Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2022 To 2027.accessible

Homelessness and Rough
Sleeping Strategy
2022-2027
March 2022
Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy
Contents
Foreword 4
1. Introduction 5
2. The National Strategic Context 5
3. Local Strategic Context 6
4. Objective One: Prevent homelessness and sustain tenancies 7
4.1 Our Housing Options Team and new ways of working 7
4.2 Supporting those at risk at the earliest opportunity 8
4.3 Directing households to money advice services 10
4.4 Preventing the loss of a private rented tenancy 11
4.5 Accessing private rented accommodation 12
4.6 Tenancy sustainment 14
4.7 Impacts of the Pandemic 15
5. Objective Two: Respond to support needs 16
5.1 Partnership approaches to supporting vulnerable people 17
5.2 Mental Health 17
5.3 Domestic abuse 19
5.4 Prison Leavers and Ex-offenders 19
5.5 Looked After Children, 16 to 17 year olds and Care Leavers 20
5.6 Substance misuse 21
5.7 Duty to Refer and discharges from public sector facilities 22
6. Objective Three: Tackle Rough Sleeping 23
6.1 Complex need supported housing scheme 24
6.2 East Surrey Outreach Service eSOS 24
6.3 Tenancy Support 25
6.4 Winter Night Shelter 25
6.5 Everyone In 26
6.6 Move on Scheme and Housing First pilot 26
7. Objective Four: Improve access to and the range of accommodation options 27
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

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7.1 Housing Register and Choice Based Lettings 27

7.2 Delivering new affordable homes 29
7.3 Council led housing schemes 30
7.4 Funding our partners to deliver housing 31
8. Funding and Resourcing the Strategy 32

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Foreword
I have great pleasure introducing the Council’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy
2022-27.
During the last five years, we have faced many new challenges including implementation of
the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, increasing numbers of households with complex
support needs, and homeless single people. The pandemic brought an unexpected set of
challenges for all. I am proud of the response by the Housing team, the quality of their
service to those facing homelessness and their continuing efforts to manage the on-going
impacts on local people.
Our achievements in the past five years are many and have set a strong foundation for this
five-year Strategy. Our committed, motivated, and successful team implemented new
practices and ways of working in response to new responsibilities and duties in the
Homelessness Reduction Act. It was a huge effort and not without challenges but placed the
Council in the best position to respond to the changing client groups we work with and the
many complications arising from the Pandemic.
We achieved other successes such as delivering Council emergency accommodation and we

plan to provide more so households can remain local with all the benefits that brings. Our in-
house Money Advice Service has helped many households to access benefits, manage
debts, learn to budget, and build financial resilience. Our highly motivated in-house housing
tenancy support staff have supported many people to access services, obtain household
items, use food banks, and access specialist accommodation.
Looking ahead to the next five years we will build on this strong foundation. We do not
underestimate the value of our good relationships with our many partners. Strong and
effective partnerships are important to delivering the right services which support people to
make positive changes, try new experiences, feel valued and part of the wider community.
As ever, funding for new support and other services needed for the increasing numbers of
people with complex needs, some of whom are rough sleepers, remains an issue for us to
navigate. There are many more challenges ahead, but I am confident that our Housing Team
is in an excellent position to deliver the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy and
help those facing homelessness to get the support and help they need.
Councillor Caroline Neame

Executive Member for Housing and Support

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1. Introduction
The past five years the social housing sector have been characterised by change, new ways
of working and the need for even more innovation. New homelessness legislation introduced
in 2018 has widened the Council’s homelessness responsibilities and duties whilst also
placing responsibilities on households themselves to undertake prevention activities.
Our Housing Service had already shifted its focus to the prevention of homelessness prior to
the Homelessness Reduction Act. We recognise the importance of assisting households to
avoid homelessness and the many impacts it has on relationships, employment, support
networks and schooling. This approach has led to many positive housing outcomes for
households over the years and placed us in a strong position to manage the unforeseen
challenges of a Pandemic.
We remain committed to delivering positive results with and for our clients. Partnership work
is embedded in our approach. Our close work with statutory agencies such as Probation,
Surrey and Boarders Partnership, Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Surrey Police,
primary care networks, and others is key to securing effective outcomes for our clients. Our
many social housing providers which include Raven Housing Trust, our main local
stockholder and a range of low support housing providers like Transform Housing and
Support help us secure homes and stability for clients. Finally, the many charities we work
with such as Furnistore, Stripey Stork and our local food banks provide our clients with items
to turn a property into a home as well as delivering essential supplies to those in financial
crisis.
Our five year priorities are driven by our on-going commitment to preventing homelessness at
the earliest opportunity whenever possible. The borough is a high housing cost area, and this
influences the availability of affordable housing options. Securing the supply of affordable
social and affordable rent homes is essential alongside sourcing private rented tenancies.
For many households, tenancies are one aspect of the housing journey, it is the support and
advice, money advice, financial help, tenancy support and practical help that completes the
process. This is built into our approach to tackling homelessness.
2. The National Strategic Context

A range of national priorities and policies, alongside legislation have influenced and shaped
the Council’s strategy and direction. The ending of rough sleeping and reduction in
homelessness is a national priority and is linked to other national strategies and initiatives
around reducing drug use, reducing delayed hospital discharges, supporting care leavers and
those in the criminal justice system. These include the:

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• Criminal Justice Act 2003

• National Services Act 2006 and Delayed Discharges Directions 2013
• HM Government Care Leavers Strategy 2013 updated 2014
• Localism Act 2011
• Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
• Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018
• The Rough Sleeping Strategy 2018
• Next Step Accommodation Programme 2020
• Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme 2021
• Domestic Abuse Act 2021
These strategies and the legislation are set in the wider context of welfare reform which has
implemented significant changes to the welfare benefit system, housing costs, benefit caps
and sanctions.
3. Local Strategic Context

At a countywide level the main strategies and programmes that support tackling
homelessness and delivering the right accommodation and services are:
• Community Vision for Surrey 2030

• Surrey Against Domestic Abuse Strategy 2018-2023
• Every Adult Matters agenda
• Surrey Health and Well Being Strategy
Heads of Housing Services across Surrey together with Registered Providers, Surrey County
Council representatives and Homes England attend regular meetings of the Surrey Chief
Housing Officer Association. This group champions stronger working relationships across
organisations, the development and maintenance of strategic relationships and projects with
Surrey County Council, health authorities as well as joint bids to Homes England and
government funded programmes.
The Surrey Housing Needs Managers group meets regularly with a focus on homelessness
agendas including housing waiting lists. It undertakes joint work responding to consultations,
new national and local initiatives, benchmarks performance and indicators, develops joint
protocols and joint working practices with other agencies and jointly bids for homelessness
funding programmes.
At a local level the Reigate & Banstead 2025: Five Year Plan sets out the Council’s vision
and priorities for the borough. Within it, the housing objective is ‘Secure the delivery of homes

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that can be afforded by local people and which provide a wider choice of tenure, type and
size’. Our five year plan highlights the housing challenges facing the borough around
affordability, numbers on the Housing Register, in temporary accommodation and delivery of
new affordable housing.
In addition, the Council has published and begun implementing the priorities in the Housing
Delivery Strategy. With a focus on delivering homes, it is supported by significant financial
investment. Several of the projects being delivered through it will support the Homelessness
Strategy and are explored in more detail in this document.
4. Objective One: Prevent homelessness and sustain tenancies

The Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA), enacted April 2018, placed new legislative
requirements on local authorities and extended many of the duties and requirements on local
authorities set out in the Housing Act 1996 and Homelessness Act 2002.
The legislative changes, which built upon the homelessness prevention approach already
adopted by the team are embedded into the Housing Service. New software was installed to
better support our strong casework approach and enable the team to manage the additional
administration burden of the HRA. The team implemented new practices, changed its
structure, and expanded to manage the new prevention duties and administration. A revised
team structure is in place with a Prevention Team managing all initial housing enquiries,
advice and homelessness prevention duties. The Relief Team provides overlap with the
Prevention Team and in addition handles all homelessness relief and main duty cases.
4.1 Our Housing Options Team and new ways of working

The Housing Options Team expanded in 2018 in response to impacts of the HRA. Since
2018 four Prevention Officers, a Customer Support and Admin Officer and an additional
Relief Officer post was created. The Housing Service receives the Government funded
Homelessness Prevention Grant to support our activities and increased staffing.
To manage the impacts of additional and longer duties to households, as well as investment
in ICT and staff, we have changed the appointment and duty phone systems. This has built in
the additional time needed to undertake full and detailed assessments and comprehensive
homelessness prevention activities. A daily Duty Officer from each of the Prevention and
Relief Teams is available by telephone for advice, booking document check appointments
and for emergency assistance.

