Commissioners raise concerns about Birmingham City Council’s ‘non-decent’ housing stock

Commissioners at Birmingham City Council (BCC) have reiterated concerns about the council’s housing stock in an intervention update letter to Michael Gove.

The letter, published yesterday, states that the council now accepts that its “housing stock has not received the investment or organisation attention required over a significant period”.

Last May, the regulator ruled that 23,000 of the council’s homes, which equates to 38% of its stock, did not meet the Decent Homes Standard. 

The commissioners further highlighted that the landlord functions and investment in housing stock were previously not prioritised or structured to effectively fulfil its landlord duties.

They said the city housing directorate “needs to be coherently organised around its landlord functions and aligned with the agreed improvement workstreams and work closely with colleagues from across the organisation to drive improvement and compliance”.

Yesterday, the Housing Ombudsman published six findings of severe maladministration regarding how the council dealt with leaks, damp and mould, and complaint handling.

This comes after the council issued an s114 notice in September last year. In a draft budget proposal released this week, it disclosed a revenue budget shortfall of approximately £300m over the next two financial years.

>> See also: What happens to housing development plans when a council goes ‘bankrupt’?

>> See also: Nottingham City Council issues section 114 notice over £23m black hole in budget

The council also faces potential liability to settle Equal Pay claims of £750m and an overspend of £80m on an IT system.

As part of its cost-saving measures, the council plans to reduce its housing budget by £6.2m in 2024/25 and £9.5m the year after. Earlier this month, Birmingham council leaders confirmed that it was considering closing its social housing waiting list amid a backlog of thousands of applications.

In addition, BCC has said it will need to sell off £1.25bn in assets to repay a government bailout loan. The assets to be sold have not yet been finalised, but it is expected that they will impact several areas, including waste collections, burial costs, highway maintenance and children’s travel contracts.

Councillor Darren Rodwell, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association said: “A shortage of social housing and the increasing regulatory pressures on Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs) is putting significant pressure on already stretched council budgets, resulting in trade-offs between meeting regulatory burdens, delivering new homes and investing in and maintaining the existing stock.

“This is why the LGA is calling on the Government to use the Spring Budget to provide a long-term sustainable funding framework for social housing, so councils have the ability to invest in and regenerate their housing stock.”

Birmingham City Council has been approached for comment.