Hastings council wants to spend £11 million on 50 homes for residents

The authority’s Cabinet committee on Tuesday (January 3) recommended that funding is released to buy the homes.

In a report by Andrew Palmer, assistant director housing and built environment, which was presented to councillors at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, it said that a capital budget for £11,865,400 is set up to meet the cost.

The proposal is for the council to buy properties for temporary accommodation which the council said will support residents in housing need to stay within Hastings and close to their families, friends, schools for children and work. The properties would be owned and managed by the authority.

Cllr Maya Evans, lead councillor for housing, said: “Hastings is currently in a housing crisis. At the start of December 2022 there were nearly 500 households in temporary accommodation. That is hundreds of residents who need somewhere stable and safe to call home. With property prices rising, there is a lack of suitable, affordable accommodation for households to move into from temporary accommodation. With more people becoming unable to rent privately, the number of people needing temporary homes continues to rise.

“This proposal gives the council the opportunity to help hundreds of residents stay within Hastings and within their support networks, giving them safe and secure homes, allowing them to have a better quality of life.”

The council said the properties will have to meet the authority’s Fit to Let standard, which the council said will ensure they provide residents with good quality housing, which meets a minimum energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C. The council added it will also explore options to install insulation and renewable energy solutions which it said will help residents with more affordable bills.

The council said it will be required to borrow to buy the properties however it added that it expects to receive grant funding from Homes England to support the proposal. Over time, the proposal will lead to significant savings in the cost of housing within the town, the council added.

The proposal will be discussed at the authority’s Full Council meeting on Wednesday, February 8 at 6pm.

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