Open door winter 2015 rent consultation edition

Stirling Council Winter 2015

Open Door Welcome to the Rent Consultation 2016-2017 edition of Open Door This edition • more information on the rent consultation and proposed rent levels • how your rent money was spent last year • the introduction of ‘Right to Ask’ • chance to win a £50 supermarket voucher.

Bite size bits The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 requires Registered Social Landlords to consult with tenants regarding rent increases and to take the opinions of tenants into account when setting rent levels.

Congratulations to Hugh McClung

This year we have decided to include the rent consultation survey with this edition of the Open Door to limit costs. Please take 5 minutes to complete the survey online at www.stirling.gov.uk/rentconsultation or complete the enclosed survey and return it in the prepaid envelope by the 31st of December 2015 (please note that if you are on our Tenants Panel you will have already received and returned the rent consultation survey in November).

Councillors will make the final decision on the proposed rent rise in February 2016. It is important that you return the consultation as your responses are an important part of their considerations. Further information can be found on page 2.

If you have any questions or concerns about the service that we provide, or require help in completing the survey, then please get in touch with Emma Meldrum on 01786 237 661.

Your views count Our next tenant satisfaction survey will be carried out during May and June 2016 and it will be a face-to-face. We will be asking what you think about the services you receive from us. All interviewers will have identification badges and will show you them before asking you to take part. Your feedback is appreciated and helps us to improve our services.

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We would like to say a big well done to Hugh McClung, who was awarded an MBE in October 2015. Hugh has been a tenant representative for many years and works tirelessly to improve the housing service received by social housing tenants across Scotland. Hugh is the Chairperson of the Stirling Tenants Assembly and board member of TPAS Scotland and Chairperson of the Central Regional Networks. Carol Hamilton, Housing Manager said “I would like to congratulate Hugh. This award recognises the hard work that Hugh has carried out on behalf of tenants of Stirling and beyond.”

In 2013, Stirling Council agreed to set rents for each year based on actual cost increases.

The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) faces a net increase in costs of £180,000 for 2016/17.

This is due to: ■ increased staff costs as a result of a 1.5% pay rise ■ changes to National Insurance Contributions ■ increased interest on loan payments ■ the introduction of auto-enrolment in the pension scheme ■ increased sub-contracting and materials costs in delivering repairs and investments to your home; and ■ an anticipated reduction in income of £114,000 due to changes in the welfare benefit system.

A rent rise of 1.0% will produce an increase in revenue of £180,000 which will enable the service to meet these increased costs.

Proposed Investment Programme The service has added 46 properties to its stock in 2014/15 through new house building, purchasing from the open market and the mortgage to rent scheme.

The Council proposes to continue to invest in current stock and add new stock throughout the next financial year. The table below shows the number of properties that have had home improvement works completed, those currently ongoing and proposals for investment in 2016/17. Tenants are asked to comment on the proposed investment programme as part of the rent consultation.

Programme

Completed 2014/15

Kitchens Bathrooms Heating Systems Thermal insulation / external walls Roofs Windows Renewable Technology

308 270 230 222 49 36 265

Current Programme 2015/16 200 250 230 166 40 0 333

Proposed 2016/17 200 180 300 65 40 60 500

Rent Increase The proposed rent rise will mean that the “average rent” will increase by 63p over the 48-week rental period from £63.32 in 2015/16 to £63.95 in 2016/17. The table below shows the current rent charges and the proposed rental charge for 2016/17 in green.

Figures in brackets ( ) correspond to current stock levels.

