Agenda item


Housing Standards - Fees and Charges

Report of Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning

 

Purpose of report

 

1)    To seek approval of revised Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence fees and of those recoverable costs associated with the issue of certain notices and orders.

 

2)    To seek approval of the introduction of fees associated with advisory visits for landlords and for the issue of Empty Homes VAT-exemption letters.

 

3)    To seek approval that the periodic review and setting of HMO licence fees will, in future, be delegated to the Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning.

 

4)    To seek approval of a revised Recovery of Costs Policy which sets out how recovery of certain enforcement costs will be applied and which, in future, makes the Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning responsible for reviewing and setting those costs.

 

Recommendations

            

The meeting is recommended:

 

 1.1          To approve the proposed House in Multiple Occupation (HOM) licence fee structure.

 

1.2           To approve the revised administrative charges the Council can recover for certain notices and orders issued under the Housing Act 2004.

 

1.3           To approve the introduction of a fee for advisory visits.

 

1.4           To approve the introduction of a fee for issuing Empty Homes VAT-exemption letters.

 

1.5           To approve the delegation of future HMO Licence fee setting in accordance with the Housing Act 2004 and Orders under it to the Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning and Housing.

 

1.6           To approve the Recovery of Costs Policy 2019 (Appendix 6) which includes future delegation of the setting of recoverable costs to the Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning to the extent permitted by the Housing Act 2004 and Orders under it.

 

Decision:

Resolved

 

(1)            That the proposed House in Multiple Occupation (HOM) licence fee structure be approved.

 

(2)            That the revised administrative charges the Council can recover for certain notices and orders issued under the Housing Act 2004 be approved.

 

(3)            That the introduction of a fee for advisory visits be approved.

 

(4)            That the introduction of a fee for issuing Empty Homes VAT-exemption letters be approved.

 

(5)            That the delegation of future House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Licence fee setting in accordance with the Housing Act 2004 and Orders under it to the Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning and Housing be approved.

 

(6)            That the Recovery of Costs Policy 2019 (Annex to the Minutes as set put in the Minute Book) which includes future delegation of the setting of recoverable costs to the Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning to the extent permitted by the Housing Act 2004 and Orders under it be approved.

Minutes:

The Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning submitted a report to seek approval: of revised Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence fees and of those recoverable costs associated with the issue of certain notices and orders; the introduction of fees associated with advisory visits for landlords and for the issue of Empty Homes VAT-exemption letters; for the periodic review and setting of HMO licence fees to, in future, be delegated to the Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning; and, of a revised Recovery of Costs Policy which sets out how recovery of certain enforcement costs will be applied and which, in future, makes the Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning responsible for reviewing and setting those costs.

 

Resolved

 

(1)            That the proposed House in Multiple Occupation (HOM) licence fee structure be approved.

 

(2)            That the revised administrative charges the Council can recover for certain notices and orders issued under the Housing Act 2004 be approved.

 

(3)            That the introduction of a fee for advisory visits be approved.

 

(4)            That the introduction of a fee for issuing Empty Homes VAT-exemption letters be approved.

 

(5)            That the delegation of future House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Licence fee setting in accordance with the Housing Act 2004 and Orders under it to the Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning and Housing be approved.

 

(6)            That the Recovery of Costs Policy 2019 (Annex to the Minutes as set put in the Minute Book) which includes future delegation of the setting of recoverable costs to the Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning to the extent permitted by the Housing Act 2004 and Orders under it be approved.

 

Reasons

 

HMO licence fees

Revision of the Council’s HMO fees is required as a consequence of legal rulings with which the Council must comply. The costs associated with processing and enforcing HMO licences have been thoroughly reviewed.  The proposed HMO licence fee structure incorporates the changes required to ensure the Council is compliant, the newly reviewed costs incurred by the Council in carrying out its licensing function, and also recently determined corporate overheads.  The proposed licence fee structure therefore reflects the real cost to the Council of its HMO licensing activity.

 

HMO licence fee structure also implements the introduction of a higher fee for new HMOs found operating without a licence as provided for by the HMO Licence Policy 2018. This revision reflects a reapportioning of the cost of the enforcement element of HMO licences and ensures landlords are paying proportionately towards enforcement costs, with non-compliant landlords contributing more.

 

Revised charges for notices and orders

The recoverable charges made by the Council were last set in 2016.  They have been reviewed to take account of the Council’s increased costs and also to more properly reflect corporate overheads following recent review. The proposed recoverable costs reflect the true costs incurred by the Council in issuing relevant notices and orders under the Housing Act 2004.

 

Charges for advisory visits

It is judged appropriate for the Council to charge a fee for detailed advice it provides to landlords who are considering setting up new rental property, particularly new HMOs.  Essential information about the Council’s requirements are available free of cost but detailed, property-specific advice effectively replaces research and planning a landlord would otherwise have to undertake.  It is legitimate and appropriate for the Council to charge for the time committed to this discretionary activity.

 

Charge for VAT-exemption letters

It is judged appropriate for the Council to charge a modest fee for undertaking the necessary research and providing written confirmation about long-term empty property which their owners can use to obtain VAT reductions. The proposed charge is simply intended to reimburse the officer time spent on reviewing the property history and producing each letter.

 

Setting of future enforcement fees

Delegation of HMO licence fee setting and recoverable costs setting to the Assistant Director, Housing and Social Care Commissioning will ensure these particular charges can be kept under close review, revised as and when required and that the calculations and justifications can be produced as necessary if challenged or appealed. The proposed delegation of recoverable costs is reflected in the proposed Recovery of Costs Policy 2019 and that policy is dependent upon it.  In the absence of such a policy, different arrangements will need to be established in order that recoverable costs can be set.

 

Alternative options

 

In connection with HMO licence fees:

Option 1: Failure to revise the HMO licence fees to split the charge associated with the application and enforcement processes would leave the Council open to legal challenge and is not therefore a supportable option. However, whilst accepting the principle of splitting the licence fees, the Executive could, if it wished, implement different fees to those proposed in the report. The proposed fee structure has been set to reflect the costs incurred by the Council and any changes would therefore risk being deemed arbitrary rather than being soundly based.

 

Option  2: The Executive could opt not to set different licence fees for compliant and non-compliant applicants. That course would fail to reflect the fact that the enforcement costs associated with the enforcement of the licensing regime are higher for poorly performing landlords and would mean all landlords being charged equally. 

 

In connection with recoverable administrative costs:

Option 3: The proposed recoverable costs associated with the issues of enforcement notices etc. have again been based on a careful review of the Council’s costs. The Executive could, if it wished, set different charges to those proposed in the report but that course would leave the Council at risk of challenge that its charges were arbitrary rather than being soundly based.

 

In connection with charging for advisory visits:

Option 4: The Executive could determine that it will not charge for this activity or it could set different fees.

 

In connection with charging for VAT-exemption letters:

Option  5: The Executive could determine that it will not charge for this activity or it could set a different fee.

 

In connection with Setting of future HMO licence fees and recoverable

costs

Option 6: The Executive could decide that future HMO licence fees and recoverable enforcement costs could be determined as part of the Council’s fee setting process rather than delegated to the Assistant Director Housing and Social Care Commissioning. That would however risk them becoming divorced from the underpinning analysis necessary to support them in the event of challenge.  Failure to adopt the revised Recovery of Cost Policy would also necessitate setting a different mechanism for establishing how Work-in-default costs are to be calculated.

Supporting documents: