Common Housing Allocation Policy Council Allocation Targets for 2026-27
Renfrewshire Council · 10 March 2026
Back to Communities and Housing Policy Board — 10 March 2026 and its agenda
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PUBLIC ___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 10 March 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Renfrewshire Common Housing Allocation Policy – Council Allocation Targets for 2026/27 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Following approval by the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board in January 2019, the Renfrewshire Common Housing Allocation Policy was implemented by the Council on 1 May 2019. The review of this policy was approved by the Communities and Housing Policy Board in March last year. 1.2 Applicants are placed in one of five groups according to their circumstances and targets are set for the proportion of lets to each of the groups. These targets are set and reviewed annually by the Council. This report contains the targets proposed for 2026/27. 1.3 To assist in setting the allocation targets, analysis of the lets over the previous nine months (ie to the end of Quarter 3 on 31 December 2025) was carried out and is summarised in this report. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Communities and Housing Policy Board: 2.1 Approve the Council’s allocation targets for 2026/27 as set out in section 4 of this report. ___________________________________________________________________
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PUBLIC 3. Background 3.1 Housing applicants are placed into one of the following five groups based on their circumstances. Depending on the group applicants are placed in, a level of priority (‘A’ to ‘D’) may also be awarded. Targets are set for the proportion of lets to each group and as properties become available for let applicants are selected from the five groups according to the agreed targets. Statutory Homeless Group Mobility Group (general and transfer applicants) General Applicants Group (not landlord’s own tenants) Transfer Applicants Group - with housing need Transfer Applicants Group - no housing need Statutory homeless A critical need B urgent need C moderate need D no need A critical need B urgent need C moderate need D no need A critical need B urgent need C moderate need Based on date of application 3.2 The Council and its four local housing association partners within the Common Housing Allocation Policy (Bridgewater, Linstone, Paisley and Williamsburgh) use the same groups but each landlord sets its own targets, taking account of the profile of its own Housing List and stock profile. ___________________________________________________________________ 4. Council Allocations Targets for 2026/27 4.1 The Council and other social landlords have a statutory duty to give reasonable preference to people in housing need (people who are statutorily homeless, living in unsatisfactory housing conditions and tenants of social landlords who are under occupying their current home). The targets set for each of the groups must take account of this duty. 4.2 The proposed targets for 2026/27 have been informed by analysis of the demand from those who are statutorily homeless, the Council’s housing list and lettings over the last few years. The current allocation policy has been in place since May 2019. The Policy was reviewed with partners and updated last year. The key points to note from this analysis are: • There were 5,425 applicants on the Council’s housing list at the end of the financial year 2024/25. The Quarter 3 figure for 2025/26 for applicants on the housing list was 6,205. Demand for housing continues to increase – for context, there has been a 25% increase in applicants on the housing list since 2022/23, when there were 4,951 applicants on the list.
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PUBLIC • The Council let 1,032 properties in 2024/25. The Quarter 3 figure for 2025/26 is 596. This reduced lets figure can be attributed in part to a reduction in turnover and a return to more normal letting patterns following returning empty properties to the letting pool during 2024/25. • Most lets are made through the Group system (514 lets, 85% in 2024/25). The Quarter 3 figure for 2025/26 was 498, 84% of the total. The remaining 98 lets made outwith the group system were: management transfers; sheltered housing lets; and lets associated with the approved housing regeneration programme. • Within the Group system, 51.6% of lets went to statutory homeless applicants in 2024/25. The number of homeless lets at year end 2024/25 was 450 (up from 390 the previous year). 52.5% of group lets went to statutory homeless applicants in the first three Quarters of 2025/26. • Like all local authorities across Scotland, Renfrewshire is experiencing increasing pressures in meeting demand for social housing – as explained above, the number of applications has risen by 25% since the start of 2023/24. The Board has been advised throughout the year of pressures facing the service due to homelessness and the number of presentations continues to rise. • Lets to mobility applicants continues to exceed the target, with 18.2% of lets to this group against a target of 10%. This figure is directly affected by the suitability of available stock, and a property-led approach is used to maximise opportunities to let suitable properties to applicants with mobility needs. • Existing Council tenants are placed in one of two groups – ”transfer applicants with housing need” who made up 10.6% of the applicants on the housing list at the six-month point and ”transfer applicants with no housing need” who made up 9.1% of all applicants on the Council’s list at the six-month point. • Applicants who are not currently Council tenants, who are not homeless and who do not have mobility needs are placed within the general applicants group. This is the largest group of applicants, currently representing around two-thirds of all applicants on the housing list. This group includes both people with housing need and people with no housing need. The applicants with a housing need held in this group represent around 60% of all applicants on the housing list.
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PUBLIC 4.3 Taking account of the above information, and the duty to give reasonable preference to housing need, targets proposed for 2026/27 are set out in the table below: Group 24/25 25/26 Quarter 3 2026/27 Target Lets % Target Lets % Proposed target % Statutory Homeless 49% 51.6% 55% 52.5% 55% Mobility 10% 18.8% 10% 18.2% 10% General Applicants (not landlord’s own tenant) 23% 21.3% 24% 20.6% 24% Transfer Applicants (with housing need) 15% 8.1% 10% 8.6% 10% Transfer Applicants (no housing need) 3% 0.2% 1% 0.1% 1% Total 100% 100.0% 100% 100.0% 100% 4.4 Summary of proposed targets: With the exception of the mobility group lets, which have exceeded target, all of the other groups have been around their target figure. Taking account of the further increase in homeless applications again this year and associated housing pressures, it is considered to be fair and reasonable to retain the 55% target for the homeless group. Therefore, there are no changes proposed to the allocations targets for the next year. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – None 2. HR & Organisational Development – None 3. Community/Council Planning – • Our Renfrewshire is thriving – Meeting the needs of housing applicants • Building strong, safe and resilient communities – Creating strong communities in our approach to allocating homes 4. Legal – None 5. Property/Assets – None 6. Information Technology – None
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PUBLIC 7. Equality & Human Rights – Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – None 9. Procurement – None 10. Risk – None 11. Privacy Impact – None 12. Climate Change – None 13. Children’s Rights – the Common Housing Allocation Policy reflects Article 27 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, specifically Article 27, “the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.” 14. COSLA Policy Position – the Common Housing Allocation Policy reflects the COSLA Manifesto 2026, specifically section 6, Thriving Places, including “local government is committed to providing good quality affordable housing, reducing the social housing waiting list, and meeting our homelessness duties.” ___________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers The contact officer within the service is Ray Walkinshaw, Housing Regeneration and Development Manager, ray.walkinshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk. Author: Ray Walkinshaw, Housing Regeneration and Development Manager Contact: ray.walkinshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk - 0141 487 2189.