Statutory guidance issued on housing allocations and local connections

The Government has issued statutory guidance on social housing allocations and the prioritisation of applicants who can demonstrate a close association with their local area.

The guidance was issued by the Communities Secretary under s. 169 of the Housing Act 1996. It covers:

• Qualification for social housing;
• Providing for exceptions;
• Members of the Armed Forces;
• Prioritising local connection in addition to applying a residency requirement (for example when it comes to rural lettings); and
• Publication of information about allocations.

Local housing authorities are required to have regard to it in exercising their functions under Part 6 of the 1996 Act.

The guidance is in addition to the Guidance for Local Housing Authorities in England on the Allocation of Accommodation issued in June 2012.

On qualification for social housing, the guidance said: “The Government is of the view that, in deciding who qualifies or does not qualify for social housing, local authorities should ensure that they prioritise applicants who can demonstrate a close association with their local area.

“Social housing is a scarce resource, and the Government believes that it is appropriate, proportionate and in the public interest to restrict access in this way, to ensure that, as far as possible, sufficient affordable housing is available for those amongst the local population who are on low incomes or otherwise disadvantaged and who would find it particularly difficult to find a home on the open market.”

It highlighted how some housing authorities had decided to include a residency requirement as part of their qualification criteria, requiring the applicant (or member of the applicant’s household) to have lived within the authority’s district for a specified period of time in order to qualify for an allocation of social housing.

“The Secretary of State believes that including a residency requirement is appropriate and strongly encourages all housing authorities to adopt such an approach,” the guidance said. “The Secretary of State believes that a reasonable period of residency would be at least two years.”

The DCLG added that it was aware that in some parts of the country, housing authorities shared a common allocation policy with their neighbours and might wish to adopt a broader residency test which would be met if an applicant lived in any of the partners’ districts.

“Such an approach might be particularly appropriate where an established housing market area spans a number of local authority districts, and could help promote labour mobility within a wider geographical area,” the guidance said.

The DCLG suggested that housing authorities might wish to consider whether there was a need to adopt other qualification criteria alongside a residency requirement to enable and ensure that applicants who were not currently resident in the district who could still demonstrate a strong association to the local area were able to qualify.

It said examples of such criteria might include:

• family association – “for example, where the applicant has close family who live in the district and who have done so for a minimum period of time”;
• employment in the district – “for example, where the applicant or member of their household is currently employed in the district and has worked there for a certain number of years”.

The DCLG emphasised that, whatever the qualification criteria adopted, housing authorities would have to regard to their duties under the Equality Act 2010 as well as their duties under other relevant legislation such as s. 225 of the Housing Act 224. It reminded housing authorities of the desirability of a housing options approach as part of a move to a managed waiting list.

The guidance also said housing authorities should consider the need to provide for exceptions from their residency requirement, and make an exception for certain members of the regular and reserve Armed Forces.

The Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, claimed the guidance would end “years of confusion and anger in local communities about the way council housing is allocated”.

He said: “For years hard-working families have watched helplessly as local council homes go to people without jobs or any connection to the local area.

“We’re calling time on this blatant unfairness. That’s why we’ve published guidance that will ensure local people and members of the Armed Forces are made the top priority for council homes in their community.”