Private Sector Housing Assistance Policy review

The Private Sector Housing Policy has been in place since 1 April 2021 when NNC was created.

During the last three years, we have identified areas of improvement within the Private Sector Housing Policy and the need to incorporate new and revised proposals as a response to the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002 (RRO) and The Housing Grants, Construction, and Regeneration Act 1996. The (RRO) allows local authorities additional freedom in providing home adaptations and improvements in line with the needs of the local area and we have tried to take advantage of this autonomy by introducing new grants, simplifying processes and paperwork, where feasible and increasing discretionary grants where possible.

We have therefore reviewed the original policy, renamed it as Private Sector Housing Assistance Policy and we have incorporated new measures and proposals.  We sought your views on the revised policy.

During the consultation period, we have received 58 responses. All feedback/questions/comments were written and returned by e-mail. In fact, all comments received were as a result of the e-mails sent out to residents/ organisations/team members contacted directly during the consultation period. We had no feedback received by phone calls or letters and no responses received due to the public consultation advertised on the website.

In summary, the residents who were contacted, as they had previously received a DFG, said how helpful a DFG is and how this funding improved their lives but asked for increased funding. The Council cannot increase the mandatory grant of £30K as this is a central government decision. But we can have an impact on the discretionary assistance which has been, thus, increased from £10K to £20K. Additional proposals have been introduced which will assist more people to receive DFG funding and in a timely manner.

External stakeholders such as Housing Associations were satisfied with the recommended policy. Only a few responded and made no major comments.

Foundations – the National Body for Disabled Facilities Grants and Home Improvement Agencies in England - were very supportive and pleased with the content of the policy. They confirmed it covers all items and areas that should be included in a robust Private Sector Housing Assistance Policy.

The members of the team (Occupational Therapists, Grant Support Officers, Surveyors and wider Private Sector Housing officers) commented on new grants introduced and the logistics behind their delivery.

All comments were taken into consideration and valued. A document has been produced – Consultation Outcome - that lists all comments made, our response, how each feedback impacted the policy, and which part was changed, if applicable, as a result of each comment / query. The document recorded the name of the person commenting, the date the feedback was received, the exact feedback given or question asked, our response and the exact change made to the document or a statement that no change was required.    

Several comments resulted in additional text being incorporated in the policy offering further clarity. Other items raised, led to the introduction of new sections being added to the policy to cover areas not previously included – prior to the public consultation. Further comments resulted in a more thorough evaluation of certain new proposals and additional review on logistics behind the delivery of DFGs under these sections.

Finally, there were a few queries to which answers were provided – these were included in the Consultation Outcome document. However, the content of these queries was of a different nature and not to be covered by the policy such as kitchen adaptations which will be covered by the DFG Procedures document.

We have also received a few complimentary comments which have been recorded but no further action was required. The Consultation Outcome document along with the final Policy have been distributed to the DFG Team, Occupational Therapy and wider Private Sector Housing Team. The final policy has been published on the Council’s website.