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The introduction of ‘document check’ appointments with a dedicated staff member, for every
client at risk of homelessness means all relevant information regarding their case is collected
in preparation for a detailed casework appointment and development of a personal housing
plan (PHP). The Duty system also provides capacity for all staff to undertake intensive
casework with individual clients.
Supporting the work of our four Prevention Officers and four Relief Officers is a Housing
Support Coordinator. In place since 2018, this role provides more intensive support and
practical assistance to individual homeless clients with medium to high support needs. The
Housing Service also funds a post in the Fraud and Error Team. This Intelligence Officer
assesses homelessness and housing register applications to ensure no fraud is occurring
and that social housing and financial support is given appropriately. In 2020/21, 344
Prevention and Relief cases were assessed and of these 8 cases being found to be
potentially fraudulent. According to the Cabinet Office methodology for calculating financial
saving through fraud prevention, the cases saved £25,920 in public expenditure.
Up to the start of the Pandemic, our clients were seen face to face. The Pandemic led to
rapid changes to the way the team operated. With immediate effect from March 2020 the
team moved to 100% telephone-based communication and electronic provision of
documentation. This worked successfully. Many households have preferred the convenience
of a telephone appointment, particularly working households and those with young children.
A hybrid arrangement is likely to operate in the future, with the opportunity for everyone to
have face to face interviews if preferred.
4.2 Supporting those at risk at the earliest opportunity

Early intervention is the best way to help people avoid homelessness.
Since the introduction of the HRA in April 2018, the number of households approaching us for
housing options assistance remained fairly consistent at just over 1,000 a year. Many of
those approaches are offered advice and are signposted without further detailed casework.
Between 2018/19 and 2020/21 a Prevention Duty was accepted to 1,017 households and a
Relief Duty accepted to 489 households. Working closely with clients, the team achieved
948 positive outcomes with clients owed either duty during the same period, representing an
average homelessness prevention rate of 60%. The number of households owed the main
duty where homelessness could not be prevented was 188 over the three years.
In the borough, the most common causes of risk of homelessness are family or friend no
longer willing to accommodate and threat of or loss of a private sector tenancy. Other
reasons include threat of or loss of a social tenancy, relationship breakdown, eviction from a

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supported housing placement, domestic abuse, or other violence or harassment. Many

households seeking housing advice also have other issues and pressures. Money concerns
are common, as are mental ill-health, physical health problems, support needs and for some
substance misuse needs.
The Prevention Team works to support households at risk of homelessness at the earliest
opportunity with constructive advice, support and assistance. Close liaison and negotiation
with clients, landlords, agents, and families and friends is crucial to finding solutions for
clients to remain in their current accommodation or to agree timeframes to enable planned
moves to avoid periods of homelessness.
We use a raft of tools and services to help people remain in their homes. They include
financial and money advice, affordability assessments, on-going liaison, and negotiation with
all parties to agree next steps, advice and support to domestic abuse survivors, assistance
with benefit applications, use of discretionary housing payments and interest free loans. Our
team refers to and works closely with other services, agencies, and partners to provide a
wide range of more specialist services and support.
The use of Personal Housing Plans (PHPs) have proved to be an important prevention tool.
PHPs provide a practical framework and checklist for applicants and staff to understand their
responsibilities, what action each party needs to take and when. Their availability on-line
makes them easy to access, see what actions need to be completed and to update them.
Our performance on homelessness prevention is good. The rate of positive housing

outcomes achieved has increased from over 270 in 2018/19 to over 330 in 2020/21, a most
challenging year. The Pandemic led to a change in the household type approaching the
Council and a much higher number of single people. In comparison to 2019/20 the Council
accommodated almost 100% more single people as a result of the Government ‘Everyone In’
initiative with a high proportion of this single person group having support needs.
Over the Pandemic, the numbers of families facing eviction declined mainly due to the
temporary restrictions placed on landlords of all tenures regarding the service of notices and
the closure of Court Services and then subsequent adjournment of many cases when they
re-opened. We expect evictions to increase in 2021/22 as courts fully open with the potential
of higher numbers of families placed in emergency and temporary accommodation over the
coming few years. There are also indications that more landlords are planning to sell their
properties, possible due to the financial impacts of the Pandemic on them.

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4.3 Directing households to money advice services

Effective money advice is crucial to preventing some households becoming homeless. Many
households seeking housing advice are experiencing money problems. The Prevention and
Relief Team make referrals to specialist debt advisors and our internal Money Support Team.
Clients with complex debt problems are referred to the local charity Community Debt Advice,
the Citizen’s Advice Bureau or other national agencies.
Set up in 2018, in response to the impacts of universal credit and an identified gap in money
services, our in-house Money Support team now has three Money Support Advisors. It takes
referrals from Council teams only, and up to 2021 over 605 referrals have been received. The
team’s aims are to support residents to maximise income and develop confidence with
budgeting to help prevent future debt. Developing independence and resilience is important
to enable clients to thrive and get back into work or change jobs, improve their quality of life
and manage money effectively.
All clients receive a full assessment within two weeks of referral and any urgent actions are
completed. The service has a waiting list, which has remained consistently at 30-40 clients.
Working with a caseload of 10 clients for up to 12 around weeks per client, each Advisor
helps with budgeting, setting up bank accounts, managing bills online, document or money
organisation, digital support, benefit entitlement, reducing debt and maximising income.
Unfortunately, the Pandemic has impacted on the complexity of cases and case times
extended to 15 weeks.
Of the 605 referrals, the team has successfully closed 305 cases in addition to many ‘quick
win’ emergency interventions for clients. Looking at the 305 closed cases, the team
completed 116 additional benefit claims, helped clients clear £30,600 rent arrears, cleared
£8,200 Council Tax arrears and £25,100 of other debts. The team has also enabled clients
to claim benefit underpayments of £21,600.
Sustaining budgeting is important, 53% of clients complete budgeting plans and only 1% of
clients have returned for support.
Clients with complex debt problems need specialist debt support services. Money Support
undertakes preparation work with clients ready for intensive debt management support, and
referred 47 cases to specialist services after initial casework. Money Support also refers
clients to the local Foodbank and around 60% of open cases have been referred or are
currently using one.
The Pandemic has impacted many of those on the Money Support waiting list and during July
- December 2020, the Money Support team had a 100% increase in referrals compared to
the same time in 2019. Research in October 2020 showed that 20,300 borough residents

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were furloughed equating to 28% of employed residents. It could take months and years for
many households to recover financially from the effects of the Pandemic and we expect this
to impact on future housing.
Looking to the future, the team is considering options to expand referral routes to external
partner agencies. It is also working on resourcing more ‘quick win’ emergency interventions
to prevent tenancy loss and actions to support quicker access to a tenancy offers such as on-
the spot budgeting, UC applications, and completing Council Tax Reduction forms.
4.4 Preventing the loss of a private rented tenancy

We estimate that around 9,600 households in the borough privately rent (Census 2011
uplifted by 26% in accordance with English Household Survey data). This equates to
approximately 18% of households in the borough and indicates a 10% increase compared to
2011. Private rentals are an option for the many households who are waiting for the offer of a
social housing tenancy and to households at risk of homelessness.
The number of households approaching the team seeking housing advice due to risk of
homelessness has remained over 1,000 since 2018/19. The risk of or ending of a private
rented tenancy together with family or friend eviction are the most frequent causes.
High local housing costs, affordability and rent arrears are more common reasons for a threat
or loss of a private tenancy, although the sale of properties and relationship breakdown also
occur. Effective negotiation with landlords and clients underpins our strategy to prevent
homelessness. Wherever possible, we negotiate agreements to sustain tenancies and or
repay arrears.
We undertake detailed casework with each client taking a holistic approach to assessing the
household. We consider individual circumstances, support needs, vulnerabilities, disabilities,
safeguarding and financial circumstances which inform a realistic and achievable PHP for
every client. As circumstances change, PHPs are undated by us and our clients to ensure
they remain relevant and helpful.
During our casework with clients we complete financial assessments, give benefit and
budgeting advice as well as basic debt advice. Where appropriate clients are referred to the
Money Support Team and complex debt cases are referred to specialist advisors. Clients are
also signposted to websites and given our in-house money advice and debt fact sheets, all of
which are available on the Council’s website.

