New Council Housing Management Arrangements Approved

Plans that will see a new organisation take over the management of council housing in Dover District, with the aim of improving the service to tenants and leaseholders, have been given the final go-ahead.

The proposals were agreed on Wednesday 2 March at a meeting of Full Council, which agreed to set up what is known as an 'arms length management organisation' (ALMO) called East Kent Housing. It will be managed jointly with three other councils in East Kent (Canterbury, Shepway and Thanet).

Tenants and leaseholders across East Kent gave the idea their broad support following an extensive consultation during summer 2010, and the proposals were also approved by the Tenant Services Authority earlier this year.

Dover District Council will remain as the owner and legal landlord of the council housing stock in the district, and tenants' and leaseholders' rights and responsibilities will be unchanged as a result of this.

East Kent Housing will manage and maintain council homes across the four council areas and will have to achieve standards set by each council. The key aims are to involve tenants and leaseholders in the planned improvements for their housing service.

East Kent Housing will be responsible for:

Looking after council estates, including managing grass cutting, gardening contracts, cleaning and maintenance of communal areas
Managing improvements to tenants' homes
Collecting rent, and helping tenants who are having difficulty in paying
Making sure that tenants stick to their tenancy agreements
Involving and communicating with tenants, including producing newsletters, leaflets and supporting community groups and activities
Working with the police, the council and other agencies to reduce anti-social behaviour
Re-letting empty properties, approving mutual exchanges and changes to tenancies
Running sheltered housing schemes and organising adaptations to the homes of tenants with disabilities.

East Kent Housing will be run by a Board of people made up of four tenants or leaseholders, four councillors who represent the four council areas, and four local independent people. They will oversee the day-to-day running and management of the organisation. The council's current housing staff will transfer to East Kent Housing and the usual contact details for them and repair contractors will remain the same in the new organisation.

Cllr Sue Chandler, DDC Cabinet Member for Community, Housing and Youth said: "Joining services with our neighbours, we will be working together to get better services for our tenants and leaseholders and to make increasing savings. We hope that our tenants and leaseholders will continue to play a large part in shaping the dedicated housing services that East Kent will deliver in the future. We are pleased that Dover District Council, with our neighbours, is leading the way in sharing services in this area."

The creation of East Kent Housing is part of an ongoing project to share services in East Kent to provide the best value for money to the taxpayer and make the best possible use of the councils' resources and staff expertise.

Tenants and leaseholders will be informed about how the new organisation will work through a dedicated local magazine which will be sent out at the end of March and through a new website. In the meantime, the latest information can be found on the Council website at www.dover.gov.uk/sharedhousing.