Kirklees looks to bring council homes back in-house

Kirklees Council has announced plans to bring its 22,000 homes back under local authority control.

The homes are currently managed on the council’s behalf by Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (KNH), but the cabinet met earlier this week (2 June) and agreed this should be done directly by Kirklees Council in the future and is now seeking the views of tenants and staff about this change.

According to the council, the proposals are part of its plans to encourage place-based working – which means working closer with residents and better understanding and addressing challenges individuals and communities face.

They are also consistent with the recommendation in the 2019 Corporate Peer Challenge which recognised the contribution to the council’s ambitions that KNH colleagues make and could make further if part of the local authority rather than a separate organisation.

The council’s cabinet member for housing and democracy, Cllr Cathy Scott said: ‘This is a decision we have made to meet the changing needs of our residents in Kirklees.

‘Taking back the management of our housing stock will help us to ensure people live in safe, affordable and suitable accommodation that meets the needs of individuals and families.

‘As well as improving and maintaining the quality of the houses we own, we also have a real opportunity here to do so much more. We want to work closer than ever with people living in council housing so we can better understand the challenges they face and tackle them together,’ she added.

‘We recognise the contribution Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing has made but like other councils, we will now consider a more direct management approach to housing support that will benefit our residents.’

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