Decision

The Assistant Director of Housing Services has
approved the purchase of the properties listed in the exempt
appendix 1 with an estimated acquisition cost of
£377,000

Reasons for the decision

The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local
Government (MHCLG) has recognised that Local authorities such as
Wirral Borough Council, which have welcomed Ukrainian and Afghan
arrivals are facing challenges in securing settled accommodation
for these households, which unless alleviated will further impact
on existing housing pressures.

Local Authority Housing Fund 2 (LAHF2) provides an opportunity for
the Council to use this funding to support these immediate
pressures, as well as build a sustainable stock of affordable
housing for the future.

The Council has been allocated a total of £2,412,500 LAHF2
from MHCLG (£1,912,500 grant plus £500,000 to account
for other costs including the refurbishment of the properties
purchased) for the rapid acquisition of 25 properties or up to the
budget allocation. This funding includes the original allocation
for the delivery of 20 units plus a further allocation to secure an
additional 5 units. Decisions have already been made for the
acquisition of 30 properties, however the construction of 2 new
build properties previously agreed did not progress and the vendors
of an additional 3 properties have withdrawn, leaving 25 properties
proceeding.

Although 22 properties have completed there are various risks with
the remaining 3 properties which will result in a delay or may
prevent them proceeding to completion. Therefore, it is prudent
given the funding availability to have additional properties within
the LAHF2 programme. These 3 delayed properties can be moved to
Local Authority Housing Fund 3 (LAHF3) subject to approval. 2
additional properties have now been identified which can be
included in LAHF2 and will bring the total number up to 24 and
total spend on acquisitions up to £4,221,240 (excluding
associated costs which will also be met from this funding) if the 3
delayed properties are moved to LAHF3.

As with the delivery of affordable housing generally, there is a
requirement for the Council to part fund (60%) of the required
capital to purchase these homes, recognising that they will receive
an ongoing long term rental income from them.

The Council is utilising £2,868,750 existing eligible
ring-fenced funding from a number of sources including:
• commuted sums for affordable housing secured through the
planning system; and
• Income received in relation to refugee programmes already
being delivered in the borough.

This funding will provide the 60% match funding required to deliver
this programme of acquisition. There is therefore no additional
requirement for any capital funding from the Council’s own
resources and no cost to the Council's capital borrowing or core
budgets.

The total cost of the programme of acquisition is £4,781,250.
40% grant will provide £1,912,500 of funding. Council is
providing 60% match funding in the sum of £2,868,750)

15 of these properties must be provided to Afghan nationals who
have been given settlement status by the UK and have been living in
bridging hotels but must now move to settled long-term
accommodation. 10 properties must be used as temporary
accommodation, helping to alleviate significant homelessness
pressures in the borough.

Officers from Strategic Housing Services and the Asset Management
Team are working collectively to identify suitable properties to
purchase utilising this funding.
Given the need to progress this scheme within ambitious timescales,
the Council entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in
August 2023 with The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities (DLUHC, now MHCLG) in recognition of its allocation and
the target to progress the acquisition of an initial 20 homes plus
a further 5 homes following an addendum to the MOU in March 2024,
or up to the allocated budget to add to its existing small social
housing stock base.

Costs associated with compliance checks and any essential repairs
required to the properties will also be met from this
funding.

Property acquisition details are set out in the attached exempt
appendix 1. Appendix 1 is exempt from publication pursuant to
paragraph 3 of the part 1 of Schedule 12 A of the Local Government
Act 1972 (Information relating to the financial or business affairs
of any particular person (including the authority holding that
information) because it contains or refers to information relating
to the financial and business affairs of the Council and the public
interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest
in disclosure.

Alternative options considered

The Council could have given this grant
funding to Registered Providers to acquire additional housing stock
in the borough, but the preferred option is to acquire the
properties for Council Ownership so that an income can be generated
in the future from rental income and reduce the burden on housing
subsidy loss for use of bed and breakfast.

The Council already has an existing management agreement in place
with a local Registered Provider of Affordable housing in relation
to its small social housing stock base and these homes can be added
to this agreement without the need to procure a further
partner.