£10.5 million in unpaid Sheffield Homes rent is not a problem

[warrior8 10]

Less than 10 years ago there were 2,500 empty council properties. What happened?

 

Immigration.

[Douglas J 10]

if the tennant bothers to go to court for rental arrears, 9/10 times they get let off by magistrates due to cost's. So a little birdy tells me.

 

Little birdies have never been very accurate when it comes to facts or court procedure.

[Siddle 10]

It's time sheffield council looked at what sheffield homes are playing at I know tenants that pay there rent on time and cannot get repairs done because of the cost and yet they let other tenants get away with not paying their rent, they should be brought to account.

[Ms Macbeth 70]

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/105m--Staggering-losses-for.6478337.jp?CommentPage=2&CommentPageLength=10#comments

 

 

 

The comments are quite comical.

 

Anyhow, I can reveal that the figure of £10.5 million is not a problem when you think of other losses made intentionally by Sheffield Homes, especially when the above money is 'owed' and not lost.

 

For the past 5 years, Parkhill (a unit of social housing equal to 1000 dwellings) has been 50%+ empty. This is because the powers that be thought fit to give it away, to privatise it, along with £20+ millions in taxpayer funded grants.

 

Assume a rent of £50pw (2.6k per year), with council tax band A of £983pa, assume all properties are lived in by single people under 25 on JSA of £52pw.

 

Lets call the council tax bill per property £725 per year, and the JSA payments £2.6k per year to take into account increases in these amounts over the past 5 years and the single person council tax discount.

 

5*500*£2600 = £6.5 million in lost rent

5*500*£725 = £1.8125 million in lost council tax

5*500*£2600 = £6.5 million lost to the local economy

 

These are under estimates of the money generated by Parkhill lost due to it 'regeneration', over a period of 5 years.

 

This amount will be lost again over the next 5 years.

750 social housing units will be lost.

The cost of regeneration will be in the region of £160000 per unit (1000 units, £160Mil budget), people won't buy them, and the council will presumably purchase them back.

 

Now, just for a moment consider this;

 

How many homes have been demolished throughout Sheffield?

How many homes did Sheffield Homes have 5 years ago, 10, 15, 20 years ago?

18500+ bid weekly through Sheffield Homes. 100000+ on the list and only 42000 properties, only a few years ago there were 46000 properties.

 

How much is the vast under supply of housing costing Sheffield as a city in lost council tax and rent? - Money that can never be recovered.

How much is it damaging the local economy?

What effect is it having upon the people of Sheffield, particularly those without access to social housing (the young, the working poor, non-priority homeless etc.)?

What are the relations between housing and mental health, general health, employment prospects etc.

 

Your post may have some valid points, but if Parkhill had been left as it was, it would have descended into further disrepair. Its reputation meant that even people who were homeless (and sometimes desperate for accommodation) didn't want flats there. Once the refurb is complete, there will be around 200 flats for social rent from a housing association as well as those for sale.

'But by the 1980s Park Hill had become dilapidated and was no longer a popular place to live. Poor noise insulation, badly lit walkways and plenty of passages and alleys made perfect getaways for muggers.

Horror stories abounded: tales of drugs and muggings galore and even sniper-style air-gun shootings of children in their primary school playground.'

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/sheffield/low/front_page/newsid_8207000/8207206.stm

 

The number of people on Sheffield housing register doesn't reflect the number who actually need, or want a council house at this time. Anyone can register for housing in Sheffield, and build up waiting time in case they need to use it in the future. Over 33k are on the 'suspended' register, people who have put their names down 'just in case'. And those actually bidding is more like 5k at most.

 

Council house numbers have reduced in three ways - some were transferred to housing associations; some have been demolished; and some sold via Right to Buy.

 

Poor housing and homelessness does impact on people's health, mental and physical, and has an enormous impact on their general wellbeing. Thats why people who are considered vulnerable get priority for rehousing. It doesn't help everyone, but the resources are limited, and that discussion isn't for this thread.

 

The Star has certainly highlighted an issue, but it doesn't give a balanced view. For instance, how is outstanding rent recovered from the estate of someone who dies leaving nothing? There is also the real difficulty of people who just up and leave a property, having avoided either paying rent or sorting out their housing benefits. There is often a delay in new claims which is also reflected in outstanding rent arrears.

 

Anyone who owes rent and subsequently reapplies for rehousing normally won't get it until they pay their debt. So the 'writing off' is a temporary situation in many cases. And lets not forget whose actual responsibility it is for ensuring rent is paid - the tenants.

