Housing Minister Grant Shapps has launched a consultation seeking to re-frame councils’ social housing allocation policies in line with local priorities and central government preferences.
The consultation documents propose to replace current allocations and choice based lettings guidelines with something that “encourages authorities….to ensure that social homes go to people who need and deserve them the most.”
The main thrust of the consultation proposes significant amendments to Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996, so that housing authorities in England allocate accommodation in accordance with a scheme “which must be framed to ensure that certain categories of applicants are given reasonable preference for an allocation of social housing.”
With this, “housing authorities in England are given the power to determine what classes of persons are or are not qualified to be allocated housing.”
In addition to this fundamental change, the consultation poses questions on:
- transferring underoccupying tenants
- an appropriate measure of overcrowding
- dealing with ex-armed forces applicants
- community contribution (ie applicants in work)
The consultation closes 30 March 2012