Flat in Close / Maisonette

1 bed (522) 2 bed (660) 3 bed (134) 4 bed(2)

5 bed(0)

7 bed(0)

8 bed(1)

2015/16 2016/17

£64.08 £65.60 £67.13 £68.65 £64.72 £66.26 £67.80 £69.34 1 bed (309) 2 bed (397) 3 bed (192) 4 bed (67)

5 bed (0)

7 bed(0)

£80.10 £80.90 8 bed(1)

2015/16 2016/17

£65.30 £66.85 £68.41 £69.96 £65.95 £67.52 £69.09 £70.66 1 bed (312) 2 bed (764) 3 bed (945) 4 bed (167) 5 bed (4)

7 bed(0)

8 bed(0)

2015/16 2016/17

£68.65 £69.34 1 bed (8)

£70.29 £71.92 £73.56 £70.99 £72.64 £74.29 2 bed (454) 3 bed (462) 4 bed (21)

£75.19 £75.94 5 bed (1)

7 bed(0)

8 bed(0)

2015/16 2016/17

£67.13 £67.80 1 bed (0)

£68.73 £69.41 2 bed (0)

8 bed(0)

Own Door Flat

Bungalow/Semi/End

Mid Terraced

Detached 2015/16 2016/17

£70.33 £71.03 3 bed (2)

£71.92 £72.64 4 bed (2)

£73.52 £74.25 5 bed (2)

7 bed(1)

£73.49 £74.22

£75.18 £75.93

£76.86 £77.63

£80.20 £81.00

NOTE: 1. Properties with an integrated garage will be charged a garage rent in addition to the rental charge. This charge will increase annually based on the rent increase.

2. Properties subject to factoring will have an additional charge added to the weekly rent charge. The service charge will rise annually in line with any increase in fees applied by the factoring agent.

Please complete the rent consultation survey enclosed, giving us your opinion on the proposed rent rise and investment programme.

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How each pound is spent Other costs 4p

Employee and Management costs 16p

Repairs and Maintenance 60p

Capital Finance costs 20p

Other costs include irrecoverable rents and costs related to empty properties

Right to Ask 1st October 2015 marked the national roll-out of the Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse Scotland which was previously trialled in Aberdeen & Ayrshire.

The scheme aims to prevent domestic abuse by empowering both men and women with the right to ask about the background of their partner, potential partner or someone who is in a relationship with someone they know, and there is a concern that the individual may be abusive.

The scheme aims to enable potential victims to make an informed choice on whether to continue the relationship, and provides further help and support to assist the potential victim when making that informed choice.

Right to Ask is the powerful message behind the new scheme. Police Scotland is empowering potential victims of domestic abuse with the right to ask about their partner. In the past, it could have been difďŹ cult for someone entering a new relationship to ďŹ nd out or be aware if their partner had prior convictions for violence or domestic abuse.

If police checks show that the individual has a record of abusive behaviour; or there is other information to indicate the person you know is at risk, the police will consider sharing this information with the person(s) best placed to protect the potential victim.

The police will discuss your concerns with you and decide whether it is appropriate for you to be given more information to help protect the person who is in the relationship with the individual you are concerned about.

For further information, please select the following link: http://www.scotland.police.uk/contact-us/disclosure-scheme-for-domestic-abuse-scotland

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Help us to help you Did you receive good service? Do you have a good news story to tell us?

We’d love to hear about it, so please call or email today: 01786 237 661 or meldrume@stirling.gov.uk

Recycling Centre Opening Times Please note that the Balfron and Callander recycling centres are closed on a Sunday. In the autumn edition of the Open Door, it was stated that these centres were open on a Sunday which was incorrect.

Please accept our apologies.

More information on recycling can be found on the Stirling Council website.

If you need help or this information supplied in an alternative format please call 01786 40 40 40.

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Housing Rent Arrears

01786 40 40 40

Homelessness Unit Springkerse House

01786 237900

Repairs Service Heating Servicing & Repairs

01786 40 40 40

Housing Allocations

01786 237670

Out of Hours Contact Centre

01786 40 40 40

Independent Housing Advice Shelter Citizens Advice Bureau

0808 800 4444 01786 470239

Independent Money Advice Team

01786 233520

Opening times of local rural local offices Aberfoyle: 9am - 1pm Balfron / Callander / Dunblane: 9am - 1pm, 2pm - 5pm Killin - by appointment only

Produced by Stirling Council November 2015

Contact Points