It’s time to target housing mobility, says Matt Kennedy.
There tends to be a heavy focus from the Welsh Government and in the housing sector itself on things like the affordable (or, by now, social) housing target. Completion rates are all heavily scrutinised (by us included!) – but whilst all that is clearly important, there’s a case to be made for greater parity of attention to how we enable people to move, swap or stay in a home that meets the needs of their household.
Our Tyfu Tai Cymru project was commissioned by a working group of all the social housing providers across North Wales with a clear task – to gain a contemporary snapshot of the opportunities, and the barriers, to better supporting people to move to a different home, should they wish to – and with an emphasis on those who are either living in overcrowded housing, or under-occupying.
For anyone working in the sector for even the shortest amount of time, it’ll be clear that this problem is one that is stubborn in nature (‘rightsizing’ was mentioned in the UK parliament as far back as 1929!) and causes challenges which play out on a daily basis through the work of housing management teams.
Our approach included a rapid review of the literature, sessions with staff working directly in this area, engagement with tenant groups and a survey of tenants across North Wales. That survey received 321 responses – and we started off asking people about what they valued most about their home, and what things they’d most value about a new home if they were to move.
Gardens/outdoor space was the most popular feature followed by a desire to be close to local amenities, family and networks of friends and valuing the ‘feel’ of a local area. Although it’s hard to be sure (as it’s a snapshot in time) the survey could hint at how attitudes may have changed or been further cemented for some as a result of living through the pandemic.
At the heart of the survey was a question about whether people felt their home is too large, too small or the right size to meet the needs of their households. That resulted in respondents reporting:
- 13 per cent – too large
- 44 per cent – the right size
- 33 per cent – too small
We also asked respondents to reflect on how they felt their home would respond to their changing needs with almost two thirds having concerns about this, largely relating to either existing or potential future healthcare needs. Importantly the survey showed clearly that having a home that is too large or too small plays a big part in whether or not someone is thinking about moving with 82 per cent and 90 per cent in those camps respectively having considered it over the course of the last year.
Focussing on where support could be targeted, there was some variation depending on how respondents felt about the size of their existing home. For example, whilst help with the cost of moving was a popular offer for all respondents, those in homes that are too small showed almost double the support for this area compared with the overall sample (suggesting financial constraints play a big part). Help with decorating and support with well-being also received consistent support from all groups. Most worryingly however, 91 per cent of respondents reported that they are unsure of what help could be provided to move.
The clear tensions between offering what would be attractive and useful in facilitating greater housing mobility came out strongly in conversations with staff. Development viability is supported by flats for example – but as a housing type they’re pretty unpopular (as our survey found), whereas bungalows are hugely desirable, but the finances don’t stack up for building at scale where land is already a scarce and precious resource.
Other compounding factors include the age of housing on offer, the slow turnover of the most desirable properties, and the classic of demand being high in those areas with the lowest (or sometimes non-existent) availability.
The report recommended a number of options to both overcome some of the barriers above and increase choice and control for tenants. These include: offering shared incentives (pooling resources); looking at introduction local lettings/allocation policies for some developments; creating a consistent approach to communicating with tenants based on good practice; and launching an awareness raising campaign around the support available to move; and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions over their lifespan.
Whilst this work was never a case of providing a simple answer the group are progressing at pace with taking forward the recommendations with plans to create greater consistency in the approach on the horizon in 2022 – a programme of work worth looking out for!
Matt Kennedy is policy and public affairs manager at CIH Cymru