A large authority is poised to become a private landlord through the launch of a private sector landlord company.
Councillors in Bournemouth will be considering on Monday the proposal for the council to set up a company which will purchase properties within the borough, to rent directly to people for whom the council has a statutory homeless duty.
It is also proposed that the council purchases additional properties directly, not through the company, in order to grant slightly different tenancies at different rent levels.
If the proposals go ahead, it is anticipated that a portfolio of approximately 60 properties in Bournemouth would be purchased at a cost of approximately £10m over a period of three years.
Cllr Robert Lawton, Cabinet member for housing, said: “Like many other councils, we are under increased pressure with reduced funding from government to meet our homeless duty to support vulnerable people in Bournemouth who find themselves without a home.
“The council must look at more innovative options in order to continue to meet this duty, and buying properties in this way enables the council to, in effect, operate as a private landlord and rent directly to homeless people.
“It will help us to reduce costs, for example, avoiding the use of expensive B&B accommodation.
“By owning the properties it would mean that the council would be able to ensure the properties are good quality and well managed.
“In the longer-term any income generated and increase in property values would come back to the council to help fund additional services for vulnerable people.”
Properties would be purchased using a combination of upfront council funding and loans.
Good to hear of a local authority using common sense rather than the normal private landlord bashing mentality.
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This has already happened in NELC and Shoreline (the company responsible for these properties) is just awful at running them.
Surely the £10m belongs to the people and anything purchased with that should belong to the people (through the council) and not be ‘gifted’ to a private company?
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I must be missing something, why would a council spend 10 million on just 60 homes?
Surely the council own land, the most expensive thing with housing is land, why not build on their own land as you will get more units at a lower cost and home more families?
As i said i am sure i am missing something but what?
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