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We support clients to access Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) as appropriate to

bridge temporary affordability gaps. DHPs are also an important tool in assisting with rent in
advance and deposits.
Our Homelessness Prevention Loan Scheme (HPLS) is also used to assist eligible
households with financial difficulties who are at risk of or homeless. The scheme offers
interest free loans which can assist with rent deposits, rent in advance, one off payments
towards rent or mortgage arrears and other solutions. Funding for this discretionary scheme
is dependent on the repayment of loans by those assisted. Applicants are subject to full
assessment and not all applicants are suitable for the scheme. Between 2018/19 and
2020/21,132 loans have been made mainly towards rent in advance. We do provide rent
deposits but we aim to directly register the funds in a Government approved rent deposit
scheme so the funds are returned and can be recycled.
Our success rate with preventing the loss of a private tenancy is good. In some situations, a
tenancy ends, and we work with clients directly and through NextStep to support clients to
secure a new private rental.
Family or friend evictions are now overtaking private rental evictions in the borough. This
number increased through the pandemic, particularly for single people. Our teams negotiate
with the parties involved providing advice and support to help people remain in place or for as
long as possible or for long enough to make a planned move to other accommodation.
However, we recognise that staying put is not always an option in some situations.
4.5 Accessing private rented accommodation

Private rented accommodation is a good option for many households and it has a significant
role in the Council’s approach to preventing and relieving homelessness. We provide advice
factsheets on our website to help households search, understand landlord and tenant
responsibilities and consider affordability.
To maximise opportunities to access the private sector, we fund and work in partnership with
NextStep YMCA East Surrey. Working with referred by the Council with a priority need, they
assess affordability, suitability and source properties. NextStep has excellent working
relationships with several local landlords and letting agents. As well as sourcing properties,
landlords and matching clients to properties, the NextStep team provides on-going tenancy
support to clients for at least six months. They assist clients with settling in, benefit
applications, budgeting and managing their tenancies. Some 1,279 households have been
referred to NextStep and they have secured 537 tenancies over the last five years averaging
over 100 per year. They have also intervened when clients have started to struggle with

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managing tenancies and have prevented evictions or helped households find alternative
accommodation.
Welfare reform has impacted on the private rental option. Universal Credit (UC) continues to
provide challenges in securing private rented tenancies and interest from landlords. More
landlords are concerned about the inability of agencies to liaise with the DWP about housing
costs, consequently more are requiring additional security including up to six months’ rent in
advance or guarantors. Whilst Local Housing Allowance and UC rates rose temporarily in
response to the Pandemic, the benefit cap has not changed, and this has further eroded
affordability.
Private renting is not an option for almost all benefit capped households, excepting a very
specific household type within a specific borough area. With a total family income capped at
£1,667 a month equating to £20,000 a year and the cost of a 2 bed private rented flat starting
upwards of £950 a month, the affordability gap is too wide. The cap introduces significant
affordability problems for any household already privately renting. In the short-term,
discretionary housing payments can assist these households, but are not a long-term
solution.
Our Housing Options Team also works closely with clients, landlords and letting agents to
help clients assess private rented homes. The Council will provide interest free loans to
qualifying households for rent in advance and deposits and assists households to apply for
discretionary housing payments towards these costs. On occasion, the Council will act as
guarantor subject to limited liability, to eligible clients to secure accommodation.
Over recent years, an increasing number of private landlords and letting agents have raised
the financial requirements placed on potential tenants. This trend has seen a prerequisite for
households to have at least 30 times monthly rent income levels or a guarantor who is a
homeowner. The earnings threshold for many households requiring private rentals has
increased significantly.
Private rented options for single people on low incomes or benefits are also limited by
affordability. The monthly cost of a room in House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) in the
borough is typically around £600. This cost cannot be met by single people non-Care
Leavers under 35 years, because their entitlement to housing costs is limited to the single
room rate which set below £500 a month nationally. More good quality and affordable HMO
accommodation in the borough would provide a settled accommodation option to single
people.

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4.6 Tenancy sustainment

For some households, securing a tenancy is the just the first step to having a home. Some
households need short term or on-going support to maintain their emergency accommodation
placement, private rented tenancy or social housing tenancies and avoid future
homelessness.
Our in-house Housing Support Coordinator (HSC) works with single clients with medium to
high support needs to help them settle into emergency housing, to access supported
accommodation or self-contained private housing as appropriate. Working closely with the
Options Team and statutory agencies, the HSC supports a caseload of around 10 clients with
accessing basic services and necessities such as ID, bank accounts, benefits, GP
registration and mobile phones. The HSC also has a critical role in helping clients to access,
navigate and attend appointments with a variety of statutory and support services. In
addition, the HSC makes funding applications for benefits, financial support and grants for
clients with disabilities or health conditions. More clients now engage and continue to work
with the HSC through to longer-term placement and secure better housing outcomes. This
role works closely with our Accommodation (AC) Officer post. This post manages the
Council’s emergency and temporary accommodation, providing support and assistance to
those placed.
A successful bid to the government Next Step Accommodation Programme with Transform
Housing & Support, led to the appointment of a Tenancy Sustainment Officer for an initial
period of 12 months. The primary focus of this role is to provide intensive tenancy support to
former rough sleepers and those at risk of it who have moved into settled accommodation or
are due to take up accommodation.
We also make referrals to Parashoot, a support service based at Raven Housing Trust, for
people at risk of losing their home, or have been homeless and need help settling into their
new homes. Parashoot supports households to set up their tenancy and to manage their
responsibilities. This helps clients get off to the best start which improves the tenancy
success rate. They also work with Raven tenants who are struggling to maintain their
tenancies and are at risk of losing it without more support.
Tenancy sustainment extends to housing association tenants. We continue to work closely

with all local housing associations in the borough to prevent evictions of tenants wherever
possible and receive referrals from social landlords of tenants at risk of eviction. We make
contact and work to engage tenants and prevent eviction. Our activities include joint work
with the Money Advice team, negotiation, benefit applications, letters of support to Courts as
well as agreeing responsibilities and actions.

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For some households, basic necessities such as furniture, beds, mattresses and essential
household items are completely unaffordable. We have an excellent working relationship with
Furnistore, a local furniture charity. They have assisted many clients with beds, mattresses,
sofas, storage furniture, white goods, and other items to turn a property into a home. We are
also supported by the local charity Stripey Stork. They provide excellent quality clothing for
babies through to teenagers, toys, books, baby equipment, personal hygiene and care items
to households referred by our Council teams and other statutory agencies. We also assist
clients to make applications to the Surrey Crisis Fund, a discretionary fund provided by
Surrey County Council to assist with essential items where no other options are available.
4.7 Impacts of the Pandemic

