Housing Allocations Policy review
We’re after your views on proposed changes to how council homes are allocated in the city.
The allocations policy sets the way the council and housing association homes are allocated.
The council’s current Housing Allocations Policy came into effect in 2016 and needs updating in response to national legislation and local needs.
The policy is key to how people in housing need on the joint housing register bid for homes through the city’s choice based-lettings system, Homemove.
With council homes and other social housing in the city in huge demand, the aim of the proposed changes is to update the allocations policy and make sure available homes go to those in the greatest housing need.
The survey is open until Saturday 8 June 2024.
You can access the survey by clicking 'take survey' or head down to the introduction phase below for detailed information about the proposed changes to the policy.
If you need the survey in another language, format, or if you have any comments or questions, please email: AllocationsPolicy.Consultation@brighton-hove.gov.uk.
Phases
Outcome
On 17 October 2024, Brighton & Hove City Council approved changes to the Housing Allocations Policy at Cabinet.
We listened to your feedback from the consultation. As a result, not all of the changes we proposed will be made.
In April 2025, the changes will be made to the Brighton & Hove City Council Housing Allocations Policy.
What changes are coming to the Housing Allocations Policy in April 2025?
Change the residency criteria from 5 years to 5-out-of-7 years.
For example, you may still qualify to join the register if you move out of the city for a short period of time to care for a relative.
Remove the queue divisions to enable households to bid on all properties for their bedroom and mobility need.
Priority will be based on band and priority date. There will be no priority queues from April 2025.
Give reasonable preference to households with an accepted homelessness duty.
Where the council is satisfied a household is homeless or at risk at homelessness within 56 days, these households will qualify for reasonable preference.
Give reasonable preference where households work with us to move on from temporary accommodation.
If we help you move out of the council’s temporary accommodation into private sector housing, you will be permitted to be registered and able to bid for properties on Homemove.
Joint social housing tenants may qualify to join the housing register.
This means that you may qualify if you are a joint tenant and only one of you is moving.
Amend priority awarded to current or former armed forces personnel.
If you are injured because of service, you or your spouse may get Band A. Other personnel may be assessed as Band B due to discharge of service.
Enable direct offers in exceptional circumstances.
This will be decided by the council and will generally be very unusual circumstances. Sadly, there are many people who are living in accommodation which is too small or does not meet their need – this would not normally be exceptional.
Remove priority Band A status for households in temporary accommodation, where the property is being returned to the landlord.
You will be placed on a waiting list for alternative temporary accommodation and will still be able to bid for properties available via Homemove
Give priority Band A status to non-statutory successors for a 6-month time limited period.
If you are unsuccessful during the 6-month period you will be made a direct offer of accommodation.
Permit households with a 4-bed or more need experiencing statutory overcrowding to bid for Brighton & Hove council properties which are one bedroom short of their need, where this would resolve statutory overcrowding.
This will only be for those in need of a larger property that have been assessed as Band A statutory overcrowded. This will not be available to those assessed with other household sizes, bands or band reasons.
What happens now?
You can continue to bid for properties as normal.
Until April 2025, all applications and changes of circumstances will be assessed in line with the existing Housing Allocations Policy.
What will happen to my housing register application?
There are no changes to your application or the way you bid until April 2025.
From April 2025:
There will be changes to how we advertise properties.
These changes will affect everyone on the housing register.
There are other changes that will affect some people and not others.
We will write to you individually if the changes are going to affect your priority banding.
We will publish more information on the Homemove website as we prepare for the changes.
You can see the changes that are coming here: https://democracy.brighton-hove.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=101419
