An Inside Housing survey reveals 159 English councils have struck 237,793 people off their waiting lists and barred a further 42,994 new applicants since the Localism Act came into effect in June 2012. Ninety councils, or 57% of respondents, have introduced a requirement that applicants have a connection to the local area.
Melanie Rees, head of policy at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said the requirements “generally aren’t good practice” as they can be “discriminatory depending on how long they’re applied”. Twenty-six councils require a person to have lived in the area for three years or more.
The research suggests a surge in the number of people removed or barred from waiting lists. In a similar survey of 126 councils two years ago, 113,000 people had been removed or barred.