Allocations Policy Consultation

Introduction

In June 2009 Uttlesford District Council undertook to carry out a comprehensive review of its Allocations Policy. The review will be carried out by the Housing Initiative Working Group (HIWG).

The HIWG approved the scope and timetable for the review at its meeting in October 2009.

Before adopting or changing our Allocations Policy, we would like to consult with registered social landlords, other partners and Uttlesford residents about the proposed changes. This consultation is being carried out in two phases.

Phase one of the consultation ran from January until March 2010. Phase two is running from April until the end of May 2010.

What is the Allocations Policy?

Uttlesford District Council’s Allocations Policy is a framework for how social housing is allocated to applicants in the district. It sets out the rules that allow housing applicants to access tenancies and allow existing tenants to transfer to other houses more suitable for their needs, or in a preferred location.

We are required by law to allocate housing in line with this policy.

Current Scheme vs Draft New Scheme

• Click here to view the council's current housing allocation scheme
• Click here to read the first draft of the new proposed scheme

Uttlesford District Council currently operates a points-based allocations system. The system serves a wide range of customers. In addition to waiting and transfer list applicants, these include homeless people, and applicants with a medical priority.

The system has been in place since the 1980s and although it has been reviewed several times, the policy has not changed significantly. The points system reflects the thinking about best practice and housing circumstances of that time, but now appears out-dated.

Priority is given to urgent medical and community care cases and homeless persons. Points are awarded for various categories of housing need such as lacking or sharing amenities, overcrowding, social needs and medical circumstances.

The review offers an opportunity to examine the whole policy critically and to seek an alternative that may fit better with the council’s overall aim to provide modern, customer focused services for tenants and housing applicants.

Alternative Scheme

The main alternative to points systems are banding systems. These have been growing in popularity throughout the UK. For this reason the allocations review is paying particular attention to the banding system and we are inviting our stakeholders to respond to a number of questions about the principles and issues of the system.

The advantages of a ‘band’ system are that they are simpler to explain, more transparent and easier to administer. For example once someone is allocated to a band, they will remain in a date-ordered list moving up the housing register as previous people from that band are housed.

However, priority will always go to those in the band above if the property is suitable for their needs. This will make it very clear for people in lower bands how likely they are to be housed.

You can read the first draft of the proposed new scheme using the link above, or on the right of this page.

Why change the existing allocations policy?

We are in the process of reviewing the current policy, and have found:

• The current points based scheme is complicated and difficult to understand. There are a variety of points in many different categories, meaning that people in very similar circumstances may be awarded different amounts of points
• Many people have been unhappy with how many points they’ve been given and have asked us to review their case, and some have changed their circumstances to get more points
• Only households with very high points have a realistic chance of successfully bidding for long-term housing. It isn’t clear to those with fewer points how likely they are to bid successfully for a home because their points are still ‘high’. This has caused unrealistic expectations 
• When someone applies for housing, they are awarded points and will be added to the housing register above people with fewer points, even if the point difference is just a few

Consultation

The consultation will be carried out in two phases. In Phase One we sought the views on the fundamental issues and options available. This ran from the beginning of January to the beginning of March 2010.

Taking the views expressed in Phase One into account, we have now published our draft allocations policy for further consultation - Phase Two. This consultation will run from the beginning of April until the end of May 2010.

We are seeking views and comments from:

• Registered Social Landlords (RSLs)
• The Tenant Panel
• Key stakeholders
• Tenants and housing applicants

If you would like us to meet with you or the organisation you represent to talk over the revised allocations policy, please email Nicole Shephard-Lewis at nshephardlewis@uttlesford.gov.uk.