Social Housing Assistance Reform Programme

Transcription

1 Social Housing Assistance Reform Programme Moving from high to lower demand housing areas Community guidelines Social Housing Reform Short Term Initiatives Moving from High to Lower Demand Areas Page 1 of 17 Release Date: June 2015

2 Contents Purpose... 3 Overview... 3 What is a community... 3 Community guidelines... 4 Eligibility criteria... 4 Suitability... 4 Willingness... 4 Sustainability... 4 Who does what... 5 Process... 6 Issues management... 7 Appendix 1 - Client scenarios... 8 Appendix 2- Relocation reasons... 9 Appendix 3- Willingness & sustainability checklist and referral form Appendix 4 - Verification... 17

3 Purpose The Moving from High to Lower Demand Housing Areas Community Partner Guidelines are issued by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and are based on Ministry policy and procedures. These provide detailed guidance for MSD and community s on a range of delivery requirements to help deliver this initiative. Overview On 8 December 2014, Cabinet agreed that MSD implement a package of initiatives to better manage the social housing register, increase social housing places, and alleviate pressure on social and emergency housing. This initiative is about what support is available to clients who move from high demand housing area to lower demand housing areas. It aims to assist people to relocate to areas where more affordable housing is available and to help relieve pressure on the social housing register in high demand housing areas. MSD support people to independence by helping them with their work, income and housing needs. With assistance from our community s, clients on the social housing register who are willing and able to move from an area of high demand 1 for housing to an area of lower demand, may be eligible for financial support from MSD. MSD recognises that to better support our clients we need to be creative and flexible in our thinking. We need to use the existing relationships our clients have with others to provide wraparound support. The relationship our community s have with our shared clients may put them in a unique position to identify housing opportunities that have not come up in our interactions with them. What is a community Community s can include (but are not limited to): Community Housing Providers (CHPs) Emergency Housing Providers (EHPs) Housing New Zealand (HNZ) Benefit advocates 1 High demand and low demand housing areas can be found at: Social Housing Reform Short Term Initiatives Moving from High to Lower Demand Areas Page 3 of 17

4 Youth Service providers Community groups and organisations Any person acting on behalf of the client. This initiative is sector led and MSD will accept client/family referrals from any community. Community guidelines This initiative is to support conversations you may already be having with our mutual clients about moving regions. MSD will support these relationships by providing you with the resources to identify when a client has the opportunity to move to an area of lower housing demand with financial support from MSD. You and the client/family will work together to establish their suitability to move, their willingness to move and ensuring that the move is sustainable for them in the long term. MSD will then assess the client s eligibility for financial assistance to assist with their relocation to the lower demand area. Eligibility criteria Clients/families must meet three main criteria to be considered for financial assistance 2 from MSD under this initiative. The client must be suitable, willing and able to sustain a move to a lower demand housing area 3. Suitability A suitable client/family: is living in a high demand housing area, and; is on the social housing register (including transfer register 4 ), and; has identified a lower demand housing area they could move to. Willingness A willing client/family: would like to move to a lower demand housing area. Sustainability Ensuring that the relocation is sustainable is vital. This initiative aims to promote longterm solutions. All relocations should be carefully considered to ensure that the move to the lower demand housing area can be maintained by the client/family in the long term. 2 Clients will still need to meet other criteria to be eligible for financial assistance (such as an income and asset test). Referring a client to MSD is not a promise of entitlement. 3 See Appendix 1 Client scenario s 4 The transfer register refers to clients who are current social housing tenants who have been assessed as requiring other housing.

