Purpose

Following a Cabinet
report in December 2023, Cabinet declared a Housing Emergency. The
report clearly laid out the strategy to help address the demands
and pressures on homeless services in the city. This included the
purchase of properties from the open market to provide additional
accommodation.
 
This report will
propose the purchase of specific properties to help meet some of
these demands.

Content

 
Appendices
B, C, D, E  F & G of this report are
exempt from publication pursuant to Paragraphs 14, 16, and 21 of
Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.
 
RESOLVED: that
 
1.        
the ongoing Housing Emergency and the
new demands that will add further pressures to homelessness
services and temporary accommodation be noted.
 
2.        
the acquisition of the properties
identified in the confidential Appendix B be approved and authority
be delegated to the Corporate Director - People and Communities in
consultation with the S151 Officer, Legal services and the Cabinet
members for Housing and Communities and Finance, Modernisation and
Performance for all matters arising from the acquisitions and to
authorise exchange of contracts and completion of those properties
in accordance with the Heads of Terms annexed to this report
subject to:
 

a.    Approval
of appropriate grant funding being secured from Welsh
Government

b.   
Confirmation of a suitable financial viability assessment for each
purchase

c.   
Confirmation that the decision does not result in commitments
outside the budget framework.

d.    Receipt
of updated/formal valuation confirming the value contained in
confidential Appendix E & F
 

3.      authority be delegated to
the Corporate Director People & Communities, in consultation
with the Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities, to consider
responses to the recent Homelessness Consultation and to implement
any consequential policy changes as appropriate and within existing
budgets.