Homelessness placements with private landlords
Case reference FOI2024/01199
Received 11 July 2024
Published 9 August 2024
Request
Please advise:
1. How many homeless households you placed in accommodation outside your LA area in the financial year 2023/24.
Please provide a breakdown of which local authority areas they were placed.
Please also advise how many were with private landlords, in hostels or in hotels.
2. How many homeless households you placed in accommodation outside your LA area in the financial year 2023/24, where incentive payments were paid upfront to private landlords to accept them.
Please advise the total spending (if any) in this respect.
3. How many homeless households you placed in accommodation inside your LA area in the financial year 2023/24.
Please also advise how many were with private landlords, in hostels or in hotels.
4. How many complaints against private landlords within your LA area you received in the financial year 2023/24 for failing to maintain required minimum standards.
How many inspections you carried out as a result.
And how many improvement notices you issued - whether as a result of these complaints or proactively.
5. How many complaints against private landlords within your LA area you received in the financial year 2023/24 for failing to maintain required minimum standards.
How many inspections you carried out as a result.
And how many improvement notices you issued - whether as a result of these complaints or proactively - were for properties that the Council had placed tenants in.
Response
Please advise:
1. How many homeless households you placed in accommodation outside your LA area in the financial year 2023/24.
Please provide a breakdown of which local authority areas they were placed.
Please also advise how many were with private landlords, in hostels or in hotels.
A) The Service Area have advised 59 households were placed in placements outside Herefordshire during the financial year 2023/24.
Of the above placements all were placed in hotels.
The above placements took place in the following local authority areas:
Birmingham City Council
Cheltenham Borough Council
Gloucester City Council
Malvern Hills District Council
Shropshire Council
Tewkesbury Borough Council
Worcester City Council
Wyre Forest District Council
2. How many homeless households you placed in accommodation outside your LA area in the financial year 2023/24, where incentive payments were paid upfront to private landlords to accept them.
Please advise the total spending (if any) in this respect.
A) 0.
3. How many homeless households you placed in accommodation inside your LA area in the financial year 2023/24.
Please also advise how many were with private landlords, in hostels or in hotels.
A) The Service Area have advised 230 households were placed in placements inside Herefordshire during the financial year 2023/24.
These placements totalled 447 which were broken down as follows:
350 in hotels/B&B
97 in privately owned self-contained properties under either a S188 or S193 duty (leased as temporary accommodation).
0 placed with a private landlord to discharge a S193 duty
4. How many complaints against private landlords within your LA area you received in the financial year 2023/24 for failing to maintain required minimum standards.
A) 207
How many inspections you carried out as a result.
A) 200
And how many improvement notices you issued - whether as a result of these complaints or proactively.
A) 2
5. How many complaints against private landlords within your LA area you received in the financial year 2023/24 for failing to maintain required minimum standards.
A) 207
How many inspections you carried out as a result.
A) 200
And how many improvement notices you issued - whether as a result of these complaints or proactively - were for properties that the Council had placed tenants in.
A) The Service Area have advised that 2 improvement notices were issued, however, they do not hold the information if they were for properties that the Council had placed tenants in.
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.