The Communities Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to meet to discuss and comment on several housing policies before they are considered by the cabinet. These include policies on temporary and permanent decanting, housing service charges, and recharges to tenants. The committee will also review and comment on the work programme for consideration and approval by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Decant Policy

The committee is scheduled to discuss the Decant Policy (Temporary and Permanent). The report pack includes a draft of the policy, which aims to formalise the decision-making and processes for agreeing to decant residents from Housing Revenue Account (HRA) properties when they cannot remain in their homes while work is carried out.

The report states that the council recognises that moving, whether temporarily or permanently, can cause significant inconvenience, distress and expense. Alternative accommodation will only be considered when occupation during works is not possible.

The policy outlines the support the Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) will offer to tenants required to move out temporarily due to urgent or hazardous works, as well as planned essential repairs or improvements.

The policy is intended to:

• Ensure decants operate fairly, equitably and reasonably, following the current allocations policy and procedure.
• Enable decants to be carried out with minimal disturbance to residents.
• Set out the basis for making offers of financial and practical support to those who are decanted.
• Minimise use of council resources and loss of rent.
• Ensure best use is made of the council's resources.

The policy also applies to tenants who may need to be decanted under the provisions of Awaab's Law¹ which comes into force from October 2025.

The report notes the Housing Ombudsman expects landlords to have a clear and accessible policy for decant procedures. The policy is expected to deliver the Housing Ombudsman's expectations that:

• we have a clear and accessible policy for decant procedures, outlining the circumstances a decant may be considered
• where health and safety risks are identified we act quickly to start the decant process
• we keep residents informed about the reasons for the decant and progress on any works if it is a temporary decant
• we take into account the needs of the household to be decanted, including any vulnerabilities
• we consider individual circumstances, including reasonable distances from work, family, or schools where possible
• residents are informed about the costs for which they are responsible, including utilities
• residents are informed about any costs for which we are responsible.

The report also sets out the key legislation that relates to decants, including the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023², the Housing Act 1985³, the Housing Act 1988⁴, and the Land Compensation Act 1973⁵.

Housing Service Charges Policy 2025 - 2030

The committee is scheduled to discuss the Housing Service Charges Policy 2025 - 2030. The report pack includes a draft of the policy, which outlines how the council calculates, apportions and recovers service charges relating to residential properties managed by the Housing & Property Team at Epping Forest District Council.

The policy is intended for all Housing Revenue Account properties owned by Epping Forest District Council where EFDC has responsibility to maintain and manage and that are let on introductory or secure tenancies or are leasehold or freehold where communal charges apply.

The report states that Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) is committed to providing affordable housing and managing its housing stock for the long-term benefit of tenants, and that the services provided in managing and maintaining communal areas, including the costs of communal utilities, are funded via service charges.

The policy complies with the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985⁶, Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002⁷, and other relevant legislation. It ensures charges are reasonable, transparent, and properly consulted on where required.

The policy also takes account of the government's policy statement on rents for social housing and the Regulator of Social Housing's Rent Standard 2023.

Service charges reflect actual costs incurred and do not generate profit for EFDC. Leasehold Service Charges are applied in line with the Individual Lease Agreement.

HRA Tenant Recharges Policy

The committee is scheduled to discuss the HRA Tenant Recharges Policy. The report pack includes a draft of the policy, which formalises the council's approach to recovering costs from residents for rechargeable work such as end-of-tenancy clearances and rechargeable repairs.

The report states that this policy helps the council to operate a transparent and fair process which does not use budgets or apply charges which will penalise a wider set of residents where an individual resident is identified to be specifically responsible for the payment.

The policy recognises that tenants have a responsibility to look after their homes as laid out in the Tenancy Agreement. A recharge is defined as:

Where we charge the tenant or former tenant for work which is their responsibility under their tenancy agreement, and which is not a result of normal wear and tear. Examples may include damage, neglect, non-compliance, or failure to meet the tenant's maintenance responsibilities which has resulted in additional costs for us.

The report also sets out the related documents and legislation, including the Housing Act 1985, the Housing Act 1988, the Equalities Act 2010⁸, the Decent Homes Standard 2000, the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014⁹, tenancy agreements, lease agreements, garage rental agreements and the EFDC Complaints Policy.

Work Programme

The committee is scheduled to consider, comment on, and propose any amendments to the Work Programme, for consideration and approval by The Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The work programme includes progress on the Epping Forest Health and Well Being Strategy, the Annual Housing Performance Report & Tenant Satisfaction Measures report, Council Housing Development - Chequers B, Loughton, the Community Safety Partnership, Qualis' property management services, performance update, and the Waltham Abbey Museum Trust.