5 Consideration should be given to: Family and/or community ties in the new area, or whether the client is returning to a community base (eg returning to where they have previously spent a significant amount of time) and; Medical needs and support, and; Any offer of employment in the new area, and; Availability of suitable accommodation in the new area, and; Whether the client/family has a genuine reason 5 to relocate. Not everyone who wants to move may be able to sustain accommodation in a new area. Reasons why clients may struggle to sustain a private rental once they have moved can include: Financial hardship Loss of employment Deteriorating health Shared arrangements breaking down eg death of a or a relationship ending Consideration should also be given to the above factors when establishing whether the client/family meets the sustainability criteria. Please note that decisions on sustainability should be on a case by case basis. All circumstances should be considered in close consultation with the client/family. Who does what During your daily interactions with clients/families, if they express an interest in relocation, you could consider what financial assistance is available to them should they decide to relocate. During your conversations, you can ascertain if the client is suitable, willing and able to sustain a move to lower demand housing area. You may then support these clients/families by helping them to get together the necessary documentation to apply for financial assistance. The Ministry s primary role is to support you and the client/family by confirming that they are suitable for consideration under this initiative and to assess their eligibility for financial assistance to cover the cost of the relocation. A comprehensive list of how we envisage this working is outlined below. Please note that further context has been provided in the appendices. 5 See Appendix 2 Relocation Reasons Social Housing Reform Short Term Initiatives Moving from High to Lower Demand Areas Page 5 of 17

6 Process Step Activity Responsibility 1 Identify suitable clients/families. 2 Establish if the client/family is willing to relocate. Community Community Complete the at Willingness & Sustainability Checklist and Referral form this will help you to determine if the client should be referred under this initiative Support the client/family to find an area to relocate to and suitable accommodation within that area Provide advice on where to look (TradeMe, local newspapers, rental agencies) and assisting with the search where appropriate. Confirm that the client/family has somewhere genuine to go Confirm by sighting evidence (eg tenancy agreement, letter from the new landlord) or by discussing the new accommodation arrangements with the owner of the new property (by phone, or in person) Assist the client/family to get quotes for relocation (eg moving truck, transport to new area) Advise what costs could be involved (eg moving truck, travel costs) and assist the client/family to get quotes from appropriate companies. Community Client/community Community Client/community 7 Verify 6 that these costs are fair and genuine Community 8 Ensure the new landlord completes a supplier form 7 required) (if Client/community 9 Refer the client/family to MSD to book an appointment to apply for financial assistance Assist the client/family to book an appointment to apply for financial assistance (clients who are 65 years old and over should call Clients who are 64 years Client/community 6 See Appendix 4 Verification 7 A supplier form needs to be completed by a supplier of goods or services, when they want to receive payments from MSD. You can access this form here:

7 and younger should call ). A Youth Service client 8 should contact their Youth Service provider to arrange and appointment. Ensure that the client/family takes with them to their appointment verified copies of: o the Willingness & Sustainability Checklist and Referral Form o quotes for relocation costs Confirm that the client/family is willing and able to sustain a move Ensure that the client/family is aware of any issues that could arise as a result of the move (eg the clients ability to meet work obligations in the new area) Ensure that the quoted costs are verified as being fair and reasonable by the community Assess the client/families eligibility to financial assistance to cover the costs of the relocation Grant/decline assistance and advise client/family of the outcome MSD/Youth Service provider MSD/Youth Service provider MSD/Youth Service provider MSD/Youth Service support unit MSD/Youth Service support unit Issues management If you have any questions regarding the process, or have any issues using any of the resources available on the MSD website, you should contact us directly to discuss. You can contact us on A Youth Service client is one who receives Youth Payment or Young Parent Payment or is participating in the NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) service. Youth clients are engaged with a Youth Service Provider who manages the relationship between the youth client and MSD. Social Housing Reform Short Term Initiatives Moving from High to Lower Demand Areas Page 7 of 17