[kal el 11]

i have reported my centrel heating over thirty times,yet kier cant repiar it ive sked for a new boiler they said it would cost to much,yet three immagrents who just moved in get totoly new boilers.how can this be justified i have rhumitism and need to be warm.i had to sit with a duvet round me last winter.:confused:

[Tyranna 10]

As someone who lives in the still occupied part of Park Hill, I quite agree with the OP that £10 million is peanuts compared to the money being spent alone on Parkhill. It's hardly enough to build a good terrace of low-rise housing. As one of those honest tenants currently in debt and paying back rent arrears under an 'agreement', I would imagine that a lot of the missing £10 million is due to tenants who have come over from E. Europe in recent years going back home after being laid off; I really hope that the council can succeed in getting most of that money owed back at minimal hassle, as they will need every penny of it to stave off the worst spending cuts...

[Ms Macbeth 70]

As someone who lives in the still occupied part of Park Hill, I quite agree with the OP that £10 million is peanuts compared to the money being spent alone on Parkhill. It's hardly enough to build a good terrace of low-rise housing. As one of those honest tenants currently in debt and paying back rent arrears under an 'agreement', I would imagine that a lot of the missing £10 million is due to tenants who have come over from E. Europe in recent years going back home after being laid off; I really hope that the council can succeed in getting most of that money owed back at minimal hassle, as they will need every penny of it to stave off the worst spending cuts...

 

Most people who come here from Europe don't get council housing. They need to live here for a stipulated period before they can register, and they then have to build up waiting time. A very few may get priority if for instance they have children. What tends to happen is they live in ex-council housing that was bought through Right to Buy, then sold to a private landlord who charges double the rent that people, like yourself, pay to the council.

 

Some years ago, some asylum seekers were housed in Parkhill, in properties that were leased to their support organisation. It brought in money that was being lost in rents because the flats were empty and people weren't exactly queueing up to live in them.

Edited August 20, 2010 by Ms Macbeth

[Ms Macbeth 70]

i have reported my centrel heating over thirty times,yet kier cant repiar it ive sked for a new boiler they said it would cost to much,yet three immagrents who just moved in get totoly new boilers.how can this be justified i have rhumitism and need to be warm.i had to sit with a duvet round me last winter.:confused:

 

In answer to the first part of your post - have you actually made a complaint to Sheffield Homes about all the attempts to fix your heating? I'd start with that. Even though Kier carry out the repairs, you pay your rent to Sheffield Homes. If you get no satisfaction from either, contact one of your local councillors and ask her/him to find out why they can't resolve the problem with your heating, or failing that why can't they replace your boiler.

 

To the second part of your post - its unlikely that three of your neighbours had new boilers because they are immigrants. Repairs and replacements should be done on a basis of whats needed, not because someone wasn't born here.

[kal el 11]

In answer to the first part of your post - have you actually made a complaint to Sheffield Homes about all the attempts to fix your heating? I'd start with that. Even though Kier carry out the repairs, you pay your rent to Sheffield Homes. If you get no satisfaction from either, contact one of your local councillors and ask her/him to find out why they can't resolve the problem with your heating, or failing that why can't they replace your boiler.

 

To the second part of your post - its unlikely that three of your neighbours had new boilers because they are immigrants. Repairs and replacements should be done on a basis of whats needed, not because someone wasn't born here.

 

i did all that,i spoke to the main boss in charge of the heating dpt and he sent out the same engineer to do the job that he cant do,and as for the new boilers the immigrants got are u calling me a liar or something else.

[Ms Macbeth 70]

i did all that,i spoke to the main boss in charge of the heating dpt and he sent out the same engineer to do the job that he cant do,and as for the new boilers the immigrants got are u calling me a liar or something else.

 

Perhaps its time then to ask your councillor to get involved if you have no heating.

 

I didn't suggest you were lying, but perhaps you didn't understand my reply. I merely pointed out that although your neighbours may well be immigrants, and new boilers were installed in their homes, they weren't installed because they were immigrants. It may have been that the boilers didn't work, or there weren't any to begin with.

[ormester101 10]

we pay fortnightly burt sheffield homes are that daft they never right it down and send nasty letters even though i have told them .Ended up in a massive argument with a women she didnt take to knidly telling her she couldnt do her job .

[kal el 11]

Perhaps its time then to ask your councillor to get involved if you have no heating.

 

I didn't suggest you were lying, but perhaps you didn't understand my reply. I merely pointed out that although your neighbours may well be immigrants, and new boilers were installed in their homes, they weren't installed because they were immigrants. It may have been that the boilers didn't work, or there weren't any to begin with.

 

ok the immigrents were in there new flats.they had there old boilers taken out becouse like mine it didnt work.they got new boilers i and other tennants cant have a new boiler unles it blows up wich has happend on several occasions then we get new boilers.how can this be justified:confused: