Mole Valley Housing Team Receives High Praise

Mole Valley District Council’s (MVDC) Housing team manages Allocations and Homelessness services, including assistance for households facing homelessness; management of the social housing register; and facilitating access to the private rented sector. They also oversee temporary accommodation, work with Planning to ensure the building of additional affordable housing and collaborate with agencies on safeguarding and public protection issues.

Recently, the team received outstanding feedback from the Homeless Advisory and Support Team (HAST) at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (formerly the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) for their exceptional performance in handling homeless presentations. MVDC reports data monthly to the Government on households who present as homeless, and the recent figures have shown results well above regional and national averages.

Where someone is threatened with homelessness within 56 working days, MVDC may owe them a duty to try and prevent their homelessness. In Mole Valley, 68% of households approach MVDC during this time period, compared to 50% regionally and 43% nationally. This early presentation enables MVDC more time to use early intervention to find solutions to the housing issues and, in so doing, can avoid the household becoming homeless. The success rate achieved by MVDC in preventing homelessness is 71%, significantly higher than the regional (54%) and national (52%) averages. This is achieved through various strategies, including negotiating with landlords and mortgage companies, referrals to supported housing, accessing private rented accommodation, and facilitating moves into social housing.

Should prevention not be successful, and the household become homeless, they enter the ‘relief stage’.    MVDC continues to support the household to find an end to their homelessness and has a success rate of 60%, compared to 30% regionally and 33% nationally. Those households whose homeless application is then accepted are initially placed in emergency accommodation whilst a longer-term solution is found.  Of these, MVDC last year helped 33% into private rentals, vastly outperforming the regional (8%) and national (8%) averages. This success in securing private rentals provides a quicker housing solution for households, freeing up emergency accommodations for others in need.  All these services are made available to households of all sizes, from single people and couples through to families with children.

If you are a private landlord in Mole Valley, Surrey or further afield and are interested in helping MVDC with housing households, please contact MVDC’s Housing Team on 01306 885001 to discuss financial and practical offers – including free tenancy sustainment and inventories as well as generous cash incentives – MVDC can provide for letting out your home.

Councillor Rosemary Hobbs, Cabinet Member for Community Services commented on the Housing team success saying: “I’m very proud of the results our Housing team is delivering, and I would like to thank them for their hard work in achieving these remarkable results. Their dedication and perseverance in combating homelessness in Mole Valley is well evidenced and receiving deserved recognition by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

“These results not only highlight our team’s exceptional performance but also elevate Mole Valley’s profile at Government level, potentially leading to future grant and funding opportunities. This will enable us to continue maintaining and improving our housing and homelessness services for our community. The significant success in helping people into the private rented sector is crucial, as it provides quicker housing solutions compared to waiting for social housing, freeing up emergency accommodations for other households in need.”