Manchester City Council consults on changes to housing allocation policy

Manchester City Council has launched a consultation on changes to its housing allocation policy in a bid to ensure priority is given to those in the greatest need.

The local authority currently allows anyone to put their name on the housing register, regardless of their need. There are currently around 15,000 households on the register.

Manchester said that although it had a higher proportion of social housing than other similar cities (more than 65,000 social rent homes, circa 30% of all housing stock in Manchester), demand was high across the city.

It added that fewer households would be leaving their tenancy than in previous years, and estimated that around 2,200 homes would be re-let in 2019/20.

“The consultation will look to review the current housing allocation system to make sure available homes go to those with the greatest housing need, and to those who would benefit most, to ensure the best use is made of the social housing stock across the city,” the council said.

“Key to the consultation, the review will propose changes to who qualifies to join the social housing register and the priority level awarded to those accepted on to the register.”

It added that it was “especially important” that families and people in crisis, such as those facing homelessness, were given the support they needed to enter a social home. 

The consultation will run until 30 August 2019. It can be viewed here.

Cllr Suzanne Richards, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and regeneration, said: “Social housing is in high demand across the city and so it is vital that our rules around who accesses these homes are designed to help those in most need - which is exactly what the focus of social housing should be.

“As part of this review we have been working closely with the city’s housing providers to understand the pressures tenants are facing, but it’s also important that Manchester people feed into this consultation so we can find out first hand how the allocations system works for our residents, and what we can do to make sure our most vulnerable people have the support they need.”