The impact of the Pandemic has been far reaching for both the service and our users. The
Everyone In Government initiative which began in March 2020 led to increased numbers of
single people accommodated in emergency accommodation. The numbers accommodated
peaked in the first months of the 2020 lockdown with an average of 44 households
accommodated in emergency accommodation during the first quarter. Over half were
accommodated due to COVID-19 duties.
To manage the numbers of single people needing accommodation we secured access to a

local hotel facility we had not worked with previously alongside other bookings with other
providers locally and out of area. We also arranged placement of 8 self-contained cabins on
the Redhill leisure centre carpark to accommodate single homeless people and individuals
with COVID or symptoms.
The cabins were retained beyond the initial period of crisis to provide capacity to cope with
infection peaks and the loss of the winter night shelter. The local hotel block booking ended
after 15 months. During the peak of the Pandemic we also took the decision to reduce
occupancy levels at our shared facility homeless accommodation so occupiers could access
a private bathroom to reduce the risk of COVID transmission. It opened fully during 2021/22.
Whilst the numbers of single people being accommodated rose, the numbers of families
approaching the Council declined. The cessation of evictions as courts closed and changes
to private rental notice periods led to a reduction in approaches for advice from families. The
opening of courts in May 2021 and re-start of Bailiffs activity has led to an increase in
approaches from family households. Our proactive prevention approach and early
intervention is expected to limit impacts.
NEW ACTIONS:

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• Secure the long-term funding of five housing posts in the event central government
grant ceases
• Offer more choice to applicants on format for homelessness application interviews
including face to face, telephone, on-line meetings, and monitor choices to inform
service delivery
• Provide interest free loans to eligible households to secure accommodation, subject to
the continued availability of grant funding
• Secure the long-term funding of two Money Advice posts in the event central
government grant ceases
• Explore opportunities to encourage the provision of good quality affordable HMOs in
the borough
5. Objective Two: Respond to support needs

Many of the households approaching for housing advice and assistance have support needs,
these range from a single short-term low support need to complex multiple support needs
requiring intensive long-term support. The proportion of households owed a homelessness
duty with one or more support needs ranged from 65% in 2018/19 to almost 75% in 2020/21.
Looking in more detail at these applicants, over two thirds have two or more support needs
suggesting an increase in the complexity of support needs. The total number of support
needs recorded was 1,001 in 2018/19, 1,085 in 2019/20 and 1,135 in 2020/21 demonstrating
a year on year increase in total support needs.
Looking at 20 different support needs recorded since the implementation of the HRA in 2018,
the three most common specific needs are a history of mental health problems, physical
health and disability and being at risk of or having experienced domestic abuse. The
following support needs fall within the ten most common supported needs, a history of repeat
homelessness, an offending history, rough sleeping history, learning disability, and substance
dependency. We know many of our clients experience multiple support needs, and with these
needs come interrelated challenges which increase the risk of homelessness.
Our team provides comprehensive advice to clients with support needs, making multiple
referrals to support providers in and out of the borough and to statutory agencies as
appropriate. Wherever possible we place single people with support needs in local
emergency accommodation, but sometimes clients are placed out of borough due to lack of
availability. Out of borough placements negatively impact on client access to a range of
services such as the Community Mental Health Recovery Services (CMHRS), support from I-
Access (substance misuse agency) or Probation. Our HSC works to maintain client
engagement and access to services and to source supported accommodation options.

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Much of the supported housing in the borough is for people with low support needs. A
proportion of our clients have needs too high for this accommodation but not high enough to
secure individual Adult Social Care funding. The gap in options for complex needs clients has
been an on-going issue. During the Pandemic it became more widely recognised by all
agencies and has led to more joint working to look at ways to change this and improve
access to support services.
5.1 Partnership approaches to supporting vulnerable people

We sit on the steering group for Surrey Adults Matter (SAM) which, through the Making Every
Adult Matter (MEAM) approach, aims to design and deliver better coordinated services for
people facing multiple disadvantages.
The SAM approach has been a catalyst to Surrey County Council leading a successful bid in
partnership with public and voluntary sector partners under the national Changing Futures
programme. This programme aims to support those who face a combination of
homelessness, substance misuse, poor mental health, domestic abuse or contact with the
criminal justice system. The award of £2.8 million to Surrey will be used to develop the Bridge
the Gap person centred specialist trauma informed outreach service in conjunction with
vulnerable people, homelessness organisations and experts in mental health, substance
misuse and domestic abuse. As part of this work, staff and volunteers at Surrey’s
homelessness charities and organisations will be trained to assist those who have
experienced and or are living with trauma.
Our expectation is the funding will support a more coordinated local approach to this group
who are at greater risk of homelessness, ill-health and increased contact with the criminal
justice system. This in turns can led to greater pressure on services that respond to crises
such as A and E, homelessness services and policing. Within the borough, Renewed Hope,
eSOS and East Surrey Domestic Abuse Service are anticipated to join the Bridge the Gap
alliance with Transform Housing also starting training on trauma.
5.2 Mental Health

Between 2018/19 and 2020/21 the most commonly identified support need for households
owed a homelessness duty was a history of mental health problems accounting for 20% of
identified support needs.
The Housing Options available for single clients experiencing mental ill-health depend on
how stable their health is at the point they need housing help and their willingness to engage.
The Borough benefits from a number of low support units of supported accommodation for

March 2022 17
clients with mental ill-health, many of these units also accommodate people with other
support needs and are shared facility. Some clients are assisted into supported
accommodation outside of the borough due to lack of local availability and they do retain their
local connection on the Housing Register.
The complexity and challenges around mental ill-health mean different clients need different
solutions. Some prefer self-contained housing and we support clients assessed as able to
sustain a tenancy into it, working with partners such at the Forward Trust to source private
self-contained housing. Unfortunately, the private sector options available to under 35s who
were not care leavers are impacted by the Universal Credit shared room rate housing
element restriction.
A number of organisations provide homes in our borough for a mix of client groups which is
invaluable. Our current providers are Transform Housing & Support, Sanctuary, YMCA East
Surrey and Wayside Community. Unfortunately, some clients with more significant mental ill-
health or multiple needs, are deemed too high need for most providers. In some cases,
these clients are also deemed below the threshold for specialist mental health Adult Social
Care funded beds. This gap in provision means these households are often placed in general
needs emergency or temporary accommodation with referrals to mental health outreach
services.
Surrey has in place a Mental Health and Housing Protocol to be followed where a client is in
hospital. This means housing officers visit wards, meet clients, attend ward round meetings
and are involved in hospital discharge meetings and Care Plan Approaches. This process
continued through the Pandemic. This joint multi-agency approach has led to some
successful planned discharges for clients who were at risk of homelessness. We are aware
that not all health staff and ward nurses are aware of the protocol and further training is
needed. Within East Surrey, Mole Valley District Council’s Housing Needs Manager provides
this training offer on our behalf.
The Pandemic has facilitated opportunities for closer working and engagement with Surrey
and Borders Partnership, Adult Social Care, and County Public Health to identify gaps in
service provision, understand resourcing issues and opportunities for joined up working
around mental health. The successful cross organisation bid for funding from the Changing
Futures programme is a good example of this approach. This momentum will be exploited
over the coming months and years with the aim of being able to refer our clients to mental
health services at the earliest point, and for them to receive timely help to support tenancy
success.

March 2022 18
5.3 Domestic abuse

Of the households owed a homelessness duty, the third most commonly identified support
need was being at risk of or having experienced domestic abuse. It accounts for around 11%
of all the support needs identified during 2018-2021.
Due to higher numbers of domestic abuse cases in the borough, the regularity of Multi-
Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC) increased in the borough from monthly to
two weekly in 2020/21. MARAC is well attended and includes the Housing Team and Raven
Housing Trust with attendees working together to support those experiencing domestic abuse
through a range of measures including support to move if appropriate.
Within the team, staff are trained on recognising and responding to households experiencing
domestic abuse. The Council has close working relationships with Reigate & Banstead
Women’s Aid and East Surrey Domestic Abuse Service who offer emotional and practical
support alongside a range of services from supporting survivors at court hearings, home
security measures, counselling and support for children.
Enrolled by Surrey County Council in 2020/21, the Housing Service is benefiting from
becoming Affiliated Members of the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA). The Council
received £34,000 funding from central Government to assist with implementation of the
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and took part in a project in which the DAHA standards of practice
were shared, and our own practices were health checked. This supports our preparation for
the full implementation of the Act in partnership with Surrey.
5.4 Prison Leavers and Ex-offenders

