Welsh housing association plans radical change in allocation policy

A housing association in mid Wales is consulting on giving priority to local people and not to those people with the most “problems”, according to the BBC.

Mid Wales Housing Association, which has 1,250 homes in Ceredigion and Powys, plans to move away from the existing system for allocating housing. This sees those people with the greatest problems given the most points.

The association has proposed a banding system that gives priority to local people, those who are employed and those who contribute to their community through volunteering.

Nearly 40% of households in Powys cannot afford to buy a home or rent from private landlords, the association pointed out.

Chief executive Shane Perkins said: "In these difficult economic times to ask for more resources from the assembly is naive and we need to find innovative ways to respond to the crisis.

"Everyone who applies to us needs a home, and we waste a lot of time trying to decide who is worst off. We are suggesting that once we establish the applicant has a housing need, thereafter the property is allocated to local people, who are in employment and/or are contributing to their communities through volunteering."