Renfrewshire Common Housing Allocation Policy Council Allocation Targets for 2023-24 CaH 07 03 23
Renfrewshire Council · 7 March 2023
Back to Communities and Housing Policy Board — 7 March 2023 and its agenda
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities & Housing Policy Board On: 7 March 2023 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Communities and Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Renfrewshire Common Housing Allocation Policy – Council Allocation Targets for 2023/24 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Following approval by the Policy Board in January 2019, the Renfrewshire Common Housing Allocation Policy was implemented by the Council on 01 May 2019. 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 2023/24. 1.3 To assist in setting the allocation targets, analysis of the homelessness trends and profile of the Council’s waiting list was carried out. A summary of which has been provided within this report. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Policy Board: i. Approves the Council’s allocation targets for 2023/24 as set out in section 4 of this report. ___________________________________________________________________
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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 D no 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 2023/24 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 2023/24 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. As the new policy has only been live since May 2019 some of the reportable information, as well as trend analysis comparisons, are limited during this period. This also means that during a significant proportion of the period various Covid-19 restrictions were in place. The key points to note from this analysis are: There were 5,347 applicants on the Council’s Housing List at the end of the financial year 2021/22. The Council let 940 properties in 2021/22. The 6 monthly figure for 2022/23 was 452. The majority of lets are made through the group system (91.17% in 2021/22). The 6 monthly figure for 2022/23 was 88.27%
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Just under 43% of lets went to statutory homeless applicants in 2021/22. The number of homeless applicants at year end 2021/22 was 305. Just under 37% of lets went to statutory homeless applicants in the first 6 months of 2022/23 and the number of homeless applicants at the end of the first 6 months of 2022/23 had increased to 364. Lets to Mobility applicants have represented around 12.5% of lets by the Council over the last three years. (This figure is constrained 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). Year-end figure for 2021/22 was 13.65% against a 10% target. The six-monthly figure for 2022/23 is 11%. Existing Council tenants are placed in one of two groups – Transfer Applicants with housing need and Transfer Applicants with no housing need. At present, transfer applicants make up just over 23% of all applicants on the Council’s list. Transfer applicants with housing need make up around 12.6% of all applicants on the housing list. Applicants who are not currently Council tenants and are not homeless or 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 with no housing need. The applicants with a housing need held in this group represent around 31% of all applicants on the housing list. In line with other local authority areas, Renfrewshire Council and the national / local RSLs operating in Renfrewshire have provided social rented lets during 2022/23 as part of the national Homes for Ukraine response. Moving forward, a similar proportion of lets will be identified to house Ukrainian households, these households will be included within the General Applicants group for allocations purposes. This will help ensure that Renfrewshire continues to play its part in meeting the needs of those arriving in Scotland from Ukraine. 4.3 Taking account of the above information, and the duty to give reasonable preference to housing need, targets proposed for 2023/24 are set out in the table below: Lets Through Group System 2021/22 2022/23 (6 months) 2023/24 Group 2021/22 Target Actual Lets % Current Target Actual Lets % Proposed Target Statutory Homeless 49% 42.94% 49% 36.84% 49% Mobility 10% 13.65% 10% 11.02% 10% General Applicants (not landlord’s own tenants) 23% 29.75% 23% 37.34% 26% Transfer Applicants (with housing need) 15% 10.90% 15% 12.03% 12% Transfer Applicants (with no housing need) 3% 2.80% 3% 2.76% 3%
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4.4 Summary of proposed targets: To ensure the Council continue to meet their statutory duty as regards homeless people, and to reduce time spent in temporary accommodation, it is proposed that we set a target to allocate 49% of available properties to the Statutory Homeless Group. Properties that meet mobility requirements are let on a property led approach and it is proposed that we continue to keep a target of 10% of available lets to the Mobility Group where properties meet mobility needs. An increase to the target from 23% to 26% is proposed for the General Applicants group. This is the largest of the allocation groups. Applicants with an assessed housing need in this group make up just over 30% of all waiting list applicants and it will include Ukrainian Displaced Persons. It is proposed that the Transfer Applicants with housing need allocations is set at 12% to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our existing tenants. 3% of allocations for the Transfer applicants with no identified housing need is proposed to allow the continuation of rehousing opportunities for existing Council tenants who have an aspirational desire to move to an alternative property type or area. This small allocation of housing will continue to free up the tenants existing home to fulfil other demand from the Councils housing waiting list. ___________________________________________________________________ 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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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. COSLA Policy Position – None 13. Climate Change – None __________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers The contact officer within the service is Ray Walkinshaw, Housing Regeneration and Development Manager, Communities & Housing, ray.walkinshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk __________________________________________________________________ Author: Ray Walkinshaw Housing Regeneration and Development Manager 0141 487 2189 ray.walkinshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk