By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Mansfield District Council is struggling to rehouse tenants who are looking to downsize because not enough smaller homes of the right standards are available.
The authority says it has a “large number” of people in need of rehousing across the district, but does not have sufficient homes to place them in.
Council figures show there are 143 applicants on the council’s Homefinder scheme who are under-occupying their tenancy – meaning they have spare bedrooms in the home.
This includes 86 single occupants and 33 couples, with the authority saying the “vast majority” of people are 60 years old or over and looking to move into two-bedroom bungalows.
However, during the 2021-22 financial year, just 69 two-bedroom bungalows were advertised on the Homefinder platform, with a third of these lettings given to current tenants who were under-occupying.
But the Labour-led authority says it also has a large number of “difficult to let” properties, mainly including one-bedroom flats, that are not appealing to the people looking to downsize.
It has set aside a small budget to decorate and carpet these properties in the hope of encouraging more people to consider moving into them.
Works have already taken place at properties in Willingham Court, Vale Court and Roston Court to redesign floor plans and make flats larger, which the council says has “improved appeal of these properties”.
And the authority is also considering offering incentives such as white goods – including fridge freezers, washing machines and tumble dryers – to current tenants looking to downsize into smaller houses.
Paul Dawson, the council’s housing solutions team leader, gave an update on the situation to councillors during an overview and scrutiny meeting on Tuesday (April 25).
He said: “There is an absolutely massive demand for housing in Mansfield, and really across Nottinghamshire.
“We’re looking at ideas from other areas, including how we can let out some of our sheltered properties that have been empty for a number of years.
“This includes decorating them, carpeting them, whether to look at offering white goods.
“We’ve done some current upgrading work where we have carpeting and decorated ready to let, and this has worked well because we’ve had four or five [taken up] in recent weeks.
“And we’re also looking into potentially remodelling some properties and making them slightly bigger and modern looking, and looking to advertise them more as they come available.”
He added the council regularly writes to tenants who are under-occupying their homes to encourage them to look into viewings for the refurbished smaller properties.
Councillor John Smart (Lab), who represents the Ransom Wood ward, told the meeting he has some older people in his area who “will not move”.
“[In my ward] I’ve got three old ladies and one of them is in a four-bedroom home – and she will not move,” he said.
“In fact, two or three of them are in four-beds and of course, they have to pay the rent, the bedroom tax, and they have been told by housing staff to get a bungalow.
“It’s about looking around and seeing what’s [on offer for them].”
Cllr Stuart Wallace (Mans Ind), who represents Carr Bank, added: “I know a couple of families who have downsized in the past couple of years and it has worked well for them.”