In more recent years the Housing Options team has worked with a rising number of prison
leavers and ex-offender clients. The group are identified as the fifth most common support
need for households owed a homelessness duty by the Council accounting for 8% of all
support needs. However, this is only part of the picture and people in this group frequently
have complex needs and can be hard to engage. Some are repeat offenders which is linked
to repeat homelessness applications due to their unsettled status. Over the period 2018-21,
having an offending history was identified as a support need 237 times.
In 2019/20 the Housing Service participated in a Prison Leaver Working Group led by the
Cabinet Office and Ministry of Justice. The project purpose was to identify opportunities to
improve social inclusion, implement change and work in collaboration. We undertook case
studies of several repeat offender clients to understand their journey prior to prison release
through to presentation to the Council, placement and outcome. It was clear that many had
issues around substance misuse, mental ill-health, estrangement from family and a lack of

March 2022 19
support networks. A number of clients were known to the team, having presented as
homeless repeatedly after failing to sustain their emergency accommodation or social
housing tenancy or were re-called to prison. Although the project ended prematurely due to
the Pandemic it showed a strong link between offending, mental ill-health and substance
misuse and the need for greater service collaboration.
For 2020/21, the Council secured Government Rough Sleeper Initiative (RSI 4) funding to
enable the appointment of a Prison Resettlement Worker. This post will facilitate timely Duty
to Refers, enabling support to start prior to prison release. The Worker will work closely with
the Prison Service, Probation Team, Ministry of Justice and other relevant agencies to
support single person prison leavers with no fixed address. Clients will be assisted to apply
for benefits, register with GPs, set up a bank account, engage with specialist support
providers such a I-Access as appropriate and to access suitable housing options.
This post will complement the work underway at the National Probation Service to procure
properties in Kent, Surrey and Sussex to be made available to prison leavers homeless on
release or leaving other prison managed premises and homeless for a period of up to 12
weeks. A joined up approach across agencies, use of Duty to Refer, and the Prison
Resettlement Officer post aim to assist prisoner leavers following a 12 week placement by
Probation.
5.5 Looked After Children, 16 to 17 year olds and Care Leavers

Over the period 2018-21, 23% of applicants owned a prevention or relief housing duty were
aged 18-24. Of all households owed a homelessness duty, young people account for four
percent of reported support needs. This group includes young people agreed 16-17, 18-24
year olds, care leavers aged 18-20, care leavers aged 21. Since 2018 numbers in this group
have remained steady.
We rarely place 16 to 17 year olds in emergency accommodation. This has been largely due
to the joint working arrangements in place between Surrey Districts and Boroughs, Children’s
Services and the Homeless Prevention Support Service (HPSS). The HPSS worked with 16
to 17 year olds at risk to ensure homelessness was prevented or placements found. HPSS
also ensured that appropriate assessments were made under the Children Act.
A protocol between the Districts and Boroughs and Children’s Services underpins the
process. It includes the working arrangements between all parties in relation to Looked After
Children and Care Leavers. Following the HRA, a re-structure of Children’s Services in 2019
and the HPSS being brought in-house to Surrey, a review of the protocol got underway,
although it has been delayed by the Pandemic. Mole Valley District Council’s Housing Need
Manager is the local authority lead for this workstream.

March 2022 20
The Council has amended the local connection rules applicable to care leavers wishing to
join the housing register. The change makes an exemption to the local connection rules for
care leavers who are subject to a Surrey County Council corporate parenting duty and they
are also prioritised on the Register.
We attend quarterly meetings with the Looked After Children Team and Care Leavers Team
to identify young people who may need social housing in the future. Together, we aim to
ensure a smooth transition, from care into private rent tenancies, supported or social housing
tenancies. The meetings have identified that many of the young people were not joining the
register and highlighted to personal advisors and social workers this is essential to help
ensure a housing pathway. Joined up work is underway with the Corporate Parenting Team
to understand future housing provision for Care Leavers in the Borough and across Surrey.
Borough provision for young people and care leavers is good. We work closely with YMCA
East Surrey who deliver Hillbrook House. This 44 room scheme mainly for young people
aged 18-30 also takes placements of 16 to 17 year olds, unaccompanied asylum seekers
and emergency care beds on behalf of Surrey County Council. The Council has provided
capital funding to the YMCA towards delivering three move-on schemes for young people in
the borough providing a total of 25 rooms. The most recent scheme in Horley delivered in
2021/22 received £600,000 capital funding from the MHCLG and Homes England ‘Move-On’
Fund and £350,000 Council capital funding enabling the provision of 12 rooms for young
people with low support needs.
5.6 Substance misuse

Substance misuse accounts for 10% of all support needs of applicants owed a homelessness
duty. Since 2018 the numbers of applicants owed a housing duty with drug dependency
needs has risen from 49 in 2018 to 19 to 72 in 2020 to 21. There is supported
accommodation available in the borough for ex-drug users and a limited number of spaces
available for clients on prescription alternative drugs. For users owed a homelessness duty
unwilling to engage or those on prescriptions unable to access supported accommodation for
other reasons or simply due to lack of availability, the only option is placement in
unsupported emergency accommodation. Our Tenancy Support Coordinator works to
engage these clients, encourage, and support them to attend regular appointments with I-
Access and other drug support services.
The numbers of homeless households with alcohol dependency have been rising each year
from 46 in 2018/19 to 67 in 2020/21. These cases can be very difficult to engage, many have
chaotic lives, sometimes linked to an offending history and mental ill-health. Some supported
housing schemes will accept these clients, usually based on a commitment not to drink or
complete abstinence. There remains an on-going need for accommodation options for those

March 2022 21
still drinking. Many of them need some form of settled accommodation to provide space and
time to moderate their drinking or support to engage with cessation services. There are no
‘wet hostels’ in the Borough for those still drinking which means these clients tend to
experience repeat street homelessness and rough sleeping. Most are placed in unsupported
emergency accommodation whilst our Housing Support Coordinator works with the client to
source suitable supported accommodation, usually out of Borough.
Our Housing Support Coordinator and Relief Officers have developed good networks with a
variety of supported housing providers who specialise in accommodating those with
challenging needs and behaviour. Clients are referred to multiple providers in and out of the
borough. We support clients with all aspects of this process to achieve as many positive
outcomes for clients as possible.
Joint work with Surrey County Council Public Health and Adult Social Care colleagues
together with mental health teams will deliver new ways of working over the coming years. A
combination of joined up approaches which streamline service delivery and additional
resources will enable the provision of more support to the most vulnerable to enable them to
engage fully and sustain their accommodation.
5.7 Duty to Refer and discharges from public sector facilities

Each year a number of people are discharged from hospital or prisons often with unknown
support needs and no settled accommodation to return to. These individuals are at high risk
of homelessness.
The HRA placed a Duty to Refer on specific agencies to identify individuals with a housing
need and refer them to a local authority housing team so early intervention work can begin.
Since the Duty commenced the Council has received some 115 referrals from a range of
agencies subject to the duty and organisations not subject to the Duty. Referrers include the
Prison Service, Probation, Hospital Accident and Emergency, as well as mental health wards.
Already in 2021/22 there has been a significant increase in the referral rate, during the first
two quarters 76 Duty to Refers have been made to the Council with a particular increase in
prison referrals. The overall increase is linked to greater awareness and joint working on
Surrey Adults Matter and Surrey-wide protocols around hospital discharges.
With a 1,000 bed prison in our borough, we are working to streamline the Duty to Refer
process including the timing of the referral to allow time for earlier engagement and sourcing
of appropriate accommodation. We are taking the lead in Surrey on Duty to Refer for prison
leavers including out of area prisons. The combined referrals from Prisons and Probation
accounted for the majority of referrals. To better support ex-offenders, the Council

March 2022 22
successfully applied to the Rough Sleeping Initiative 2020/21 to fund a dedicated Prison
Resettlement Worker for one year.
Duty to Refer can provide an effective mechanism for non-housing agencies to secure
housing advice and assistance for individuals under their care. It has taken time for all
agencies to recognise the need to make early referrals and to provide the most meaningful
information to support engagement with the Housing Team. The referral process has been
streamlined with clear information on Surrey County Council’s website and individual Council
websites. We will continue to analyse referrals and outcomes.
NEW ACTIONS:
• Monitor the success and positive outcomes delivered by the Prison Resettlement
Worker in post 2022/23 and identify longer term funding streams and accommodation
options to assist this group
• Work with substance misuse support agencies and Surrey County Council to identify
options for those clients unwilling to engage with substance reduction programmes
and agree alternative support and or housing options.
6. Objective Three: Tackle Rough Sleeping

