Issue - meetings
Affordable Housing Partnership Update
Meeting: 17/09/2019 - Communities, Housing and Environment Committee (Item 52)
52 Affordable Housing Partnership Update PDF 77 KB
Minutes:
The
Director of Regeneration and Place presented his report which would
finalise the strategy to enable the Council to recommence the
delivery of affordable housing within the Borough.
The Committee noted that following approval from Members of this
Committee and Policy and Resources Committee in November 2018 and
13 February 2019 respectively, Officers had commenced a soft market
testing exercise where registered providers were approached to
gauge their appetite for such a venture. The results of which affirmed that although the
registered providers were keen to work with the Council, they were
content to continue receiving Section 106 contributions rather than
borrowing from the Council.
In
response to questions from Members, the Director of Environment and
Place advised that:-
·
In order for the Council to manage its own
affordable housing stock, a considerable investment was
required.
· Lending money to a smaller registered housing provider was considered to be a greater risk.
RESOLVED: That
1)
The creation of a Housing Delivery Partnership be
delayed, pending further information relating to a garden community
proposal.
2)
Officers seek direction from the Secretary of State
to acquire up to 200 no. social rented homes on smaller
developments (at a value of not more than £30m over the 5
year MTFS period.
3)
The services of a Registered Provider (RP), as a
managing agent, be explored together with an in-house housing
provider to acquire up to 200 no. social rented homes.
4) The required financial hurdles for a positive investment decision be 5% Internal Rate of Return and a positive Net Present Value, as per the Council’s current investment criteria for private rented sector housing (for Maidstone Property Holdings).