Housing Allocations Scheme

We asked for views on the proposed changes to the Housing Allocations Scheme. These proposed changes came out of an independent resident engagement study with Newman Francis and a Community Advisory Group. The areas consulted on were around making amendments to the following:

• Should we decrease same sex bedroom sharing age from 21 to 18?
• Should the local connection be increased, decreased, or remain at 3 years?
• Should we prioritise overcrowded families with children over families containing only adult who are also overcrowded?
• Should we keep or remove points for those in paid work?
• Should we add points to represent the amount of time people have been on the register?
• Should all the adults in a household be able to apply together to the register?
• Should we have a point based or banding system or a combination of both?
• Should there be penalties for refusing suitable housing?
• What should our disqualifications from the register look like?
• Should those who move into the private rented sector (PRS) remain on the housing register, and if yes, what level of priority should they have?
• How should we decide relative priority?
• Should we use a quota system for allocation of properties across different priorities?
• How should accumulation of points work if a pointing system is kept?
• Should we use choice-based lettings only, direct offers only or a combination of both?
• What do special rehousing pathways look like?
• How should we record property preferences?
• What should penalties for refusals look like?

The survey closed on 24 February 2022, and we received 137 responses.

• The length of the local connection resulted in a tied result as 39 per cent of respondents thought a local connection of three years was about right, however 39 per cent of respondents also thought three years was not long enough.
• 61 per cent of respondents thought we should decrease the age young adults of the same sex can share a bedroom from 21 to 18.
• 45 per cent of respondents somewhat disagreed or strongly disagree with the proposal to prioritise overcrowded families with children over families containing only adult who are also overcrowded.
• 31 per cent of respondents thought adult children aged over 21 should not be included as part of their household when applying for housing. This was closely followed by 30 per cent of respondents who said they should and 35 per cent who said they should until the age of 35.
• 47 per cent of respondents opted to keep the current points awarded for working points the same. If the working points were kept, 29% of respondents opted to increase minimum hours to qualify.
• 83 per cent of respondents thought we should add points for the amount of time people have been on the housing register.
• Over half (59 per cent) of respondents thought homeless households voluntarily moving to affordable private rented accommodation should remain on the housing register. Of those who opted yes, 41 per cent said they should get the same priority as those living in temporary accommodation.
• 45 per cent of respondents opted for a combination of both points based and banding system in the allocations scheme, which in the early resident engagement work was argued made it clearer to applicants.
• It was suggested in the early resident engagement work that we should remove all sanctions for non-homeless households refusing suitable housing on the housing register. Non-homelessness residents would be free to decline property offers. 59 per cent of respondents agreed with this approach.
• 67 per cent of respondents agreed with a proposed list of specialist rehousing pathways and the following were detailed as additional categories: Abuse survivors, Carers, Elderly, Key workers, Hidden Illness, Family connection, Former rough sleepers. Most which have provision through other pathways
• The council is looking to allocate housing based on different priority groups using quotas, 58 per cent of respondents agreed with this approach.
• 85 per cent of respondents said yes, we should use a combination of both choice-based lettings and direct offers.
• More than three quarters (80 per cent) of respondents said yes, there should be more flexibility on the criteria people are allowed to place on the location and types of homes they want to be considered for when applying for housing.

In addition to the thoughts expressed as part of the consultation exercise, we are looking at how we approach disqualifications to the register around anti-social behaviour and providing false or misleading information on applications. We are also reviewing how accumulation of points should work. The current scheme only allows for the combination of points for some categories and there is a need to be clear on the ability to combine points and how this works.

The feedback from this consultation is helping to inform the draft revised Allocations Scheme which will be consulted on later in 2022. This second round of consultation activity will provide residents and stakeholder an opportunity to comment on the scheme before the final scheme is put forward for formal approval.