The Borough has experienced an increase in rough sleeping over the last few years. Whilst
the annual street count snapshot that takes place across Surrey, shows under 5 in the
borough, the reality for the rest of the year can be different. Street homelessness is low, but
the numbers of those at risk of it because they have no fixed abode has increased. During
2019/20 of the 138 Relief Duty acceptances 91 were from single people of which 39 had a
history of rough sleeping as an identified support need. In 2020/21 of the 249 Relief Duty
acceptances, 161 were single people of which 61 were identified as having a history of rough
sleeping as a support need.
Of applicants owed a homelessness duty with a support need, having a history of rough
sleeping was the fifth most identified support need accounting for 7% of support needs. Our
experience is many of those sleeping rough or with a history of rough sleeping also have
multiple support needs often including mental health and substance misuse.
East Surrey Outreach Support (eSOS) recorded 143 Streetlink referrals and 103 referrals
from the Council and other agencies during 2020/21 for the borough. Of these around 44%
had two or more support needs. Working in partnership with East Surrey Councils we have
made successful bids to the various national Rough Sleeper Initiative funding programmes.

March 2022 23
The Council has also secured funding directly for schemes. In Summer 2021 we submitted
an Ending Rough Sleeping Plan to government setting out our plans over the next 12 months
to move towards the goal of ending rough sleeping.
6.1 Complex need supported housing scheme

Accommodation for homeless single people with complex needs is identified as a priority in
the Council’s Housing Delivery Strategy. The data on the support needs of households owed
a duty demonstrates the need for supported housing for people with complex needs typically
including mental ill-health, substance misuse and a history of rough sleeping.
Options to deliver a shared facility scheme are being explored with partners. Liaison with
Surrey County Council has also highlighted the gap in provision and services for these
groups.
However, the cost of providing support services is high and external funding opportunities for
support services are extremely limited. The on-going revenue funding challenge is
significant. We continue to assess options around securing a single scheme for up to 12
clients and are also exploring options for a series of smaller schemes.
6.2 East Surrey Outreach Service eSOS

The Borough jointly funds the East Surrey Outreach Service (eSOS) run by Thames Reach.
It provides an outreach service for rough sleepers and those at risk of it across Mole Valley,
Tandridge and Epsom & Ewell. eSOS has a manager, two outreach workers and a complex
needs outreach worker. The Housing Team has a close working relationship with eSOS in
which the Housing Team focuses on housing options whilst eSOS offers practical and in-
person support, accompanying clients to a variety of appointments including GPs, substance
misuse agencies, applying for UC and other benefits.
eSOS clients can access emergency assessment beds for a period of up to six weeks
enabling the input of intensive support whilst an individual is safely accommodated. The two
beds available to East Surrey housing team are located within Leatherhead Start. The
Council also accesses emergency beds from specific providers as necessary. Emergency
beds are an important resource to providing an immediate placement for rough sleepers with
chaotic lifestyles, often with other support issues.
In January 2020 and May 2021, Mole Valley Council led an East Surrey bid under the Rough
Sleepers Initiative Year 3 monies (RSI3). The successful bid secured £131,000 in year 1 and
£146,000 in year 2. The bid comprised three elements:

March 2022 24
• Further assessment beds per authority bringing these to 4 beds for the Council
• A one-year funding extension to the complex needs outreach worker role within eSOS
• Additional funds for personalised budgets for the outreach worker’s complex clients.
Up to £1,000 per client can be used to facilitate their housing pathway. Examples
include paying arrears which prevent access to the Housing Register, purchasing
extra support hours to enable access to a supported housing related support provider.
6.3 Tenancy Support

Moving into settled accommodation can be a significant challenge to clients with a history of
rough sleeping. Following a successful bid to the Government led rough sleeper Next Steps
Accommodation Programme, a one year Tenancy Sustainment Officer post was created to
provide support to single people about to be or placed in settled accommodation. This Officer
works with a small caseload at a time to provide intensive support for 10-14 weeks on
average, but usually until a client is settled, can manage, and has other support in place to
assist them.
Clients are helped with tenancy sign ups, applying for benefits, setting up rent payments,
sourcing furniture, ensuring linkages with statutory agencies are maintained and new
linkages are made with non-statutory organisations. The Sustainment Officer will also
mediate in any neighbour and landlord disputes to bring a resolution. This post is linked up
with the Prison Resettlement Worker role and our own in-house Tenancy Support
Coordinator role. We also access support from Parashoot which can assist with lower level
short-term needs.
6.4 Winter Night Shelter

Every year the Winter Night Shelter has provided overnight accommodation for rough
sleepers and those at risk during December to March. Operated by Renewed Hope in
partnership with local churches, the scheme offers individuals a warm bed, access to
showers, clean clothes, a hot meal, breakfast, a packed lunch, and a listening ear.
Overnights stays are rotated between churches in the Borough. Clients are referred by the
Options Team and during their stay the team continues to work with clients to support them
with more secure accommodation.
One of the many impacts of the Pandemic was a cessation of the Shelter in 2020/21 and
2021/22. Using a combination of Government funding from the Rough Sleepers Initiative
Programme, Cold Weather Funding and Protect Plus, alternative provision was made in our
temporary cabins and a local hotel. It is hoped that provision of a winter night shelter by
Renewed Hope, most likely in a different format, will return in 2022.

March 2022 25
6.5 Everyone In
In March 2020, the Government launched the Everyone In initiative to encourage all rough
sleepers to come into accommodation during the Pandemic. The closure of many hotel and
guest house facilities usually used to provide emergency housing combined with a need for
accommodation for people with COVID-19 symptoms presented challenges. Working with a
local hotel, closed due to the Pandemic, the Team arranged access to 13 rooms. The Team
received funding from the Rough Sleeper Initiative 4 (RSI4) programme following a
successful bid to support this. Clients were given access to kitchen facilities and regular food
bank parcels were provided. Night Marshalls provided overnight safety and security to clients
for several months.
In addition, the Team sourced and set up 8 self-contained cabins for single people in a
leisure centre carpark. The cabins provided a resource for any individuals experiencing
COVID symptoms, enabling them to self-isolate safely. Hot meals and food parcels were
provided at the point of full lockdown in 2020. Cabin occupants were provided with
microwaves, mini fridges, TVs, crockery, cleaning materials, toiletries, bedding and towels. A
partnership with Surrey County Council enabled 3 cabins to be made available for their
clients. The cabins were part funded by government Cold Weather Funding £6,400 for rough
sleepers and Protect Plus Funding of £5,000.
Our Housing Options Team, eSOS and Renewed Hope worked closely with clients placed,
providing them with welfare support, access to foodbanks, assistance with benefit
applications, accessing GPs and other services and identifying housing pathways.
In summer 2020, the Council successfully bid for additional Next Steps Accommodation
Programme Funding to support our work to find housing solutions for those assisted off the
street during the Pandemic. Over £180,000 was awarded to enable the Housing Service to
secure accommodation for those at risk of or rough sleeping up to March 2021, for a night
accommodation security service, a scheme to offer landlord incentives, financial assistance
to help clients to source furniture and a tenancy sustainment worker post.
6.6 Move on Scheme and Housing First pilot

A scheme to deliver four self-contained singe person bungalows is being delivered directly by
the Council. The homes will be offered to single people rough sleeping or at risk of rough
sleeping for a period of up to two years. A successful bid was made to the Rough Sleeping
Accommodation Programme for capital and revenue grant funding towards the scheme. The
scheme is under construction and due to complete summer 2022.

