Waverley is working on setting up two 'pods' to be used by homeless people in the borough.

Modular units have been provided in Reigate and Banstead and Elmbridge districts for homeless people who had tested positive for Coronavirus during the current pandemic.

The council's Head of Housing and Communities, Andrew Smith, told last night's meeting of the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee that the council was working on siting two modular units within the borough, although he didn't disclose where.

He said the authority was having to complete "an enormous amount of bureaucratic paperwork" and hadn't yet submitted a planning application, although it was hoped to have the pods in place and operational by the end of March.

The borough council's Housing Needs Manager, Mike Rivers, said a count in the borough at the end of November revealed three people sleeping rough, two of whom have since been found temporary accommodation and one who has refused offers of help.

The council's Service Improvement Manager, Annalisa Howson, told the meeting there had been a steep rise in the number of Waverley tenants claiming Universal Credit over the past year.

"We have continued to collect rents in an empathetic way, giving residents support and guidance and signposting to diferent agencies as required," she said.

She told the meeting the national average for housing rent arrears is 3%: in Waverley it is just under 1%.

Just before Christmas there was an outstanding amount of £290,000 of arrears among Waverley tenants. A total of 872 tenants had made a Universal Credit claim, 400 more than were claiming the benefit at the beginning of March 2020.

"You can see the impact that the pandemic has had on people," she added.

But she said people who have fallen behind on their rent as a result of the pandemic are not under threat of eviction.

The government-imposed stay on evictions is likely to be extended again, meaning no landlord can evict anybody at the moment, so no court action was being considered and no evictions were likely to happen, she said. The council works hard with tenants to reach affordable and realistic repayment plans for those in arrears, she added.