3 & 4 bedroom properties with one occupant

2010 Rotherham Ltd

Eastwood Depot

Chesterton Road

Rotherham

S65 1SZ

Tel: (01709) 822200

Fax: (01709) 822222

URL: [1]www.2010rotherham.org

Reference Please ask
for Date

FOI 338 Karen
Green 3^rd September,
2009

Mr K Osborne

[2]mailto:[FOI #17374 email]

Dear Mr Osborne

Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Request for Information

I acknowledge your request for information regarding single-occupancy of 3
and 4 bed homes, received by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council on
28^th August 2009. Your request has been passed on to us as the
arms-length management organisation for council homes in Rotherham - 2010
Rotherham Ltd.

In response to your request we can provide the following information;

There are currently 5053 three bedroom properties and 110 four bedroom
properties occupied by a single occupant.

It is important to recognise the following information:

[3]* Single persons are not allocated family sized accommodation, as
per the councils Housing Allocations Policy.

[4]* Under-occupancy typically arises from households shrinking in
size over time and where this happens the landlord has no absolute legal
right to relocate the occupants and can only make tenants aware of their
options regarding re-housing to more suitably-sized accommodation.

[5]* Consistent with good practice, 2010 Rotherham Ltd conducts an
annual cycle of tenancy verification visits in order to maintain an
accurate, up to date database of household composition and work closely
through information sharing to help achieve this.

[6]* There are currently 65 single occupants of 3/4 bed houses
waiting for alternative suitable accommodation on the housing register.

The full Housing Allocation Policy for Rotherham Metropolitan Borough
Council is available on the council's website at: [7]www.keychoices.co.uk

I hope this answers your enquiry.

If you are not happy with this response you have the right to an internal
review by the Council. To do this please contact:

Sarah Corbett

Data Protection and Information Security Officer

Legal Services

Civic Building

Walker Place

Rotherham

S65 1UF

If you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can appeal to:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545700

URL: [8]www.informationcommissioner.gov.org

Please contact me on the above telephone number if you wish to discuss the
matter further.

Yours Sincerely

Karen Green

Service Quality Officer

Karen Green

Service Quality Officer

2010 Rotherham Ltd

Eastwood Depot, Chesterton Road, Eastwood, Rotherham, S65 1SZ

www.2010rotherham.org

Tel: 01709 822259

Company No: 5292646
Registered in Cardiff
VAT No: 856304130

Think before you print - please consider the impact on the environment
before printing this document.

This e-mail is intended for the use of the addressee only and may contain
confidential information, copyright material or views/opinions that do not
necessarily reflect those of 2010 Rotherham Ltd. If you receive this email
by mistake please advise the sender immediately. All should be aware that
this email may be subject to public disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and that emails may be monitored.

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.2010rotherham.org/
2. mailto:[FOI #17374 email]
7. http://www.keychoices.co.uk/
8. http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.o...

Good morning Kevin,

In response to your further questions, I must emphasise that as the
managing agent for council homes in Rotherham, we are obliged to follow
council procedure. To understand our position more I would encourage you
to read the council 'Housing Allocation Policy' which you can access
through the website: [1]www.keychoices.co.uk

To address under-occupation, RMBC Key Choices periodically send letters to
under-occupied households to inform them of their options. In the past I
believe other methods have been used but have resulted in upset and
misunderstandings. We must consider that single-occupying tenants are
usually elderly and or vulnerable and we would be asking them to undergo a
fairly traumatic experience in moving home.

I hope you can recognise the national problems with under-occupied
households and the law governing tenant's rights and our rights to manage
them.

I hope you have found my response useful.

Regards

Karen Green

Service Quality Officer

2010 Rotherham Ltd

Eastwood Depot, Chesterton Road, Eastwood, Rotherham, S65 1SZ

www.2010rotherham.org

Tel: 01709 822259

Company No: 5292646

Registered in Cardiff

VAT No: 856304130

Think before you print - please consider the impact on the environment
before printing this document.

This e-mail is intended for the use of the addressee only and may contain
confidential information, copyright material or views/opinions that do not
necessarily reflect those of 2010 Rotherham Ltd. If you receive this email
by mistake please advise the sender immediately. All should be aware that
this email may be subject to public disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and that emails may be monitored.

show quoted sections

Good afternoon Kevin,

After consulting with the council's legal department I have been advised
to treat this as a new Freedom of Information enquiry.

Therefor I hereby acknowledge your request for information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. You will receive a response as soon as
possible and no later than 20 working days from receipt of your request
(13.10.09).

Yours sincerely

Karen Green

Service Quality Officer

2010 Rotherham Ltd

Eastwood Depot, Chesterton Road, Eastwood, Rotherham, S65 1SZ

www.2010rotherham.org

Tel: 01709 822259

Company No: 5292646

Registered in Cardiff

VAT No: 856304130

Think before you print - please consider the impact on the environment
before printing this document.

This e-mail is intended for the use of the addressee only and may contain
confidential information, copyright material or views/opinions that do not
necessarily reflect those of 2010 Rotherham Ltd. If you receive this email
by mistake please advise the sender immediately. All should be aware that
this email may be subject to public disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and that emails may be monitored.

show quoted sections

Good morning Kevin,

In response to your further Freedom of Information request as detailed
in the enclosed email correspondence history, I can confirm the
following information under the freedom of information Act 2000.

The current stock figure is 20,986.
5053 (3 bed) is 24.08% of the stock
110 (4 Bed) is 0.52% of the stock

I hope this answers your enquiry.

If you are not happy with this response you have the right to an
internal review by the Council. To do this please contact:

Sarah Corbett
Data Protection and Information Security Officer
Legal Services
Civic Building
Walker Place
Rotherham
S65 1UF

If you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can appeal to:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545700

URL: www.informationcommissioner.gov.org
<http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.o...>

Please contact me on the above telephone number if you wish to discuss
the matter further.

Yours Sincerely

Karen.

Karen Green
Service Quality Officer
2010 Rotherham Ltd
Eastwood Depot, Chesterton Road, Eastwood, Rotherham, S65 1SZ
www.2010rotherham.org
Tel: 01709 822259

Company No: 5292646
Registered in Cardiff
VAT No: 856304130

Think before you print - please consider the impact on the environment
before printing this document.

This e-mail is intended for the use of the addressee only and may
contain confidential information, copyright material or views/opinions
that do not necessarily reflect those of 2010 Rotherham Ltd. If you
receive this email by mistake please advise the sender immediately. All
should be aware that this email may be subject to public disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and that emails may be
monitored.

show quoted sections