New city housing strategy approved
Councillors approved a new housing strategy for the city at the Full Council meeting on 24 October.
The new Homes for Everyone housing strategy is our vision for housing services and support in the city.
It sets out 5 priorities towards our ambition of tackling the housing crisis, which aim to help focus our efforts to deliver accessible, affordable and high-quality homes for everyone in Brighton & Hove.
- Improve housing quality, safety and sustainability
- Deliver the homes our city needs
- Prevent homelessness and meet housing need
- Support independence and improved health and wellbeing for all
- Provide resident focused housing services
The housing strategy and its aim to improve homes for everyone is a key strand in the delivery of the Council Plan 2023 to 2027 setting out a vision for a better Brighton & Hove for all.
The housing strategy’s ambition is wider than council housing services. The aim is to shape and deliver a shared long-term agenda with residents, local partner organisations and the wider community.
Brighton & Hove faces a number of significant challenges in terms of housing, with the national housing crisis severely impacting the city.
There is a shortage of homes to meet the needs of our residents and rents and house prices are increasing faster than incomes.
Many properties, across all types of tenure, need work to ensure they are suitable, safe and sustainable, both now and into the future.
There have also been major legislative and regulatory changes impacting social housing landlords following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
These mean that the council needs to invest in improving the quality of its homes and estates and prioritise building and fire safety improvements.
Improving homes for all
Councillor Gill Williams, Cabinet Member for Housing & New Homes, said: “Homes for Everyone is central to the council’s vision for a better Brighton & Hove for all.
“The new housing strategy sets out our goal to deliver accessible, genuinely affordable, and high-quality homes for everyone in Brighton & Hove.
“We recognise there are significant challenges to contend with. We have increasing demand for our services, ageing council home stock and a raft of new legal duties to comply with, compounded by years of lack of investment.
“To face those challenges, the housing strategy and the accompanying action plan are dynamic documents. We will be reporting annually on our progress in achieving these aims.
“We have already begun. We approved a budget of £89.735 million for our council homes this year to ensure building, health and fire safety compliance, alongside energy efficiency and other improvements.
“And while housing supply and affordability is a key issue for the city, a major aim is to increase the number of new genuinely affordable homes being built, with an ambition to deliver at least 2,000 – and hopefully many more.
“We are anticipating 435 new affordable homes to be completed this year, including 90 additional council homes. And building work will begin on a further 290, with many more in the pipeline
“We are also committed to improving conditions in the private rental sector, with a zero-tolerance approach to rogue landlords to give tenants better protections.
“To drive up standards, we’ve introduced a new Additional Licensing Scheme for smaller HMOs across the city and a Selective Licensing Scheme in four wards in the city this year. We’ve received more than 3,600 applications to date and a team of new officers is in place to support the schemes.
“We are resolute in our ambition to achieve a better Brighton & Hove for all and decent, secure, settled, safe accommodation is the foundation that’s needed for our residents to live healthy and fulfilling lives.
“Our Homes for Everyone housing strategy is our vision for how we can make this a reality for all Brighton & Hove residents.”
Developing the strategy
The initial draft housing strategy was developed following a number of engagement exercises with council services and key partners.
A public consultation ran for 11 weeks from March to June this year, which included in-person workshops. We received 347 responses from a mix of residents, groups and organisations through the online survey.
The feedback showed strong support for the priorities and fed into shaping the final version of the strategy and the accompanying action plan. There were also issues raised we’ll be looking at the potential of lobbying central government for additional powers or resources.
The housing strategy was approved to go to Full Council for approval at the Cabinet meeting on 26 September.
