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.

RESOLVED –

THAT the list of tenant and residents’ associations as set out at Appendix A and their representatives be noted.

Apologies for absence were received from Brian Gardiner and Monir Hussain (Churchway TRA), Suzie Lai and Simon Lepper (Clarkson and Mornington TRA), Mahboobur Rahman and Rashida Khan (Coopers Lane Estate TRA), Priya Mandavia (Phoenix Court TRA) and Richard Caylor (Bayham Place TRA).

There were none.

There were none.

There were none.

Report of the Director of Finance

This report summarises the financial position of the Housing Revenue Account and the draft recommendations on rent and service charges to be made to the Cabinet in January 2025.

The report also seeks the views of the DMCs on the draft recommendations

The DMCs will retire to the following rooms to discuss the budget proposals separately:

Gospel Oak            - Council Chamber

Hampstead             - Committee Room 1

Camden Town        - Committee Room 2

Kentish Town          - Committee Room 5

Holborn                   - Committee Room 4

At 8.15pm the DMCs will be recalled to report the outcomes from their respective meetings if they wish.

The DMC went through the proposals outlined for consideration as set out in the template from the Director of Finance.

Rent Increase

Following a vote, it was determined that the proposed increase should not be supported.

Increase Tenant Service Charge - Caretaking:

Following a vote, it was determined that the proposed increase should be supported.

Increase Tenant Service Charge - CCTV:

Following a vote, it was determined that the proposed increase should not be supported.

Increase Tenant Service Charge - Communal Lighting:

Following a vote, it was determined that the proposed increase should be supported.

Increase Tenant Service Charge - Communal M&E Maintenance:

Following a vote, it was determined that the proposed increase should not be supported.

Increase Tenant Service Charge - Grounds Maintenance:

Following a vote, it was determined that the proposed increase should not be supported.

Increase Tenant Service Charge - Responsive Housing Patrol:

Following a vote, it was determined that the proposed increase should be supported.

Comments on heating pool proposals

Following a vote, it was determined that the proposed increase should be supported.

Officer responses to questions

The Council had developed an Asset Management Strategy to enable it to ensure it was delivering quality homes for people to live in. In order to ensure that Council homes continued to be fit for purpose £1bn worth of investment would need to be undertaken. This figure had been revised to a deliverable level of £670M which allowed for the prioritising of investment on regulatory requirements and the safety of residents in their homes. The total funding the Council had to meet this investment need was £370M, meaning that the Council had a shortfall of £300m which it proposed to fill by releasing approximately 60 high-cost homes a year for sale. It was anticipated that high-cost homes would mainly be street properties that required exceptional levels of investment and did not represent good value for money. It was not expected than many homes would be sold in the first year of the 5-year programme, as the authority would be using its existing resources to fund this investment programme. The funding arising from this investment programme would not be used to resource the purchase of ex-right to buy homes, as the family friendly purchasing programme was being used for this purpose. 

The Housing Welfare Rights Team provided a valuable service to both tenants and residents seeking assistance in accessing benefits and help with their own financial management, along with enabling tenants to pay any debits they had with the Council. This was a service that all housing providers had in place, and both adult social and children’s services had similar support services in place. The adult and children support services could be accessed by private rented sector tenants if they met the eligibility criteria. Registered Social Landlords had their own money advice teams in place to support their tenants.

Tenants on housing benefits were able to access Camden Living Homes, and a number were already living in these homes.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

There were none.