Kirklees’ Council housing system in a dire state as families struggle to get a home

Shocking statistics were shared at the council’s latest Economy and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny panel where the extent of the backlog for council housing in Kirklees was brought to light. This comes to the fore as the authority’s Housing Allocation Policy is under review for the first time in over 10 years.

Kirklees adopts a banding system ranging from A to E, with applicants placed in bands depending on their housing needs. Those with the highest priority are placed in band A with 77 per cent being offered a home within 12 months, but this accounts for just 1 per cent of all applicants. A less optimistic outlook is to be had for people in the lower bands with just 1-2 per cent of those in band D, which contains the most applicants, offered a home in 12 months.

The over-saturation of the housing register makes the chance of securing a council property even more difficult. In any one year, there are between 19,000 and 20,000 people waiting for a property but at present, just 1,560 homes will become available in this yearly period. This equates to 30 properties per week.

Paul Howard, acting head of housing said: “When you consider the number of people on the register compared to the number of properties that are available, there’s a lot of people there that aren’t going to be able to secure a new property in the near future of them entering the register.”

Chris Friend, co-optee described the report as an “eye-opener” and asked service director for homes and neighbourhoods, Naz Parkar, what the current housing stock was for Kirklees.

In response, Mr Parkar said: “We have approximately 21,500 homes in our direct ownership and management scattered across the district on a mix of homes and types: bungalows, flats, houses. We have a dire shortage of larger family homes in terms of four beds in particular and people do present with those sorts of needs for a larger home.

“Three-bedroomed homes are very, very difficult. We have a small stock but they don’t become available that often either because families don’t have anywhere else to go in that sense. Then we have a further thousand or so that we manage on behalf of others.”

In response, Mr Friend said: “Looking at the numbers, 19,000 plus on the register. You haven’t got that many more houses in the portfolio in its entirety. This is desperate. It’s far worse than I ever believed.”

Mr Parkar said: “That’s the challenge, and whilst we have 21.5k homes in our ownership, we only have 1,700 to 1,800 homes that become available in any given year.”

Data taken from the end of 2021 shows the chances of being allocated a council house within 12 months. This is as follows:

10 per cent for a one-bedroom house

10 per cent for a two-bedroom house

5 per cent for a three-bedroom house

3 per cent for a four or more-bedroom house

The council’s Housing Allocations Policy last went under a full review following the Localism Act in 2011. Now, following the latest policy review it has been revealed that only minor amendments are deemed necessary.

Proposed amendments to the Housing Allocations Policy include:

Improving access to social housing for victims of domestic abuse. The creation of a new band, ‘B9,’ for those who have experienced home loss due to substantial work being undertaken on their property. Better support for children leaving the care system and returning home. The inclusion of additional details to ensure tenants understand key terms and the likelihood of being offered a property by band and property size.

However, the consultation process which informed the policy’s amendments was criticised by councillors. Coun Matthew McLoughlin (Labour, Colne Valley) raised the issue that the sample size of 26 individuals, 16 households plus the attendees of eight group discussions was dramatically less than the thousands affected by the Housing Allocations Policy. He said to officers: “How confident can you be that the feedback we have is an accurate representation of the experience of these people?”

In response, Mr Howard agreed that the involvement of individuals appeared low but that he believed the response to be “representative of what would come back had they consulted with a lot more people.”

Coun John Taylor (Conservative, Kirkburton) also weighed in on the issue of public consultation and said: “I don’t accept that this is an adequate number to form any view from.”

The issue of anti-social behaviour was raised relating to several areas of the policy. Whilst there are measures in place to quash this such as the Local Lettings Plan, this was said to be ineffective and in need of further examination.

For one, it was revealed that 300 homeless individuals in Kirklees are currently being put up in emergency accommodations like B&Bs. It was suggested that the reintegration of such individuals into permanent accommodation could contribute to anti-social behaviour issues on a local level.

Moreover, anti-social behaviour was said to be found in areas designed to house specific age groups. Coun Martin Bolt (Conservative, Mirfield) said: “In some areas, it causes problems where homes that were originally designed for elderly and vulnerable people are having younger ones brought in.”

In response, Michelle Anderson-Dore, head of housing management and partnerships, homes and neighbourhoods said: “It is correct, we have areas across Kirklees where an age designation applies. Where we’ve had challenges is when we have not been able to identify suitable applicants based on their age. Then, we’re having to look wider because we cannot keep the void properties empty when we have a waiting list that’s reaching 20,000.”

The finalised version of Kirklees Council’s Housing Allocation Policy is due to be published in February 2023.