Local decisions: a fairer future for social housing

Frances Walker: Allocations Branch, DCLG

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Case for reform

Waiting Lists

• 1.8 million households on waiting lists

• There are around 50,000 households living in temporary accommodation in England

Unemployment

• Fewer than half of social tenants of working age are in work

Overcrowding

• A quarter of a million social homes are overcrowded, while over 400,000 are under-occupied

Mobility

• Fewer than 5% of social sector households move within the social sector each year compared to almost a quarter of private renters

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Number of households on local authority waiting lists, England

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2

19

98

19

99

20

00

20

01

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

08

(r)

20

09

Year (as at 1 April)

Ho

us

eh

old

s (

mil

lio

ns

)

Source: Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA)

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Number of local authority lettings made in the social rented sector, England, 1988/89-2008/09

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

1988/89 1990/91 1992/93 1994/95 1996/97 1998/99 2000/01 2002/03 2004/05 2006/07 2008/09

All lettings

New lettings

Existing lettings (internal transfers)

Declining supply of lets

5

Trend in overcrowding rates by tenure, 1995-96 to 2007-08 (3 yr moving averages) and 2008-09

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1995-96

1996-97

1997-98

1998-99

1999-00

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

per

cen

tag

e o

f h

ou

seh

old

s

all tenures ow ner occupiers social renters private renters

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We need to reform social housing to:

• Strengthen localism – giving greater flexibility to local authorities and landlords

• Protect the most vulnerable in society – making sure that support is better focused, and providing the right basic safeguards

• Reduce dependency – enabling people to improve their situation by working

• Make better use of resources – allocating existing homes more sensibly, and using funding more innovatively to provide more new housing

• Make the system fairer - balancing the needs of existing social housing tenants and those who are in need of social housing

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Local Decisions

•Local Decisions consultation paper issued in November 2010

•Localism Bill introduced in December 2010

•Summary of responses to consultation and way forward published February 2011

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/localdecisionsresponse

• Indicative Direction on Mobility

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Social Housing Allocations

Local authorities to determine who should qualify for housing waiting lists – a return to the pre-2003 position.

Rules on eligibility continue to be set centrally.

Existing tenants not in housing need - out of the allocation rules. They will no longer need to compete with those on waiting list in housing need.But no requirement to have a separate system for transfers.

Protection for the vulnerable will continue to be provided by the statutory ‘reasonable preference’ criteria. But views sought on whether to revise the existing categories.

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Homelessness

• New flexibility to end the main homelessness duty with a PRS offer

• Applicant consent not required

• Minimum 12 month fixed term tenancy

• Must be suitable

• Right of review /appeal

• Duty recurs if unintentionally homeless within 2 years

• LAs can still end duty with social housing

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Mobility

• Introduce a nationwide social home swap programme.

• Legislate to give the Secretary of State a power to direct the social housing regulator to issue a standard on mutual exchange.

• Standard require landlords to give tenants access to a web-based mutual exchange service

• Enable to see full range of properties across providers without the need to register with another site.

• Legislate to safeguard tenants with a secure or assured tenancy who exchange with a local authority flexible tenant and some housing association tenants.

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Reduce overcrowding

• Remove transferring tenants from the allocation rules to make it easier for landlords to support under-occupiers who wish to move

• Strengthen home swap provisions to make it easier for under-occupying and overcrowded to help each other.

• Reform homelessness rules to allow landlords to allocate social housing to those that need it.

• Introduce flexible tenancies to allow landlords to provide the right size house for the time that they need it.

• Retain the ‘reasonable preference’ category to ensure overcrowded households continue to receive priority.

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Next steps

•Localism Bill – Commons Report Stage - April/May

•Royal Assent – November 2011

Consult on Direction on Mobility later in the summer