The Head of Housing Needs summarised the report as the biggest change in homelessness law since 1977. The threat of homelessness has changed from 21 days to 56 and the Council has a statutory requirement to provide a personalised housing plan to each request. This change in law has increased caseload by 55%.

The Head of Housing Needs answered the Panel Member questions about the report;

·         Section 2.6 highlights Section 21 - Residents feel that the issuing of Section 21 notices can be used in an aggressive way by landlords in response to resident complaints about minor issues. It’s the biggest cause of homelessness in London. The 1988 Housing Act brought in non-fault evictions. Prior to this, it was much harder to evict with regulated tenancies.

·         Government are beginning to look at tenure types.

·         We have been running a rent deposit scheme for years. 22% still in tenancy. Agreed to share statistics of those in private rented and assisted by Merton.

·         The Council carried out an estimated count of 26 rough sleepers in Merton.

·         Government have given some funding towards homelessness prevention.

·         Government are prescriptive in how to allocate – priority need blind but reasonable preference and helping hand up the list given to certain groups (homeless, overcrowded unsanitary conditions, severe medical issues)