FOI request (FOIR-456198478)

Overcrowding in council properties

Requested Tue 04 October 2022
Responded Fri 14 October 2022

I am emailing under the Freedom of Information Act regarding overcrowding in council-owned or council-managed properties.

Please can you supply the below, in Excel or spreadsheet format, for the last five years up to present records (2018 until now).

I am happy for this to be supplied as 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, and 2022/present.

1. The number of households living in overcrowded properties, as defined by Section 325 of the Housing Act 1985, per year.

2. The number of council-owned or council-managed properties in the authority, per year if this number has changed over the five year time span.

3. Average waiting times for a household to be moved to a larger property per year.

4. The number of new council-owned or council-managed properties per year.

Response

1. Hastings Borough Council does not have any council owned overcrowded properties. Most of the social housing in the borough is owned and managed by housing associations, the two biggest are Optivo and Orbit.

2.

2018 = 0

2019 = 14 (of which, 1 is a HMO which contains 5 units)

2020 = 23 (of which, 1 is a HMO which contains 5 units)

2021 = 25 (of which, 1 is a HMO which contains 5 units)

2022 = 32 (of which, 1 is a HMO which contains 5 units)

3. Zero, we do not have any overcrowded properties.

4. See figures above. Included in these figures are 3 'new' houses owned by the council which were purchased 28th May 2019.