EX291002-07an4

EXECUTIVE – 29 OCTOBER 2002

Staff Housing

The County Council has a total of 104 staff houses excluding the Fire Service houses. 70 of them are occupied by Service tenants and 11 by secure tenants, 9 are used to provide temporary accommodation for new employees and 14 are used for non-housing use or are held vacant pending redevelopment. Most of them are within the curtilage of Council establishments, in particular caretaker’s houses within the grounds of schools. The overall occupancy rate is 83%.

In 2001/02 the total cost of providing the staff housing service was £251,000 including repairs and maintenance, salaries and overheads. The income from rents was £165,000 and there were recharges to other services of £108,300. These recharges are intended to make up any difference between the rent paid by the tenant and market value. For example rents paid by school caretakers are calculated as a proportion of salary, which can give a rent which is less than market rent.

Whenever staff housing units become vacant consideration is given as to whether they should be retained or disposed of. Over the years the total stock has reduced substantially. In most cases it would not be good estate management to dispose of houses which are within the curtilage of a Council establishment, particularly if there is likely to be a future need for an on-site caretaker or sale of the house would detract from the value or development potential of the whole site.

The Council is currently giving priority to provision of accommodation for key workers. The staff housing provides accommodation for a substantial number of staff at a relatively low net cost and with the staff housing budget showing a small surplus. Disposal of the houses would be likely to affect service provision and would not, in most cases, be in the long-term interests of good asset management.

Some years ago several local housing associations were contacted to establish whether they would have been prepared to take on the responsibility for management of the Council’s staff housing. None of them indicated a willingness to do so. Several other County Councils have been contacted. Hertfordshire has an agreement with a Housing Association which manages the Council’s non-service tenancy housing and charges a Management fee. The Council has nomination rights. In all of the other cases the staff houses are owned and managed in-house.