Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Health introduced the report and stated the six Housing policies, outlined in the appendices of the report, were necessary policies for council tenants and were good practice. It was stated that the Tenants Handbook, in Appendix 1 of the report, would be produced as a physical copy for tenants and the other policies would be provided virtually but could be printed if requested. The majority of the contents were statutory information but the Committee was asked for comments on the tone of the documents.

The Committee agreed the Housing policies were good practice for the authority but that there were concerns over the Pet Policy, in Appendix 3 of the report, including the number of animals to be allowed in each property and the requiremenent for dogs to be vaccinated annually which could be prohibitively expensive. A Member of the Committee raised a concern regarding a clause that residents could be evicted during introductory tenancies for “other things” compared to a secure tenancy and what that could entail.

In response to concerns, the Head of Housing and Regulatory Services stated that as a Pet Policy was not a statutory requirement the council would apply discretion in cases regarding the amount of animals permitted and that that the requirement for dogs to be vaccinated would be changed to advisory. It was also confirmed that they would provide the Committee with examples of evictions during introductory tenancies due to “other things”.

RESOLVED: To recommend to the Cabinet Member for Housing and Health that the suite of Housing Management Documents attached to this report are approved.