8 Appendix 1 - Client scenarios The following client scenarios illustrate situations where this initiative could be utilised. Samuel Samuel is 22 years old and originally from Upper Hutt. Samuel moved to Auckland for a job opportunity that did not work out due to ill health. He currently receives Supported Living Payment and lives in emergency housing. He is on the social housing register. He has expressed an interest in moving back to Upper Hutt to be closer to his family and friends but does not have the financial means to relocate. Samuel intends to move back in with his family on his return to Upper Hutt. The cost of Samuel s relocation back to Upper Hutt would be travel (bus) $60 and moving his furniture and belongings $918 a total of $978. Annabel Annabel is 66 years old and lives in Auckland. She is retired, receives New Zealand Superannuation and her husband has recently passed away. Annabel currently lives in a social house on her own and is on the transfer register awaiting a move to a smaller house. Annabel would like to move to Kapiti Coast to live with her daughter, but does not have the financial means to do so. The cost of Annabel s relocation to Kapiti Coast would be travel (flight) $299 and moving her furniture and belongings $1080 a total of $1,379. Bryce and Alice Bryce and Alice have three dependent children all aged under ten. They live in Christchurch in a house which was severely affected by the earthquakes and are on the social housing register. Alice is a stay-at-home mother and does not receive a benefit from MSD. Bryce also does not receive a benefit, has been made redundant and finished work three days ago. He has been offered a job in Upper Hutt and has found a suitable property that he could move into with some assistance. Bryce wants to relocate his family to start fresh but does not have the financial means to do so. The cost of Bryce and Alice s relocation to Upper Hutt would be travel (flight) $550 and moving their furniture and belongings $2,900 a total of $3,450.

9 Appendix 2- Relocation reasons Clients/families choose to relocate for many reasons. Some of the reasons why a client/family may choose to relocate are shown in the table below. 1 Reason 2 Example 3 Their current accommodation is inadequate 4 They have specific household attributes 5 The quality of their current house is poor 6 They have concerns about the quality of their current neighbourhood they are homeless or in temporary accommodation they have formed a new household or have had a relationship breakdown they are living in overcrowded accommodation they need independent accommodation they have specific household requirements that are not being met household members have an illness, injury or disability they desire or need to be nearer family they want to enter home ownership in an affordable area the presence of family violence the presence of damp or mould no or inadequate heating unsecure windows and doors the property is run down or derelict high levels of crime anti-social behaviour Note that the above is not an exhaustive list of all the reasons a client/family would want to relocate. It is important that when you are determining whether the client has a genuine reason to relocate you do so on a case by case basis, taking into account all of the client s/family s circumstances (including support offered in the new area eg schools, medical services). If the client/family wants to move simply to gain access to financial assistance under this initiative this is not a genuine reason for relocation. Social Housing Reform Short Term Initiatives Moving from High to Lower Demand Areas Page 9 of 17

10 Appendix 3- Willingness & sustainability checklist and referral form This is an interactive form that will help you to identify suitable, willing clients who could sustain a move to a lower demand housing area. It is important to note that the most questions you will be required to answer is 19 (where the majority are Yes/No answers). Please note the result box text and next steps are populated based on the answers provided in each question. This form is accessible from the MSD website at: Example One What the community will see when opening the form

11 Example Two Client is not suitable for referral to the Ministry The answer you select in the answer boxes will populate the result box telling you what to do next If you select an answer that results in the client not being suitable for referral, the result box will display this text, and the Next Steps section will display on the page to the right Social Housing Reform Short Term Initiatives Moving from High to Lower Demand Areas Page 11 of 17

12 The Next Steps section appears on the right hand page each time the result box gives you a final decision (to This text will differ depending on whether or not the client

13 Example Three Client is suitable for referral to the Ministry Page 13 of 17

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17 Appendix 4 - Verification Once the client/family has secured new accommodation and has obtained all quotes for relocation costs, you as a community should verify this information by: sighting the original supporting documentation (eg checklist & referral form, quotes*) dating and signing the original supporting documentation *Quotes can include (but are not limited to) the cost of a moving truck, letter from the new landlord (or tenancy agreement) which shows the cost of bond/rent in advance/letting fees, or the cost of travel to the new area. You should only date and sign the supporting documentation if you are satisfied that the document is genuine and that the quoted costs are reasonable and fair. Page 17 of 17