Overcrowding & Under-occupation

1. Overcrowding &Under-occupation David Clayton National Overcrowding Coordinator Housing Management and Performance Division

2. Introduction • Levels of Overcrowding • Action Plan and Pathfinders • Collecting DATA • Making better use of stock • Overcrowded households

3. Context: Overcrowding in England • England and regional estimates plus under occupiers

4. Severe Overcrowding in the Social Rented Sector

5. Action Plan Summary • Published December 2007 • £15m investment over 3 years to reduce overcrowding • Currently 54 Pathfinders • Pathfinders to use resource to take strategic and proactive approach to tackling overcrowding

6. Collecting DATA • Do you know the numbers of overcrowded households in your stock? How severely overcrowded are these households? How many households are under-occupying? Understanding overcrowding can inform policy and initiatives

7. Making better use of stock Allocations Does your allocations framework support tackling overcrowding? Do you give priority to ‘severely’ overcrowded households? Do you give priority to under-occupiers? Can you create ‘chain lets’? Allocations are key to tackling overcrowding and underoccupation

8. Making better use of stock Under-occupation Do you ‘enable’ under-occupiers to move? Do you have a scheme in place? Money, support or both? How do you identify under-occupiers? People, their needs and not ££

9. Tackling OvercrowdingHousing Options Do you visit overcrowded households? What options do overcrowded tenants have? Do you do a ‘reality’ check? How about non-dependent adults a home? Can tenants access the private sector?

10. What support can we offer? • National Overcrowding Coordinator • Regional Resource Teams • Policy team at CLG • Self Assessment Toolkit • Advice notes

11. Contacts Nicki Goddard – Head of Policy (Overcrowding) nicki.goddard@communities.gsi.gov.uk Tel: 020 7944 0592 David Clayton – National Overcrowding Coordinator david.clayton@communities.gsi.gov.uk Tel: 020 7944 3367 Mob: 07810 813923