Public Meeting – 19th March 2015

SEAL – Who is here SEAL Steering Group attending• Spokesperson Martin Ransom Pace• Membership Richard Hopson Hopsons and Landlord• Secretary Judith Codarin Landlord and Resident• Community Support Michelle Reeve Peak Property and Landlord• HMO Support Mark Danniells Host• Resident’s Representative Dave Batter Resident • SEAL Monitoring Officer Tina Shepherd

Advisors attending• Steve Bright NAP and LCM for Police• SMAART Team Anti-Social Behaviour• Environment and Legal Rubbish and Enforcement• Private Sector Housing Rental Property Condition• Chris Horsley & Jennie Smith Housing• Neighbourhood Watch Organised street Groups• Turning Tides Team Social Projects • Website Support Richard Brown of Orpheus Internet

Aims of SEALThe same as for Selective Licensing, only to be achieved by working together for a better Southend : -

To reduce anti social behaviour

To raise the standard of rental property

To improve the street scene

And through our findings we have added the essential

To help develop and support street groups in order to target and sustain improvements

Stage 1 – Creating SEALMeetings were held with advisors to establish the way forward relating to each aim resulted in the following actions, proposals and techniques: -

• Establishing the structure, identity and branding for SEAL, including the SEAL website with a public and Members section, supported by Community funding.

• Obtaining Council funding for a Monitoring/Administration Officer to develop and operate the emerging system from zero.

• Developing the Code of Conduct.• Members Pack - instructions and pro-formas• Tenant Pack - advice and legal documents.• Section 21 process to assist tenant and landlord, reduce evictions, and save Court time.• Inspection system, monitored, resulting in less complaints to the Council.• Complaints procedure - early warning system and quick resolution for Member’s Tenants.• Probationary period to allow SEAL to mentor landlords to improve.• Reporting back to the Council Scrutiny Committee.• Communicating with Councillors, Landlords Forum, the press, including an awareness campaign,

and presenting at National Conferences.

A Great Big Thank you• To all the Multi Agencies • The Council Officers• The Police

For patiently providing all the information and having discussions, even though you were probably wondering what the outcome would be, and whether were after your budgets or even your jobs.

• To SEAL Members for working together to show that Landlords and Agents are mostly professional, and want to comply in order to run a good business.

• To Tina for putting operation SEAL together and keeping it running, and when the tensions are high, handling the people so well.

• To all the Steering Group for the effort and experience they so generously have contributed in order to find better ways to deal with these issues.

• To Dave Batter, the Resident’s Representative and Richard Brown for putting together the Community Website, and keeping us on track.

• To all of you who have contributed in any way, and waited patiently for results and guidance.

How is it working

• Better property management by Members after the initial struggle to integrate and align the techniques into their business practice.

• Less complaints to the Council about Member’s Property.• Faster resolution of complaints about Members property.• Fast email response to Residents, Councillors, the Police and Multi Agencies with

help from the SEAL Monitoring Officer alerting Members for assistance. • Collective voice of known professional landlords who can discuss how to improve

complex issues relating to rental property and the 4 aims of SEAL.• Raised awareness through press support and discussion.• Stated aims to help to improve our streets to integrate into work schedules.• Work on most difficult issues, i.e. management of properties with multiple leases,

and properties owned by absentee landlords managed by unprofessional, usually long established or very new Managing Agents continues.

• Requests from National Associations for the SEAL Spokesperson, Martin Ransom, to report on the progress of SEAL, and comparing it to the lack of progress of SL, of which no projects are being renewed after the initial 5 year period.

What are we working on next

• Continuing the above, always updating and improving systems and techniques.• Self funding of SEAL - planning to become nearer to self funding by charging business

partners to appear on our website and paperwork.• The Bin Project - consisting of putting together a set of recommended designs for bin

storage and subsidising their installation where the Residents, Members and Advisors have identified a serious problem.

• Identify, shame, enforce – work out how Members, Council Officers and Residents can influence, and if necessary force the old school landlords and Agents into updating their operations for a better Southend. This is complex in that older tenants are vulnerable to any change too.

