Agenda item

Objective: To provide the committee with the Housing Asset Management Strategy for sign off for consultation.

The Operations Manager Technical and Investment addressed the committee and highlighted the following:

-       The Housing Asset Management Strategy is currently in draft form. If the text is approved by the committee, it will be put into a more visual and polished format with the marketing team, so that it can be taken out for consultation.

-       The purpose of the strategy is to ensure that the housing stock is well managed and fit for purpose. It is looking over the next five-year period from 2026 to 2030, and it provides context in the document, including stock profiles showing the age and breakdown of the stock that the council hold, as well as a position statement as of April 2026.

-       When the strategy is brought back to the committee for final sign-off that position statement will be updated to the most up-to-date version.

-       Consultation will be carried out with key stakeholders including elected members, tenants and leaseholders. A link will be provided for people to respond to with a questionnaire asking whether the council are looking at the right priorities.

-       Five key priorities have been developed based on issues already identified, that will help the council to achieve their ambitions:

o   Safety and compliance – which covers delivery against the compliance strategy and the housing improvement programme, learning from data, and scrutinising performance.

o   Making informed decisions and actions, including completing stock conditions, getting the planned maintenance programme up and running, and developing a disposal policy using various metrics.

o   Decent, healthy and energy efficient homes, including funding from the Warm Homes Fund, continuing the successful delivery of energy efficiency measures and achieving a minimum energy efficiency standard of EPC C by 2030 in line with the government’s target. Addressing the new Decent Homes Standard which includes the introduction of smart technology as well as thermal comfort in measuring energy performance. A feasibility assessment will be completed into installing solar PV as part of the roofing programme.

o   Aligning homes with housing need, including bringing in ratings for properties in line with Gloucestershire’s accessible housing register, building on the sheltered housing review which was undertaken in 2018 and establishing a new acquisitions programme.

o   Establish a development and regeneration programme, including reviewing all development opportunities from council owned land, developing a plan for pre-fab properties on the Reddings estate, maximising S106 opportunities to add new stock, reviewing the council’s approach to sheds and garages (currently a high area of concern from tenants living in flats, who are being asked to move items out of communal areas).

The committee’s discussion raised the following points:

-       A couple of concerns were raised from a leaseholder perspective, particularly around the disposals policy. Understand this is positive from a tenant perspective as they will be re-housed into a newer property, but for a leaseholder they will be losing a flat or house that they have bought. It was confirmed that leaseholders will be involved in the consultation process and development of the disposals policy.

-       Following a question on the protections available to leaseholders, it was confirmed that the policy would adhere to any legislation that is in place. In cases where a decision is made to demolish a block of rented flats, there is a statutory requirement to offer people a home loss payment with clear directions on what they are entitled to. Those renting are also prioritised for rehousing on the waiting list. As a process it takes a long time.

-       The policy will also look at houses, bungalows and individual dwellings. The process in this case is more straightforward as there are a number of long-term void houses that require decisions on whether it is cost effective to spend upwards of £100k on them or whether they should be disposed of and the capital receipts used to acquire a new, more modern property that will last for the next 50 to 70 years. These different strands will be gathered together within the disposals policy.

-       In the context of legislation and regulation and alignment with the private rented sector, it will soon be unlawful to let properties with an energy rating below EPC C. Officers confirmed that they would confirm the number of properties that fall within this category.

-       Data on how many empty homes are within Cheltenham across all tenures in Cheltenham are held within the strategic housing function rather than the landlord service area.

-       The graph included underneath the housing revenue account (HRA) and stock profile highlights how little house building has taken place over the last 30 years. It’s concerning how little this can address the 2,500 people waiting on the housing register.

-       It was noted that Housing First has 12 places currently in Cheltenham for people who have failed tenancies in the past. As this has been working well it was suggested that an increase in the number of places available should be considered in the future.

-       It was highlighted that there is a real need for supported housing for younger adults as there is not very much provision for that within Cheltenham.

-       During a recent tour with officers of the Monkscroft estate, the amount of planned works that need to be done and the priorities for the people living there were discussed. Whilst it would be nice to have beautifully painted houses, the need for security measures to prevent undesirable people accessing the estate were highlighted. It was stressed that the input of conversations like this are extremely valuable and is why the consultation is so important.

-       A lot of local authority housing has been lost to right-to-buy and right-to-acquire. A surge of applications was seen after the government substantively reduced the maximum discount in November 2025. However, that has now tailed off. If a good development programme and acquisition programme is developed this will certainly help housing numbers in the long term.

-       Whilst the strategy currently talks about the climate emergency within its framing, it was suggested that it was equally important to highlight the cost-of-living crisis and the problems with energy security and energy costs. Properly insulated homes will benefit tenants against all these matters.

-       It was recommended that prioritising the elderly who have trouble keeping warm or those stretched most financially, to have warmer homes would be brilliant, if possible. It was noted that the council is quite fortunate as the majority of the stock is already at EPC C or above, so anything that can be done above that will help everybody. Making sure all properties are at an EPC C within the next 5 years is an overall priority, but the schedule can be reviewed to ensure vulnerable people are prioritised within that.

-       For the consultation a reading age of no more than nine or ten will be used to ensure people understand the document and feel properly involved.

-       The importance of listening to tenants was highlighted and the work carried out by teams already was praised. The introduction of hubs for tenants around Cheltenham was also raised as a positive development as it will allow open conversations to take place about what tenants’ need and ensure their voice is heard.

-       Once the consultation, subject to suggested amendments, has taken place the strategy will be brought back to the committee for review and recommendation to Cabinet for final approval.

The Cabinet Housing Committee approved the Housing Asset Management Strategy (2026-2030) subject to amendments for consultation.