The Housing and Community Overview and Scrutiny committee of Dacorum Council met on 11 September 2025, where they agreed to amend the Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Licensing Policy and fee structure, and reviewed reports on housing performance, tenancy processes and tenant satisfaction. Councillor Neil Harden appointed himself as chair for the meeting.

HMO Licensing Policy and Fee Structure

The committee agreed to amend the HMO Licensing Policy and fee structure. The report presented to the committee noted that Dacorum Borough Council currently has 133 licensed HMOs, with another 32 in the process of being licensed, and 29 more properties suspected of being HMOs and under investigation.

The key changes to the policy include:

• Reduced Licence Terms: The updated policy allows for reduced licence terms, typically one year, for properties with a history of non-compliance or poor conditions. Circumstances that may lead to a one-year licence include failure to apply for a licence, failure to comply with management regulations or previous licence conditions, poor property conditions, and failure to obtain necessary consents or pay relevant charges.
• Revised Fee Structure: A new two-part fee structure is proposed, with Fee 1 covering the cost of processing the licence application (£596.09) and Fee 2 covering ongoing administration and enforcement (£950.77 for a 5-year licence or £285.57 for a 1-year licence). There is also an additional room fee of £25.48.
• Enforcement: The policy aims to support a robust approach to enforcement and regulation of the private rented sector, supported by a review of the council's Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy and the introduction of a Civil Penalty Policy.

The report also included a Pre-Screening EIA and a Communication and Engagement Plan.

Q1 2025/26 Housing Performance & Tenants' Voice Report Deep Dive

The committee reviewed the Q1 2025/26 Housing Performance & Tenants' Voice Report. The report highlighted several key performance indicators (KPIs) and areas of focus for Housing & Property Services.

Key points from the report:

• Highlights: Rent collected as a percentage of rent owed moved from amber to green, with an increase in collection of arrears to 98.93%. All but one of the Safe Communities KPIs are green, with the amber KPI for percentage of homes with a valid gas safety certificate at 99.97%. Satisfaction with how the council keeps communal areas clean and tidy during the period has seen a steady improvement.
• Areas for Improvement: Three indicators were rated red: satisfaction with ASB case handling, percentage of open damp and mould cases exceeding 100 days, and percentage of respondents satisfied with complaint handling. Actions are being taken to address these areas, including developing an ASB case closure process and referral form, obtaining accurate updated figures for damp and mould cases, and delivering customer service training to all DBC officers.
• Temporary Accommodation: There has been a reduction in the use of Bed & Breakfast as temporary accommodation, with the number of households in B&B accommodation reduced from 99 in Q4 2024/25 to 36 in Q1.
• Responsive Repairs Satisfaction: The repairs teams have seen significant improvements in tenant satisfaction measure results, with satisfaction with the repairs service at 63% and satisfaction with the time taken to complete the most recent repair at 62% in 2024/25.

Councillor Rick Freedman requested a breakdown on the points in the report.

Housing Operations Tenancy Processes - Allocations, Management, Support, and Enforcement Deep Dive

The committee reviewed a report providing an overview of housing operations, outlining the key stages in the management of related service activity.

Key areas covered in the report:

• Housing Register and Allocations: Managing demand for social housing based on need, with eligibility assessed according to criteria set out in the Housing Allocations Policy.
• Tenancy Commencement: Formalising the tenancy relationship and ensuring tenants understand their rights and responsibilities.
• Housing/Tenancy Management: Managing tenancies in accordance with the Tenancy Management Policy, Rent Arrears and Write Off Policy.
• Tenancy Enforcement: Ensuring compliance with tenancy agreements, mitigating risk, and preventing impact on other tenants or residents, including addressing rent arrears and anti-social behaviour (ASB) in line with the Anti-Social Behaviour Policy.
• Tenancy Support: Providing support to tenants to sustain their tenancies, including advice on budgeting, debt management, and accessing welfare benefits.

Tenant Satisfaction Measures 2024-2025

The committee reviewed the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM) results for 2024-2025. The report covered the legislative framework, methodology, results, and service improvement actions related to the TSMs.

Key points from the report:

• Management Information TSMs: Gas, fire, asbestos, water, and lift safety checks maintained their scores or improved, reflecting strong performance in essential safety measures. Stage 1 complaints per 1,000 homes increased, but response rates improved significantly. ASB cases per 1,000 homes decreased, while ASB hate incidents per 1,000 homes rose. Non-decent homes reduced, and non-emergency repairs completed on time increased.
• Tenant Perception TSMs: Overall, tenant perception scores were broadly similar to the previous year, with a decrease in dissatisfaction for eleven out of twelve questions. However, satisfaction levels remain low compared to national benchmarks.
• Service Improvement: The council will analyse the 1,200 comments received to identify key areas for improvement and will combine TSM data with service-specific perception survey data. A TSM improvement plan is being developed, and benchmarking will be used to identify high-performing organisations for learning opportunities.

The TSM Report 2024-25 included a comparison of Dacorum Borough Council's TSM results for Low Cost Rental Accommodation (LCRA) with national averages, specifically the median landlord scores for LCRA tenants, as presented in the TSM Headline Publication report.

Other Matters

• The committee agreed to the work programme.
• The action points from the previous meeting were reviewed, and it was noted that there were no outstanding action points. Councillor Natasha Beresford had provided clarification on the difference between right to acquire and right to buy, and Mark Pinnell had provided information regarding concerns raised about the policy/approach for allocation of allotments.
• Councillor Neil Harden declared that he did want to work for the DENs.
• There was no public participation or matters referred to the committee in relation to call-in.
• The public were excluded from the meeting to discuss the Elms Contract and the Repairs Maintenance & Capital Delivery Project due to the disclosure of exempt information relating to the financial and business affairs of the council and third party companies/organisations.