Allocating social housing (England)

1 BRIEFING PAPER. Number 06397, 21 May 2018. Allocating social housing By Wendy Wilson Cassie Barton (England) Shadi Danechi Contents: 1. The legal framework for Allocating social housing 2. Defining qualifying persons . 3. Impact of new allocation policies 4. Allocating housing association homes 5. statistics on lettings and tenants | | | @commonslibrary 2 Allocating social housing (England). Contents Summary 3. 1. The legal framework for Allocating social housing 4. An overview 4. Transfer applications 6. 2. Defining qualifying persons 7. Unacceptable behaviour 7. Local connection 8. Local connection and armed forces personnel 9. Local connection and victims of domestic abuse 10. Local connection and moving for work 10. Working/community contribution 11. Armed forces personnel and reasonable preference 13. Foster carers and adopters 15. Under-occupiers 15.

2 Challenging decisions 16. 3. Impact of new allocation policies 17. Legal challenges 18. 4. Allocating housing association homes 20. Affordability checks 21. 5. statistics on lettings and tenants 22. Volume and type of lettings 22. Who gets social housing ? 23. Why do properties become vacant? 25. Contributing authors Cassie Barton & Shadi Danechi, statistics , sections 3 and 5. Cover page image copyright: Wendy Wilson 3 Commons Library Briefing, 21 May 2018. Summary Local authorities are required to devise housing allocation schemes which give reasonable preference to certain categories of applicant, otherwise they have a good deal of discretion over how they allocate their housing stock. This discretion was extended by measures included in the Localism Act 2011. Following a consultation exercise, the Coalition Government issued new statutory guidance on housing allocations in June 2012: Allocation of accommodation: Guidance for local housing authorities in England.

3 Authorities are obliged to have regard to this guidance when devising and implementing their housing allocation schemes. The Coalition Government also carried out a consultation exercise on proposals to issue new statutory guidance to help local authorities make full use of their new allocation freedoms by tailoring their allocation priorities to meet the needs of their local residents and their local communities. One of the proposals involved an amendment to existing guidance to strongly encourage all local authorities to adopt a two-year residency test as part of their qualification criteria. The consultation period closed on 22 November 2013 and new supplementary statutory guidance was published in December 2013: Providing social housing for local people. Although authorities are encouraged to adopt local residence tests, the Government has moved to ensure that certain applicants, such as ex-armed forces personnel and those seeking to move for work, are not disadvantaged by these requirements.

4 Despite these moves, there have been some successful legal challenges against authorities' allocation schemes where the residence test and other requirements have been found to impact on the requirement that authorities give certain applicants (those accepted as homeless or living in overcrowded or insanitary accommodation) reasonable preference for housing allocations. The changes introduced by the Localism Act 2011 prompted a fall in the number of households on local authority housing waiting lists (also referred to as housing registers). Around 335,000 new lettings were made in 2016/17, of which 69% were made by housing associations. A large minority (36%) of tenants taking up general needs lettings came from existing general needs social tenancies; 18% came from the private rented sector. The most common reason given for tenants moving out of their previous accommodation was overcrowding.

5 Other common reasons were the need to move to independent accommodation and ill-health or disability making the previous accommodation unsuitable. This briefing paper outlines the legal framework contained in Part 6 of the housing Act 1996 (as amended) within which local authorities allocate their housing stock. Nominations by local authorities to stock owned by housing associations (also known as private registered providers) are allocated within the same legal framework. 4 Allocating social housing (England). 1. The legal framework for Allocating social housing An overview Part 6 of the housing Act 1996 (as amended) governs the allocation of local authority housing stock in England; it was substantially amended, with effect from 31 January 2003, by the Homelessness Act 2002 and, more recently, by the Localism Act 2011. 1. Local authorities are not under a duty to maintain a housing register (often referred to as a housing waiting list) but must have an allocation scheme for determining priorities between applicants for housing which sets out the procedure to be followed when Allocating housing accommodation.

6 2. Authorities must ensure that when Allocating their stock they only allocate to eligible persons as defined in section 160ZA of the 1996 Act. 3 They must also only allocate to qualifying persons . 4. Subject to the centrally determined eligibility criteria and any regulations made by the Secretary of State, authorities are free to decide what classes of person are and are not qualifying persons for the purposes of their allocation schemes. 5. Information on defining eligibility in terms of access to social housing for EEA nationals and Persons Subject to Immigration Control can be found in Library Briefing papers 04737, EEA migrants: access to social housing (England) 5433 Eligibility to apply for social housing : persons from abroad (non-EEA), respectively. The then housing Minister, Mark Prisk, provided an overview of the entitlement of EEA nationals to apply for social housing in response to a parliamentary question: Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons an EEA national exercising their right to freedom of movement as a self-sufficient person may (a) need and (b) be entitled to social housing .

7 Mr Prisk: There is no entitlement to social housing . European economic area nationals who have a right to reside in the UK on the basis that they are self-sufficient are eligible for social housing , if they are habitually resident in the common travel area (the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland). To be considered self-sufficient, a person must have (i). sufficient resources not to become a burden on the social assistance system of the UK and (ii) comprehensive sickness insurance cover in the UK. 1. Sections 145-147 of the Localism Act 2011 were brought into force on 18 June 2012 by the Localism Act 2011 (Commencement and Transitional, Savings and Transitory Provisions) Order 2012 2012/1463. 2. Section 166A of the housing Act 1996. 3. This section (and regulations made under it) provides for certain persons from abroad not to be eligible for an allocation of social housing .

8 4. Section 160ZA(6) of the housing Act 1996. 5. Section 160ZA(7) of the housing Act 1996. 5 Commons Library Briefing, 21 May 2018. To be allocated social housing an eligible applicant must also meet the local authority's own qualification criteria and have sufficient priority under the local authority's allocation scheme. An allocation scheme must be framed to ensure that certain categories of people are given 'reasonable preference' for social housing , because they have an identified housing need, including people who are homeless, overcrowded households, and people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds. 6. As noted in the PQ reproduced above, every local authority allocation scheme in England must ensure that reasonable preference is given to certain categories of applicant as set out in sub-section 166A(3) of the 1996 Act: a) people who are homeless (within the meaning of Part 7 of the 1996 Act).

9 B) (people who are owed a duty by any local housing authority under section 190(2), 193(2) or 195(2) (or under section 65(2) or 68(2) of the housing Act 1985) or who are occupying accommodation secured by any such authority under section 192(3);. c) people occupying insanitary or overcrowded housing or otherwise living in unsatisfactory housing conditions;. d) people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds (including any grounds relating to a disability); and e) people who need to move to a particular locality in the district of the authority, where failure to meet that need would cause hardship (to themselves or to others). The scheme may also be framed so as to give additional preference to particular descriptions of people within this subsection (being descriptions of people with urgent housing needs). 7. Annex 1 to the June 2012 statutory guidance provides an illustrative list of the sort of criteria that might be used to determine whether households should be afforded reasonable preference under categories (c) and (d).

10 Allocation schemes may also be framed so as to give additional preference to particular descriptions of people within these categories (being descriptions of people with urgent housing needs). Section 168 of the 1996 Act requires authorities to publish a summary of their allocation scheme and to provide a copy of the summary (free of charge) to any member of the public who requests one. Allocation schemes can allow for authorities to take account of additional factors when determining priority for housing between applicants in the reasonable (or additional) preference categories. 8 The 6. HC Deb 22 April 2013 cc585-6W. 7. Inserted by section 147 of the Localism Act 2011. 8. Section 166A(5) of the housing Act 1996. 6 Allocating social housing (England). legislation provides examples such as financial resources, behaviour and local connection.