This is a copy letter recently sent to a "Social Housing Tenant".
We have redacted names - except for the Finance Administrator who has not learned yet to sign his or her name so that it can be read. What is the point of signing the letter at all if the name is not legible? Perhaps it is Donald Duck - who knows and who really cares....
Anyway the tenant is not in arrears. He assures SSTAG that there were some past difficulties due to illness and extra expenditure that could not be avoided. The Housing Department helpfully agreed a payment plan and that was fully complied with. There are no arrears of rent now. But even if this tenant did owe £60 - would that really warrant such a rude and threatening response?
Pay it (£60) within one week or else non-essential Maintenance Services will cease - any garage rental agreement or parking permit will be cancelled (the tenant has no garge or car of course), an UNANNOUNCED vist to your WORK ( the tenant cannot work) or home, reference to the PETTY DEBTS court, and wait for it... EXPULSION from "your home"......!!!!
We need to be aware that the Housing Department will soon cease to exist. A new body ( to be known as the Housing Association or something similar) will become the effective "landlord" of all States' Social housing accommodation. Housing Minister Green will become the puppet of the Chief Minister's Office....
The States have already agreed that rentals will be increased to be something closer to those in the "private sector" ( in other words not affordable to people on lower incomes).
90% of private rentals for a smilar house or flat is the aim - although nobody has worked out yet which particular "private" accommodation will set the standards...
In fact, as we all know, "social" rents are effectively set by the Social Security Department in accordance with some weird formulae according to how much Income Support a person receives. It is disguised as the "Housing component".
Senator Le Gresley, Social Security Minister, recently refused (in the States) to publish his book of Income Support etc rules so that the public might study them. Too complicated he said, and as large as the "bible"....yes the same book that many people read and discuss every Sunday.
But suppose a "Private landlord" behaved like the Housing Dept Finance Administrator and made similar threats - with or without £60 arrears - what would the Royal Court have to say about such bullying behaviour? Can we really imagine that in 2013 the Judge would order immediate expulsion and/or the removal of rights and benefits over such a piddling amount of money?
(Only people without housing quals are supposed to receive such dreadful treatment in Jersey!)
And by the way - when did you last hear of the Housing Department actually REDUCING a rent because the maintenance of the property had been neglected (bearing in mind that the Treasury - now under Senator Ozouf's control - has been taking £25 millions out of the housing maintennac fund for decades), or the lifts were out of action, or the windows were ill-fitting, or the thermal insulation was inadequate or the properties were damp or the sound of people walking around above travelled through all the flats beneath...? Just suppose some tenants organised a "rent strike"...
So, is such a letter to this unfortunate tenant an indicator of the future? Is the screw tightening about to commence with even extra vigour...shall we soon see tenants forced out of their homes on the most frivolous pretexts. Shall the "Housing Association" be selling off housing stock at bargain prices to developers to put more cash into the kitty so that "new social homes" can be built to let to tanants at "realistic" market rents...?
As Senator Ozouf explained at a recent Scrutiny hearing - Jersey will only borrow money for projects such as new housing if there is a realistic expectation of a profitable return from rents - so we can all see in which direction those rents will be going....
He also explained that the financing of a super new hospital will also be similarly based - so stand by for yet more "User pays" projects and a public/private partnership health service where illness will be a very, very expensive luxury.....
Happy times are here again...you lucky people!
They make things up as they go along, that's why we'll never get to see their rulebook!
ReplyDeleteAsk a number of out-of-work islanders what they have to do each week to keep SS happy, and you'll probably get different answers!
Claim Income Support? Provide evidence of job-seeking, emails can be forwarded in.
Claim nothing, but turn up in La Motte St once a month for your SS contributions to be covered? You must still provide evidence of job-seeking, but this time the emails must be printed out and taken in on paper! As if things aren't stressful enough without having to beg borrow or steal (!) a printer, and keep it fed with ink and paper!
To Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI write down the details of each job I have applied for on the card supplied and the dates of any responses from employers. I don't go out of my way to provide copies of e-mail replies as this would be too expensive and time-consuming and they have never requested this anyway.
Regarding those who register as ASW but don't actually receive Income Support- if they are not having their contributions credited (and I believe that very few of them are) then I definitely would not expect such people to have to go to greater lengths than benefit claimants to provide proof in the form of photocopies. Unless it is something to do with those not receiving benefits having therefore not signed the Jobseeker's Agreement, which includes consents to contact employers etc. in order to verify the information supplied. Maybe Soc Sec want to see proof because they don't have the right to check with employers in the case of people who don't claim Income Support?
Re the threatening letter from Housing- the bit about an unannounced visit to your work or home certainly looks a bit dodgy with regard to the ECHR's right to privacy, but I am not a lawyer. Several thoughts going through my mind about this:
ReplyDeletePresuming these unannounced visits WERE in all likelihood non-compliant, the tenant still has to find a way in the short-term of dealing with the matter to stop possible eviction proceedings or other sanctions. What avenues are open? Does the tenant have a right to appeal in the same way that an Income Support claimant has? Is there a tribunal option? If no right of appeal other than going to the Petty Debts Court and defending yourself, should there be a right of appeal, given that this is a public body taking an administrative decision? If Housing merely threatens an unannounced visit but doesn't carry it out, is this also a breach of the ECHR in the same way or do they actually have to make the visit before it becomes a breach? Will the agreed new States-owned Housing Company be regarded as a public body for human rights purposes? I would have thought it would but other opinions are welcome.
The question of rights of appeal against Housing Department decisions is very interesting and what will happen when it ceases to be a States Department - as an Association - is at least worrying.
ReplyDeletePresumably new leases could be issued to all existing tenants spelling out the terms of the new rent deal and conditions that will apply re arrears etc. Whether this will include a statement on "Decent Homes" standards as well is anybody's guess and whether such tribunals as the Complaints Board will apply to the admin by the Association is also not clear. Quite how the Minister will fit in working out of the Chief Minister's office is also unclear - shall his responsibilities to "tenants" be defined more clearly? Perhaps a public meeting of tenants with Deputy Green is called for...