Huge shake-up of how social housing allocated
A HUGE shake-up of how social housing in Coventry is allocated has been approved by councillors ahead of a launch in November this year.
Coventry City Council said it has altered its Coventry Homefinder scheme to simplify the system and ensure housing goes to those in most need.
But it means thousands of people currently eligible for help may no longer be able to register.
Changes have been made due to an increasing demand and low supply of social housing.
Council figures show 13,658 households were on the register in 2018/19 but only 1,446 were housed, with an average of 229 bids per property.
One of the big changes will result in only households with assessed housing need and a local connection to Coventry being able to register.
Currently people with no housing need or no Coventry connection can apply.
More than 10,000 households on the register do not currently have an assessed housing need.
Other changes include: All applications with no housing need or local connection will be rejected.
Only in ‘exceptional circumstances’ will people with a housing need but no local connection be accepted
Applicants will no longer be able to register for homes in multiple locations.
The number of times a household can refuse a suitable offer before their application is suspended will also drop from five to three. Refusing the maximum offers could then see the applicant placed in the ‘reduced preference’ band where their chance of allocation reduces.
An ‘asset/income’ cap will be included in the qualification criteria. This means households earning more than £50,000 annual income or assets will also no longer be able to apply.
Applicants will have 56 days to complete an annual review of their housing application, instead of the previous 125 days.
Applicants will be able to bid for houses seven days a week, as opposed to the current system of midnight on Thursday morning to 11.59pm on Tuesday the following week.
A two-stage application will be reduced to one. Changes were approved by the council’s cabinet on Tuesday, February 18.
Whilst the council no longer owns any housing itself, it is legally required to have a scheme that allocates social housing.
Deputy cabinet member for housing Cllr David Welsh said: “The focus for the Homefinder policy is to ensure we are prioritising housing stock to the most in need and making better use of it, making the process simpler, more transparent and easier to understand.”
All current applicants will have to reapply to the register and be given a specified date by which they need to reapply later in the year.
Around 12,000 households are also expected to be reassessed for their housing needs.
The focus for the Homefinder policy is to ensure we are prioritising housing stock to the most in need