March 2022 26
Clients will be offered accommodation for up to two years. Support will be provided to clients
with all aspects of managing their tenancies and the development of life skills. Our support
workers will engage with statutory agencies as appropriate, support clients with basics such
as setting up bank accounts, applying for benefits, managing budgets, arranging
appointments with services statutory and non-statutory agencies, taking part in volunteering
opportunities and getting into employment. All clients will agree a housing pathway so they
can transition to more independent living.
We recognise that the Housing First model has become increasingly successful at assisting
single people with support needs sustain long-term tenancies. It is based on a model of
tenancy first with support brought to the client. The perceived risk of non-engagement from
clients and potential tenancy sustainment issues has led to a reluctance from local housing
providers have been reluctant to embrace this without strong assurances of support
provision. The revenue cost of providing the intensive support has been a barrier to delivery
of Housing First in the borough. However, we recognise the benefits of the model for many
clients and will explore support funding options and will engage local social housing providers
with the aim of trialling this model.
NEW ACTIONS:
• Work up options to deliver supported accommodation scheme(s) for single homeless

cohort clients
• Work with local social landlords to deliver Housing First accommodation in the
borough
7. Objective Four: Improve access to and the range of

accommodation options
Continuing to deliver additional homes across a range of tenures to meet many different
needs is a significant challenge in the borough. The primary focus of our Strategy is the
prevention of homelessness by saving tenancies wherever possible. Assisting households
into alternative housing is our option when tenancies cannot be saved or when clients require
a specific type of housing such as specialist supported accommodation.
7.1 Housing Register and Choice Based Lettings

Joining our Housing Register is an option for many local households on lower incomes.
Following implementation of the HRA, we reviewed the Allocation Policy and made small
changes to reflect the new requirements. They included additions and amendments to bands

March 2022 27
to reflect duties owed to households. We have also invested in a new software system which
provides a much improved customer portal and back office functions.
The number of homes let annually over the last five years has remained fairly stable although
there was an uplift in 2019/20. Numbers declined in 2020/21 as a result of the impact of the
Pandemic with 12 percent reduction in available properties, the greatest reduction was for
larger family homes. During this time there was a slowing down of moves generally due to
COVID restrictions, and fewer vacancies arising from evictions. There were concerns
regarding the economic impacts of the Pandemic on tenants, but much positive work has
also been taking place, with tenancy sustainment activities by social landlords and the
Council’s teams to help households manage the challenges.
As the number of vacant affordable homes reduced, the overall number of households joining
the Register increased by 28 percent in 2020/21 compared to 2020/21. The register
increased from 884 applicants to 1,177 at October 2021. During 2020/21 almost 1,400
applications were made to the housing register, a significant increase, although many do not
meet our policy requirements. These increases appear to have been linked to the impacts of
the Pandemic on employment, concerns about future financial security and affordability.
As the number of households on the Register increased, waiting times also lengthened
across all bands and size of home, this has been exacerbated further by the reduction in
vacant family sized homes. Waiting times vary according to area and property type
preference. Some locations are extremely popular, and some types of property are more
popular than others.
The wait for one bedroom homes has now increased from around a year to one up to two
years. Whilst the wait time for two bedroom homes has slightly only slightly due to the
continued availability of this size of home. However, waiting times have increased for
households with a three bedroom need or larger. Since 2019/20, the average waiting time in
band C increased from 2.5 years to around 4.5 years depending on property type and
location. Similar waiting times are found for four bedroom plus, typically band C applicants
wait up to 4 years.
Making the best use of existing housing stock is an important element of meeting housing
need. To encourage households no longer needing larger family housing to downsize they
are placed in band B, our second highest priority band. Raven, our largest provider, also
works to encourage households to downsize and in 2019 delivered a new build social rent
scheme in Redhill comprising one and two bedroom flats and two bedroom houses aimed at
downsizers. Several homes were taken up by downsizers, freeing up family sized homes for
others. Raven also offers other incentives to encourage downsizing.

March 2022 28
In addition, Raven has reviewed its policy on the use of fixed term tenancies and will no
longer grant fixed term tenancies to tenants of studio, one and two bedroom homes. Given
the high demand for larger family sized and need to make best use of this resource, fixed
term tenancies will continue to be granted to residents of three plus bedroom properties.
Tenants will be supported to apply to transfer to smaller accommodation as appropriate or
seek alternative accommodation before the end of the fixed term to enable under occupied
homes to be used by larger households.
The Council is a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant and makes provision for serving
and former Armed Forces personnel within the Housing Register and Allocations Policy,
although the number of applications from this group is small.
7.2 Delivering new affordable homes

Through policies in the Council’s Local Plan, we aim to secure 30% affordable housing on all
development sites delivering 11 units or more. On larger allocated sustainable urban
extension sites, the threshold is 35% affordable housing. The annual planning delivery target
for affordable new build homes is 100 a year, equating to 1,500 over the 15-year plan period.
Our most up to date assessment of housing need shows the balance of need in favour of
social rented homes. The target tenure mix for on-site affordable housing was revised from
60 percent intermediate housing and 40% social rented housing in 2020 to 62 percent social
rented homes and 38 percent intermediate delivered as shared ownership.
The Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document 2020 also sets bedroom number
targets based on local needs. The highest target is for two-bedroom four person homes
followed by three-bedroom homes to rent. The Council is broadly meeting the Core Strategy
target to deliver 100 affordable homes per year through planning policies.
Our housing association partners continue to deliver homes on their own sites. During
2020/21 Rosebery Housing Association delivered a 21 unit affordable rent scheme in Horley,
a mix of studios, one and two bedroom flats on an office to residential building conversion
site. Raven Housing Trust, our largest social landlord continues to deliver a development
programme in the borough. They are currently progressing a scheme of 23 social rent
homes, providing a mix of 1 and 2 bedroom flats and 3 bedroom houses on the site of a
former sheltered housing scheme in Tadworth.
Over the coming years larger sustainable urban extension sites will come forward and they
will deliver a higher proportion of rented homes than was delivered under our previous
planning policies.

March 2022 29
7.3 Council led housing schemes

The Council’s commitment to securing the delivery of homes that can be afforded by local
people and which provides a wider choice of tenure, type and size is an objective in the
Reigate & Banstead 2025: Five Year Plan. This objective recognises the financial challenge
for many local people of securing a home in a high cost area. The Council’s objectives
include to develop and implement a housing delivery strategy, to deliver a minimum of 30%
affordable housing on Council-owned land, to work with partner organisations and developers
to deliver a mix of homes for local people, to provide local temporary and emergency housing
and continue to secure accommodation through the private rented sector and social housing
sector to prevent homelessness. The Council is also committed to working with Raven, our
largest stockholder to investigate opportunities for estate renewal, continue to give priority to
local people for affordable housing and use our planning polices to deliver affordable housing
as appropriate.
In 2020 the Council published the Housing Delivery Strategy, this was an objective in the
Five Year Plan. Among the priorities being progressed through the delivery strategy are new
Council led housing schemes to improve access to a range of accommodation options.
In June 2021 the Council completed a development of 25 new homes in Camelia Close
(former Pitwood Park) Tadworth. This was the site of a former industrial unit, and delivered
14 shared ownership houses, securing 56% of the site as affordable housing.
Our Cromwell Road, Redhill development will complete in Spring 2022. This scheme pre-
dated Reigate & Banstead 2025 and was intended as market sale only. However, a review of
its tenure in the context of the Five-Year Plan and local housing need led to a proposed
tenure switch. This scheme delivers 32 one and two bedroom flats. It is expected that a
proportion of the homes, a mix of one and two bedroom properties, will be let at below market
rents intended to assist lower income households. Initial tenancies will be offered for periods
of up to three years to provide household with stability. These homes support our
commitment to assisting households at risk of homelessness, those on our register in
housing need or in unstable housing access lower cost homes where appropriate.
In addition, our scheme of four bungalows in Horley, due to complete Summer 2022, makes
use of a small and underused piece of Council owned land for affordable housing for single
homeless people. More sites like this will be considered.
The Council has access to 115 units of self-contained temporary accommodation in the
borough operated by housing associations. The Council also owns and manages seven self-
contained units in the borough and a shared facility property mainly used by families. We are
also reliant on accessing nightly paid emergency accommodation. Some nightly paid facilities
are located in the borough, but we also place out of borough in Crawley, the London area

