Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented a report on a number of proposed changes to the Council’s Housing Allocations Policy, aimed at encouraging people to make a home in the Borough and participate in their local community, addressing the limited housing options available to residents and improving the choice and quality of homes. 

The proposals related to the following five aspects:

·  Introducing a residential qualification;

·  Exclusions to joining the waiting list;

·  Priority for working households;

·  Flexible tenancies;

·  Discharging the Council’s homeless duty into the private sector.

The Cabinet Member explained that the proposals responded to the statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State in December 2013 entitled “Providing social housing for local people - Statutory guidance on social housing allocations for local authorities in England” and would help to provide local residents with a realistic prospect of Council housing.

With regard to the introduction of a residential qualification, the report set out an options appraisal in respect of two, five and ten year requirements as well as an Equalities Impact Assessment relating to each option.  The Cabinet Member for Housing advised a 10-year requirement was recommended and he referred in particular to the Council’s major 10-year housing regeneration programme which, although significantly increasing the amount of affordable social housing in the longer term, would continue to restrict the availability of Council housing in the intervening period due to the need to re-house decanted residents.  Another factor in support of a 10-year requirement was the large number of local residents currently on the waiting list who qualified to move into larger family homes but whose prospects were being inhibited as a result of the number of families from outside of the Borough who were moving to Barking and Dagenham because of the higher cost of social housing elsewhere and the lack of investment in housing across London and the surrounding area.

The Divisional Director of Housing Strategy commented that the proposals fitted in with the Council’s social and economic regeneration policy objectives and would remove some of the barriers faced by a growing group of local residents, particularly those in work, who wished to move into affordable Council housing.  He added that the statutory guidance clearly pointed to a residential qualification and he also referred to the Equalities Impact Assessment that had been carried out on all of the proposals and which was appended to the report. 

The Corporate Director of Housing and Environment confirmed that the new arrangements would not come in to effect until 1 September 2014.  In the meantime, an extensive public awareness campaign would be undertaken to ensure that any resident wishing to join the Council’s waiting list could do so prior to the new residential qualification and other criteria coming into effect.  Furthermore, the new arrangements would be subject to a full review after the first year to ensure that they were meeting the Council’s objectives.

The Leader referred to previous amendments to the Housing Allocations Policy which included the giving of priority to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 106