Housing Allocations Scheme

We asked for views on the proposed changes to the Housing Allocations Scheme. These proposed changes came out of an independent resident engagement study with Newman Francis and a Community Advisory Group. The areas consulted on were around making amendments to the following:

Should we decrease same sex bedroom sharing age from 21 to 18?
Should the local connection be increased, decreased, or remain at 3 years?
Should we prioritise overcrowded families with children over families containing only adult who are also overcrowded?
Should we keep or remove points for those in paid work?
Should we add points to represent the amount of time people have been on the register?
Should all the adults in a household be able to apply together to the register?
Should we have a point based or banding system or a combination of both?
Should there be penalties for refusing suitable housing?
What should our disqualifications from the register look like?
Should those who move into the private rented sector (PRS) remain on the housing register, and if yes, what level of priority should they have?
How should we decide relative priority?
Should we use a quota system for allocation of properties across different priorities?
How should accumulation of points work if a pointing system is kept?
Should we use choice-based lettings only, direct offers only or a combination of both?
What do special rehousing pathways look like?
How should we record property preferences?
What should penalties for refusals look like?

The survey closed on 24 February 2022, and we received 137 responses.

You said

The length of the local connection resulted in a tied result as 39 per cent of respondents thought a local connection of three years was about right, however 39 per cent of respondents also thought three years was not long enough.
61 per cent of respondents thought we should decrease the age young adults of the same sex can share a bedroom from 21 to 18.
45 per cent of respondents somewhat disagreed or strongly disagree with the proposal to prioritise overcrowded families with children over families containing only adult who are also overcrowded .
31 per cent of respondents thought adult children aged over 21 should not be included as part of their household when applying for housing. This was closely followed by 30 per cent of respondents who said they should and 35 per cent who said they should until the age of 35.
47 per cent of respondents opted to keep the current points awarded for working points the same. If the working points were kept, 29% of respondents opted to increase minimum hours to qualify.
83 per cent of respondents thought we should add points for the amount of time people have been on the housing register.
Over half (59 per cent) of respondents thought homeless households voluntarily moving to affordable private rented accommodation should remain on the housing register. Of those who opted yes, 41 per cent said they should get the same priority as those living in temporary accommodation.
45 per cent of respondents opted for a combination of both points based and banding system in the allocations scheme, which in the early resident engagement work was argued made it clearer to applicants.
It was suggested in the early resident engagement work that we should remove all sanctions for non-homeless households refusing suitable housing on the housing register. Non-homelessness residents would be free to decline property offers. 59 per cent of respondents agreed with this approach.
67 per cent of respondents agreed with a proposed list of specialist rehousing pathways and the following were detailed as additional categories: Abuse survivors, Carers, Elderly, Key workers, Hidden Illness, Family connection, Former rough sleepers. Most which have provision through other pathways
The council is looking to allocate housing based on different priority groups using quotas, 58 per cent of respondents agreed with this approach.
85 per cent of respondents said yes, we should use a combination of both choice-based lettings and direct offers.
More than three quarters (80 per cent) of respondents said yes, there should be more flexibility on the criteria people are allowed to place on the location and types of homes they want to be considered for when applying for housing.

We did

In addition to the thoughts expressed as part of the consultation exercise, we are looking at how we approach disqualifications to the register around anti-social behaviour and providing false or misleading information on applications. We are also reviewing how accumulation of points should work. The current scheme only allows for the combination of points for some categories and there is a need to be clear on the ability to combine points and how this works.

The feedback from this consultation is helping to inform the draft revised Allocations Scheme which will be consulted on later in 2022. This second round of consultation activity will provide residents and stakeholder an opportunity to comment on the scheme before the final scheme is put forward for formal approval.

Results updated 6 Jul 2022

Files:

Housing Allocations - Consultation Report, 1.9 MB (PDF document)

Overview

Our Housing Allocations Scheme sets out the rules for how we allocate housing. It tells you;

Who can apply to go on the housing register
Who gets priority for housing
The size of the property people are eligible to apply for

Why are we updating the Housing Allocations Scheme?

The currenty scheme was introduced in 2014 and a revision introduced in 2017. The current scheme was introduced before the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 (HRA) and the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The current scheme makes no reference to the Grenfell tragedy and the need to rehouse residents affected by the tragedy. Rehousing policies for residents affected by the tragedy were introduced after the implementation of the current scheme. The Council has, quite rightly, sought to review the way it engages with and supports residents in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. This includes housing support and the way it allocates social housing. This is one reason why it is important we revise and refresh our Housing Allocation Scheme, reflecting feedback from residents.

The Homelessness Reduction Act led many local authorities to revise their Allocations Policies and introduce ways to support homelessness prevention. The Covid-19 pandemic and the ending of related support, such as the suspension of evictions and the furlough scheme, may impact the housing security of residents. Due to these events, the current scheme is out of date and needs revising.

As well as this, the gap between the availability of social housing in Kensington and Chelsea and the demand for it means the Council needs to review:

Who has the greatest need for a more suitable home
How we can try to ensure that residents with different types of need have a chance of being rehoused
How we can help residents with different options and solutions
How we can help residents make informed decisions about those options.

Why your views matter

The information that you provide will enable the Council to understand your views on the revised Housing Allocations Scheme including matters such as:

Who should be able to join the housing register?
What priorities should be included on the register?
How much housing should each priority group receive?
How should Priorities be awarded?
How should Allocations be made?

In addition to this survey, we will be hosting a number of focus groups where there will be an opportunity to discuss your views on certain topics related to the future Allocation Scheme in more detail.

If you would like to register your interest in attending one of these groups, please email HousingConsult@rbkc.gov.uk.

If you have any queries, require a paper copy of the survey or require assistance in other languages, please contact the Housing Policy Team by email at HousingConsult@rbkc.gov.uk or by phone at 020 7361 2146.