housingmatters
isle of man
Advice • Guidance • Support
Reply to:
Ms Joanna Chapman
Homelessness Projects Manager
Housing Matters Isle of Man
17 Peel Road Douglas
Isle of Man IM14LR
Telephone 01624 675507
www.housingmatters.im
Mr R Philips
Secretary to the House of Keys
Legislative Buildings
Douglas
Isle of Man
IM1 3PW
12th August 2014
Dear Mr Philips
Landlord and Tenant
(Private Housing) Bill - your
ref. RISP/sah dated 4th August 2014
I have discussed this with the Directors of Housing Matters isle of man and would like to advise the
following:
1. We are very concerned that a figure of £60,000 was given to the Committee as representing the
salary for a single employee of Housing Matters and we would be very interested to find the
source of this. The Accounts of Housing Matters are lodged with the Registrar of Charities.
For the last financial year the total salaries paid were £47,000 this was for one full time and two
part time members of staff. It is very concerning and disappointing that such inaccurate and
misleading evidence should have been given by responsible persons or organisations to the
Committee when the true picture is a matter of public record and could therefore have been
checked to allay any concerns before making such a statement.
2.
The work that Housing Matters undertakes in no way duplicates work carried out by either
Government Departments or other agencies. This is evident by the 65% of all referrals (average
350 per year) that come from government departments to our Drop in service. There is no
statutory obligation on government departments to assist adults in obtaining accommodation in a
housing crisis as, unlike the UK, there is no Homeless Legislation.
W.NA:
LOTTERY TFhc51
111Ir
LOTTERY FUNDED
Patron: His Excellency Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Adam Wood. Chair: Rev Cyril Rogers.
Council of Management: H. Byrne, W.D. Mummery, D. Bailey, S Buttery, N Mellon
Secretary: C. T. Sentence.
Company limited by Guarantee Registered in the Isle of Man 121339C. Charity registered in the Isle of Man
1007.
Registered Office: 17 Peel Road, Douglas, IM1 4LR.
0
housingmatters
isle of man
Advice • Guidance • Support
Reply to:
Ms Joanna Chapman
Homelessness Projects Manager
Housing Matters Isle of Man
17 Peel Road Douglas
Isle of Man IMi 4LR
Telephone 01624 675507
www.housingmatters.im
It is
also evidenced by the enclosed email from The Office of Fair Trading that they give basic
tenancy advice and assistance with debt and that they refer to Housing Matters isle of man with
any other housing problem. The Citizens Advice Service (not the Citizens Advice Bureau which is in
the UK) has also confirmed that any housing matter would be referred to either Housing Matters
isle of man or public sector housing.
Housing Matters isle of man (formerly Kemmyrk) was established as the lead agency initially
backed by government following the issue of homelessness on the island which was brought to
the attention of the public by the then High Bailiff Mr Michael Moyle in 2006/7. As Church Social
Responsibility Advisor, our Chair, Reverend Canon Cyril Rogers contacted him to see if they could
contribute to any work undertaken on this issue and subsequently was invited to the first meeting
of a government-led Multi-Agency Task Force called to look at and find solutions to the issues of
homelessness. On this task force were representatives of different government departments,
social services, health, housing, home affairs etc. plus third sector bodies, churches and charities.
Government's contribution to the funding of Kemmyrk (now Housing Matters) ceased in 2010
3.
Establishing Kemmyrk (now Housing Matters) was one of the first steps in the government's third
sector partnership strategy which looked to find benefit from the government and third sector
working in partnership. (The minutes of this task force should be in the government's records.)
Our third sector partnership allowed a quick response to a growing need, and the co-ordinated
effort certainly reduces any unnecessary duplication
4.
Housing Matters isle of man has no contract with any departments of government and receives
no government funding. Any future plans for Housing Matters lie open as we identify and where
possible respond to emerging needs and changing situations
Yours sincerely
Joanna Chapman MIW MCIH Dip Couns
Projects Manager
LOTTERY FUNDED
Patron: His Excellency Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Adam Wood. Chair: Rev Cyril Rogers.
Council of Management: H. Byrne, W.D. Mummery, D. Bailey, S Buttery, N Mellon
Secretary: C. T. Sentence.
Company limited by Guarantee Registered in the Isle of Man 121339C. Charity registered in the Isle of Man
1007.
Registered Office: 17 Peel Road, Douglas, IM1 4LR.
Jo Chapman
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Brew, Karl
Brew,
Karl
07 August 2014 13:27
'Jo Chapman
Chapman _
OFT Role
Hi Jo
We would give basic tenancy advice if a tenant had issue re getting repairs done, problems getting the
deposit back and being threatened with eviction. We refer them to Environmental Health if the property
suffers from damp. Or Rates and Rent should a tenant feel the rent is too high for the property.
The following link is for our advice.
http://www.gov.im/lib/docs/oft/tenancvtextonlyversion.pdf
http://www.gov.im/lib/docs/oft/tenancytextonlyversion.pdf
Should a caller talk about needing somewhere to live, we would refer them to Housing Matters or ask
them to check their status on the social housing list.
Karl Brew
Consumer Adviser/Debt Counsellor
Office of Fair Trading
Government Buildings
Lord Street, Douglas
Isle of Man
IM1 1LE
1LE
Tel: (01624) 686582
Fax: (01624) 686504
Calls to the Debt Counselling confidential phone line (686510) are not recorded however calls to and from
other lines are recorded