Havering Council’s Cabinet has formally approved an updated Housing Allocation Scheme (HAS).
The new scheme is designed to better allocate Council properties based on each individual applicant’s needs through a new points based system:
- awarding points to applicants based on local connection, homelessness, hardship and welfare, management transfer, unsatisfactory conditions, medical requirements, the need for sheltered housing and membership of the armed forces.
- giving more priority to those living in overcrowded homes and those looking to downsize.
This policy will apply to new applicants, homeless households, and to existing Council tenants needing to transfer from one property to another, but it does not apply to the allocation of temporary accommodation.
Applicants currently on the housing register will have their existing housing priority protected as part of the updated scheme.
The HAS will help by:
- better allocating social housing based on the needs of applicants
- reflecting the true demand for social housing in Havering
- providing transparency for applicants who can self-assess their status via a points based system based on their housing needs.
Councillor Keith Darvill, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Housing Need, said:
“I am pleased that the new Housing Allocation Scheme will serve applicants in a more fair and transparent way whilst demonstrating a broader picture of Havering’s housing demand.
“With the demand for social housing always outstripping our supply, the new allocation scheme has been developed to better support the letting of Council properties to applicants.
“The introduction of the points based award structure will also help ensure available homes go to those who need them most, but with existing applicants on the register being protected.