March 2022 30
and Kent when local options are exhausted. To reduce our use of expensive out of borough
accommodate we aim to secure additional borough based temporary accommodation. This
means households can stay local, children can attend local schools, family and friend support
networks are maintained and households in need can receive support from statutory
agencies.
A scheme to redevelop an underused carpark in Horley town centre is also being progressed.
The proposed scheme will deliver at least 40 new flats on an allocated site, alongside space
for community use and retail. As a minimum the scheme will provide 30% affordable housing
for local people to meet the Council’s Corporate Plan 2025 affordable housing commitment
for all Council led schemes. The timeframe for completion is 2023/24.
7.4 Funding our partners to deliver housing

Partnership work is vital to support delivery of a range of housing options. Working closely
with supported housing providers such as Transform Housing & Support and YMCA East
Surrey, the Council has supported and continues to support the delivery of additional homes.
Council capital funding from developer contributions will assist Transform to deliver a scheme
of eight flats in Redhill using modern methods of construction. Due to complete in 2021/22,
four of the eight flats will accommodate single young parents facing homelessness.
Transform Housing will provide support to help these households adjust and prepare for a
move into a longer-term housing option.
Funding from the Council to the YMCA East Surrey, has enabled them to deliver three
shared accommodation move-on schemes for young people aged 18-30 years. The most
recent one, funded through a combination of government ‘Move-on’ funding and Council
capital funding will deliver 12 low support places for young people, three of which will be self-
contained.
We continue to liaise with supported providers and housing association partners to support
them to maximise the numbers of affordable homes delivered in the borough.
ACTIONS:
• Investigate ways to assist and or incentivise social housing tenants under occupying
larger family homes to downsize
• Purchase family sized street properties for temporary accommodation
• Provide grant funding to registered provider partners and third sector partners to enable
delivery of local supported housing, social and affordable homes

March 2022 31
8. Funding and Resourcing the Strategy

Many of the actions in the Strategy will be delivered within existing budgets. Our staff are our
greatest asset and options will be explored to bring existing grant funded posts within the
Council’s annual budget. We do have access to a range of government grants which
contribute to the costs of many projects both across East Surrey and within our borough.
The Homelessness Prevention Grant, received directly from Government, has been used
flexibly on a variety of initiatives and staffing to prevent homelessness. We recycle the grant
wherever possible, including through interest free loans to our clients.
We have applied to the Rough Sleeper Initiative revenue funding rounds with some success,
whilst we very much welcomed this, funding is short term, typically a year. We will continue to
apply to future funding programmes, both capital and revenue offered by the Department of
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Homes England with our East Surrey Partners,
Surrey County Council and other partners as appropriate to support our initiatives.
In addition, we will continue the progress made during the Pandemic on strengthening joint
working with statutory partners and agencies to secure new and long-term resources for
households with high support needs.
Table 1: Approved Revenue Budget 2020/2021
Revenue Budget 2021/22

Approved Revenue
Budget
£M
Housing general: salaries, IT, software, training, 0.655
Sanctuary scheme, income from partners
RBBC Temporary accommodation (7 units): salary, (0.005)

repairs, maintenance, rental income – net income
RBBC Emergency accommodation (Massetts Rd, 11 (0.008)

rooms) – net income
Private Bed and Breakfast (emergency accommodation): 0.292

nightly charges, rental income – net costs
YMCA NextStep: part payment for tenancy finding and 0.066

maintaining service

March 2022 32
Total 1.000

March 2022 33
Table 2: Approved Capital Programme 2020/21:
Capital Programme Approved Capital

Programme 2021/22
to 2025/26
£M
Lee Street – funded from Section 106 contributions 0.850
Total 0.850
Table 3: Revenue funding secured from government programmes 2020/22:
Confirmed Confirmed
2020/21 2021/22
Funding Allocation Allocation
Received £m £m Project and Staff posts
Cold Weather - 0.006 Covid secure emergency
Funding accommodation
Protect Plus - 0.005 Emergency accommodation for

Funding rough sleepers
Rough Sleeper - 0.141 Emergency accommodation,

Initial Year 4 security, personal budgets, rent in
advance and deposits, 1xFTE
Prison resettlement worker (1 year
only)
Rough Sleeper - 0.040 Emergency accommodation for

Initiative Year 4 rough sleepers
Homeless 0.470 0.668 5x FTE additional housing staff

Prevention (required to manage extra
grant responsibilities brought in by HRA),
2x fraud officers, 2x money support
officers, East Surrey Outreach
Service, Rent in advance and
deposit grants and loans to
homeless applicants, YMCA

March 2022 34
Confirmed Confirmed
2020/21 2021/22
Funding Allocation Allocation
Received £m £m Project and Staff posts
NextStep private tenancy finder
service.
Domestic - 0.034 To help fund extra support and

Abuse Act accommodation required under the
funding Act
Funding to help - 0.048 Rent in advance and deposits to

ex-offenders access private rentals
Support for - 0.140 To prevent renters becoming

vulnerable homeless
renters
MHCLG’s Next 0.199 - Security in emergency

Steps accommodation, 1x FTE tenancy
accommodation sustainment post, landlord incentive
Funding (rough funding, emergency
sleepers) accommodation during covid,
furniture.
Rough Sleeper 0.032 - Funding towards East Surrey

Initiative Year 3 Outreach Service and assessment
beds for rough sleepers
Homeless 0.111 - Added to Homeless Prevention

Reduction Act Grant budget
New Burdens
Funding
Rough Sleeper - 0.018 Funding towards support service

Accommodation provided to 4 x 1 bed units in Horley
Programme 2022-23.

March 2022 35
Table 4: Capital Funding secured from government programmes:
Funding Confirmed Confirmed

Programme 2020/21 2021/22
Allocation Allocation
£m £m Project and Staff posts
Rough Sleeper - 0.190 Towards the build costs of 4 x 1 bed
Accommodation units in Horley (RBBC owned and
Programme managed)
Rough Sleeper - 0.150 Towards the purchase price of 2x

Accommodation street 1 bed properties for rough
Programme sleepers (full funding a partnership
of RBBC, SCC, Homes England
and Transform Housing) flats will be
owned and managed by Transform
and RBBC will have 100%
nomination rights
MHCLG’s Next 0.600 - Capital towards 12 new YMCA

Steps move on beds for young people in a
accommodation new scheme.
Funding

March 2022 36

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Homelessness and Rough

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

7.1 Housing Register and Choice Based Lettings 27

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

We achieved other successes such as delivering Council emergency accommodation and we

Councillor Caroline Neame

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

2. The National Strategic Context

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

• Criminal Justice Act 2003

3. Local Strategic Context

• Community Vision for Surrey 2030

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

4. Objective One: Prevent homelessness and sustain tenancies

4.1 Our Housing Options Team and new ways of working

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

4.2 Supporting those at risk at the earliest opportunity

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

supported housing placement, domestic abuse, or other violence or harassment. Many

Our performance on homelessness prevention is good. The rate of positive housing

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

4.3 Directing households to money advice services

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

4.4 Preventing the loss of a private rented tenancy

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

We support clients to access Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) as appropriate to

4.5 Accessing private rented accommodation

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

4.6 Tenancy sustainment

Tenancy sustainment extends to housing association tenants. We continue to work closely

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

4.7 Impacts of the Pandemic

To manage the numbers of single people needing accommodation we secured access to a

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

5. Objective Two: Respond to support needs

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

5.1 Partnership approaches to supporting vulnerable people

5.2 Mental Health

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

5.3 Domestic abuse

5.4 Prison Leavers and Ex-offenders

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

5.5 Looked After Children, 16 to 17 year olds and Care Leavers

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

5.6 Substance misuse

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

5.7 Duty to Refer and discharges from public sector facilities

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

6. Objective Three: Tackle Rough Sleeping

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

6.1 Complex need supported housing scheme

6.2 East Surrey Outreach Service eSOS

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

6.3 Tenancy Support

6.4 Winter Night Shelter

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council