Bedford Borough Council says it is stepping up efforts to ensure temporary accommodation offered to homeless residents meets the required standards, after councillors raised concerns about unsafe housing.
During yesterday’s Housing Committee (Wednesday, September 24) cllr Tim Caswell (Lib Dem, Goldington) highlighted his past experiences of visiting properties under both the rent deposit scheme and temporary accommodation.
He said: “Last year I described in writing a property I visited offered under the rent deposit scheme as a dangerous slum.
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“More recently, I’ve visited another slum that was being offered through temporary accommodation, where a woman was asked to take a flat where there was an outside toilet used by men from nearby businesses.
“My question is: what inspections, checks, including fire checks, are we doing on properties we’re offering to people?”
Responding, Anna Robbani, head of housing, homelessness and customer services, said the council recognised the need for “more robust checks” on temporary accommodation.
“We are absolutely committed to only offering property that is suitable and has a decent home standard,” she said.
“Before we book we seek assurance from providers that they have the relevant gas certificates and property checks, and we have a checklist to make sure they are adhering to that.
“However, we’ve just over 900 placements at the moment, 700 of which are in the private sector. We currently have two officers available to go out and inspect, so we don’t have the capacity to inspect every single property before we book it.
“Sometimes we have to book within 24 hours as an emergency placement.”
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Ms Robbani explained that the council takes action where problems are identified, including enforcement, issuing warning letters, providing refunds, or relocating customers elsewhere.
She added that work is underway to expand resources, develop a risk-based inspection regime, and introduce an open framework for accommodation providers to improve oversight and record-keeping.
“It is still a challenge but a very high priority for us and one that we’re working hard to address,” she said.
“[But] it’s not a quick fix.”
Cllr Caswell thanked Ms Robbani for what he called a “thoughtful and honest answer” and said he was encouraged by the council’s response.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
