Consultation opens on changes to social housing allocations policy
A consultation has opened into proposed changes to the social housing allocations policy of St Albans City and District Council.
Anyone with an interest in housing in the District is urged to complete a short survey and give their views.
The Council has around 4,800 social rent homes and has the nomination rights to a further 1,200 housing association homes for people on the Housing Register.
Around 300 properties are let each year with new tenants being selected from the District’s Housing Register.
The Allocations Policy sets out how this process is undertaken and covers key issues such as the eligibility criteria for the Housing Register and how properties are allocated.
The overall aim of the Allocations Policy is to provide a framework for fair and effective allocation with priority given to those in greatest housing need.
Among the changes proposed is raising the maximum amount of household income of people allowed to be on the Housing Register.
This has been revised upwards since it was last agreed three years ago to take into account the impact of inflation.
Another proposal is to lower the age limit from 60 to 55 for applications for bungalows, provided the applicant can show a medical need such as reduced mobility.
Under the changes, an additional priority would be given to applicants transferring from a property with four or more bedrooms to a two-bedroom property. This is to increase the availability of larger homes and complements the existing policy whereby people downsizing from a three-bedroom to a one-bedroom get priority.
Councillor Jacqui Taylor, Chair of the Housing and Inclusion Committee, said:
These are significant changes which we are proposing so I would urge anyone involved with the District’s social housing to take part in the consultation.
We want tenants, people on our Housing Register and those with an interest in the issue to let us know their views. All feedback will be analysed before any decisions are made.
One key aim is to increase the availability of larger properties by making it easier for some of our tenants to downsize.
The consultation opens on Monday 4 November for six weeks and can be accessed here.
A report will be given to the Housing and Inclusion Committee on Monday 20 January when Councillors will decide whether to accept the changes.
The current Annual Gross Household Income Limits are £36,295 for a one-bedroom home which sould be updated to £46,686.20.
For a two-bedroom property the limit would be updated from £48,173 to £61,964.86; for a three-bedroom property, it would rise from £56,152 to £72,228.23; and for a property of four or more bedrooms, it would increase from £69,608 to £89,536.67.
Media contact: John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer, St Albans City and District Council: 01727-919533