden Town DMC held on 14^th September 2022.

The meeting agreed that on page 17, Bridgeway Court TRA should be revised to Bridgeway Street TRA.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 14^th September 2022, with the above revision be approved as a correct record.

To consider the actions arising from the last meeting of the DMC.

Consideration was given to the action tracker.

CCTV and the Responsive Security Patrol

Officers agreed to provide an update regarding whether the contract for the Responsive Security Patrol had recently been extended.

ACTION BY: Director of Property Management (DW)

The DMC expressed its concern regarding the fact that officers in the Responsive Security Patrol had no powers of arrest, and without that whether the service was fit for purpose. The DMC felt that this matter should be considered by the Council.

ACTION BY: Director of Public Safety

RESOLVED –

THAT the action tracker be noted.

To consider the report of the Directors of Housing and the Director of Property Management

Due to the importance of the HRA Budget and Service Charge information, on this occasion the consolidated paper has been split into discussion and information items for the December DMC round of meetings. Discussion items on HRA budget and service charges, the impact of the inflation and rent levels on the repairs service and plans to transform Housing Management services will have officers in attendance to present those papers and answer questions, whilst the ‘for information’ listed papers provide background context to the discussion items but will not have specific officers attending to cover each issue.

Consideration was given to the report from the Directors of Housing and Property Management.

HRA Budget

Emma Cardoso, Team Leader (HRA & Capital Projects) Strategic Finance, took the meeting through the report and she along with Councillor Meric Apak, Cabinet Member Better Homes, gave the following key responses to questions:

·       Following the outcome of the Government’s rent cap consultation, officers would be proposing a 7% rent increase to the Cabinet in January, along with appropriate service charge increases. A savings plan had been identified that would seek to ensure that a balanced HRA was achieved. In order to ensure a linked approach was being undertaken, the Council would be considering its Medium Term Financial Strategy at the same time as the HRA Budget and Service Charge report.

·       The HRA was a ring fenced budget, so officers would always take a robust approach regarding any requests to seek to move general fund costs to the HRA.

·       Officers agreed to ensure that the report going to the January meeting of the DMCs regarding HRA Budget and service charge increase would clearly breakdown the 70% of tenants who were in receipt of Housing Benefit and Universal Credit, so it would identify those in receipt of the full amount and those that were entitled to a lesser percentage. Also they would include the average wage figure and the average wage increase for Camden residents, along with information regarding the impact the recent Census information (which showed a population reduction), would have on future resources available to Council and the HRA. They also wanted to see information in the January report to Cabinet and the DMCs regarding the costs to the HRA of successful leaseholder challenges

ACTION BY: Director of Finance (EC)

·       A report would be going to the Cabinet and Housing Scrutiny Committee in December 22 that would be setting out the Council’s approach to putting in place a purchase programme for Family Friendly Housing. The report would set out the context, aims, delivery proposals, process, estimated budget and proposed governance for the Overcrowding Strategy that would cover the next 5 years.

·       The proposals would enable the Council to provide more support to overcrowded families and buy back former Right-to-Buy (ex-Council) homes in the borough, to increase the number of bedrooms and bed spaces so that more overcrowded families on the housing register could be accommodated in Council homes, using receipts from small and/or unsuitable properties. The report would also cover the Council’s approach to assisting tenants that wished to downsize. The resources generated from this programme would be ring-fenced to fund the scheme.

·       The Council was seeking to ensure that it was able to maximise its resources from its commercial property portfolio through a reduction in voids or to identify under-utilised assets, rather than just seeking to maximise rental income.

·       The Council was also seeking to ensure that garage rents were more in line with the levels charged by other local authorities or similar garages nearby. The approach being proposed would seek to move  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report of the Head of Tenancy Services.

In line with the DMC funding guidelines, TRAs will be asked to provide an update to the meeting regarding the progress of agreed bids, including an update on the associated spend. TRAs are invited to circulate any relevant information in advance through the clerk.

TRAs are encouraged to submit bids as soon as possible, so they can be properly assessed and prepared by officers, ready for submission to the DMC. TRAs are reminded that verbal bids cannot be accepted at DMC meetings as, in line with the guidelines, officers need to be able to assess bids before passing them to the DMC.

For more information on DMC bids, please see our webpages: www.camden.gov.uk/district-management-committees.

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Landlord Services

The DMC noted that no bids had been submitted for the meeting to consider. The meeting also asked officers again to ensure that the Bridgeway Street bid was listed in the report itself.

ACTION BY: Head of Landlord Services

The meeting noted that a special meeting to deal with budget bids would be held on 18^th January 2023 and TRAs should ensure that all bids met the appropriate deadlines for the meeting. This meeting would also consider other issues and these would be determined closer to the time by the Chair.

                                                              ACTION BY: TRAs/DMC Chair

RESOLVED –

THAT the report and actions above be noted.                                                      

To consider the paper from the DMC Chairs regarding the Complaints Panel.

Consideration was given to the information from the DMC Chairs regarding the complaints survey.

The DMC noted the number of tenants who had responded to the survey and felt it would have been helpful had more responses been received.

The Chair advised the meeting that any views or issues that DMC representatives had on the information should be fed back to Peter Wright, Chair of Holborn DMC, or her who would then forward the information on.

                                                              ACTION BY: DMC representatives

RESOLVED –

THAT the information be noted

To consider any local issues raised by DMC representatives.

Cost of Living meeting

It was noted that all DMC representatives were invited to attend the Cost of Living Meeting taking place in December that had been arranged by local councillors.

Meeting with local councillors

The Chair advised the meeting that she would be meeting with local councillors to discuss issues of concern in due course.

                                                              ACTION BY: DMC Chair

To receive an update from the Cabinet Member for Better Homes on housing issues in the Borough.

Councillor Meric Apak, Cabinet Member Better Homes, welcomed the constructive nature of the meeting and willingness of the DMC to work together with the Council to improve service delivery. He felt that housing services were moving in the right direction, and the housing transformation programme was the next part of the cultural change process. He welcomed the work that officers had done in improving the Council’s approach to tackling damp and mould. This had led to the Council being a leading example in this field, with many local authorities now seeking to copy Camden’s approach in dealing with these issues.

RESOLVED –

THAT the update be noted

There were none.