• Stronger Enforcement - Developing stronger legal enforcement and larger fines by the authorities.

• Review Eviction Procedures – continue to discuss ways to help the tenant and landlord to resolve issues to avoid eviction, and to clarify advice to the tenant, which should help further to avoid Council and Court Workload.

• Street Blitzes and Street groups – support Residents and Street Groups.• Community Website – launch and grow website to inform Residents.

Stage 2 – Resident’s ActionHaving worked out the structure and techniques for landlords and Agents, started the hard task of integrating them into all our systems and then operating and monitoring them - thought was put into the Resident’s element of SEAL, and how to improve the areas pinpointed in the SL Proposal. After much consultation with all the Advisors the first Street Blitz was set in motion, covering 8 streets in Milton ward. Early in the learning curve research showed that street groups were necessary to achieve and sustain improvement.

SEAL added the development and support of street groups as their 4th aim.

• Volunteers for the leaflet deliveries, questionnaire visits, clean up day, came forward.

• They included Residents of those streets, a Youth Club, SEAL Members, Councillors , Council Workers, and Multi Agency(SEAL Advisors) staff.

• Sponsors GBN Skips, Regis and the Echo, plus the Community funding were obtained, making the project work really well.

Stage 2 – Blitz ResultsCareful Analysis of the results of the Questionnaire by the Private Sector Housing and of the whole event by SEAL showed the following :-• The street Groups are the essential tool to improve and sustain improvement, so it

makes sense for us all to put energy into starting and supporting street groups.• People like living in central streets.• These streets are the ‘gateways’ into town for residents, visitors, workers, students

and shoppers and are busy with people walking and driving into the centre. These streets need to be treated as ‘Special Streets’ which deserve special attention.

• The Residents Questionnaire pinpoints their issues, the most common being rubbish management (especially by houses split into several units), parking and maintenance of the front of the properties.

• The Residents, Councillors and Council Officers can identify specific landlord management, Anti-Social Behaviour and drug problems, and are using the SEAL network to address these specific issues.

What is being done about it• The Council and Multi Agencies have followed up on specific issues identified.• We all have a target list of Resident’s common issues for us all to work on to make

our town a better place. Any press items add to the awareness campaign.• That list can help all of us to decide how to allocate our attention, our funds, and

our business budgets in order to improve our areas.• Regis/Lifespace has already used the target list to improve part of a street. Other

landlords and Agents are planning this work into their schedules.• SEAL and the Ward Councillors are helping to establish street groups, where

Neighbourhood Watch is overwhelmed with new groups to establish and support.• SEAL and the Council are putting together a Bin Storage Project for properties

where the streets groups can identify Landlords/Agents who need help to improve.• SEAL Members know how difficult it is to find help when you do not know what

the relevant Multi Agency is called, so the Resident’s Representative and Team are launching the start of the SEAL Community Website.

SEAL Community WebsiteRichard Brown and Dave Batter will demonstrate the website. It will inform Residents of where to get appropriate help, in order to : -

Reduce anti social behaviourRaise the standard of rental accommodation

Improve the street scene Start the Street Groups and support them, new and existing

The contact details will be easy to find and will provide links to the main sites so they can easily find someone to email or talk to. This website is not intended to replace other organisation’s websites, but to help them to be found.

The HELP buttons will be on the left bar , and the SOCIAL buttons will be on the right bar. Click on them and they will go to the right page to provide helpful details.We intend to add more to this basic website, particularly on the Social section and for the Street Groups, as they get up and running. This is so they can use their pages to inform Residents how to make contact with their active neighbours, and to contact other groups.

We will need help to grow this second useful network for the Community.

We have tried to report our progress to you. As you will realise, each section involves far more detail, which we are happy to explain to you if you wish. SEAL has had a strong effect in it’s development and monitoring of standards, joined up thinking on main issues, and as an awareness campaign. The effect of SEAL is now poised to get even stronger due to these very valid and sound foundations, and the development of the support for Residents.

Volunteer help on a regular basis is needed to keep connecting people and spotting areas where we can improve common issues that are wasting our money and time, working together for a better Southend.

Thank you for listening and any Questions

And Finally…