Overview of proposed Housing Allocations Policy

In Eastbourne and Lewes district, the demand for social housing is very much greater than the number of homes available. There are simply not enough social homes for everyone on the housing register. This Allocation Scheme describes how the councils prioritise housing applicants to ensure those in greatest housing need, as described by the legal definition of Reasonable Preference, are given a head start to access available social housing.

About the policy

The allocations policy describes the criteria and procedure that the Councils use to prioritise housing applicants for social housing in the Eastbourne and Lewes district areas, who is and who is not assisted under the Scheme and how this is decided. It also sets out how to apply for housing.

The Scheme is designed to meet all legal requirements and to support and contribute towards the councils' wider objectives such as promoting mixed communities.

Social housing properties in Eastbourne and Lewes district will be allocated through matching the property to the most suitable applicant. The system will be supported by a housing options approach, giving applicants realistic advice and promoting other housing options, such as low-cost home ownership options and private sector renting.

The key objectives of this Allocation Scheme are to:

• meet the legal requirements placed on the council to give appropriate priority to applicants who fall under the Housing Act "reasonable preference groups". This is to ensure that social rented housing is let to those in greatest need
• provide a fair and transparent system by which people are prioritised for social housing
• promote the development of sustainable mixed communities
• make efficient use of our resources and those of the private registered providers with social housing stock in the Eastbourne and Lewes district areas.

Who can apply

Any person may apply to the Council for an allocation of housing. However, housing will only be allocated to applicants who are registered on the Council's housing register. Applications for our housing register are welcome from those who are:

a) Over the age of 16 years

b) Eligible for housing services

c) In housing need

d) Have a local connection to Eastbourne Borough Council or Lewes District Council

e) Do not fall within any of the disqualification criteria set out in this scheme

f) Not currently named on someone else's housing register application

g) Their current address is their sole residence

If an applicant is under 18 years of age, they will not normally be offered a property. If in exceptional circumstances a person who is 16 or 17 is granted a tenancy, this will normally be held in trust until they reach the age of 18. This means that another suitable person (such as a parent, legal guardian, social worker, or relative) will normally be responsible for the tenancy.

Who is eligible for social housing in England?

All applicants will be eligible unless they are persons prevented from doing so due to their immigration status. A person will be considered to be ineligible for an allocation under immigration if they are:

• A person subject to immigration control - such a person is not eligible for an allocation of accommodation unless they come within a class prescribed in regulations made by the Secretary of State and
• A person from abroad other than a person subject to immigration control

Local connection

To qualify for the housing register an applicant (or the applicant's partner) must be currently resident in the borough or district and lived in the borough or district continuously for a minimum of 2 years.

Local connection will be applied to all cases unless except those listed below. If your situation falls into one of these categories then you will not be required to have a local connection.

Members of the Armed and Reserve Forces

The following members of the Armed and Reserved Forces will be exempt from the above 'local connection' qualification criteria:-

A person who:-

1. is serving in the regular forces or who has served in the regular forces within five years of the date of their application for an allocation of housing under Part 6 of the 1996 Act;
2. has recently ceased, or will cease to be entitled, to reside in accommodation provided by the Ministry of Defence following the death of that person's spouse or civil partner where: (i) the spouse or civil partner has served in the regular forces; and (ii) their death was attributable (wholly or partly) to that service; or
3. is serving or has served in the reserve forces and who is suffering from a serious injury, illness or disability which is attributable (wholly or partly) to that service.
4. is a divorced or separated spouse or civil partners of Service personnel who need to move out of accommodation provided by the Ministry of Defence before applying to Wealden.

Care leavers

Care leavers will be considered to have a local connection if they are under the age of 21 and lived in the borough or district for at least two years before they were 16.

Victims of domestic abuse

Applicants who have fled the borough or district due to domestic abuse may retain a local connection if they wish to return within 6 months of fleeing the area. 

All nominations and allocations of accommodation to applicants who were forced to move due to domestic abuse will receive the same level of tenure security that they held previously. 

Applicants applying to the housing register seeking to move due to domestic abuse will be referred to the Housing Options team to ensure that appropriate advice, support and interventions are offered and all appropriate enquiries are made. The applicant's housing register application and priority banding will then be considered following appropriate enquiries and interventions from the Housing Options team under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. 

Social tenants' Right to Move

Existing social tenants who wish to move within or into the borough or district from another area are able to join the housing register in order to take up work without requiring a local connection, subject to the following considerations:- 

Need to move

The Council must be satisfied the tenant has a need to move (as opposed to a wish to move) and that failure to meet that need would result in hardship. Factors that would be taken into account when establishing is there is a need to move, would include:

• The distance and/or travel time between work and home
• The availability of transport
• The nature of work and whether similar opportunities were available more locally
• Any medical conditions or childcare affected if they couldn't move
• The length of the employment contract
• If failure to move would lessen opportunities to improve their employment circumstances, e.g. promotion

Work

The work being undertaken (or offered) cannot be short term, marginal in nature, or ancillary to work in another district. Voluntary work is also excluded.  The Council will need to consider whether work is regular or intermittent - as may be the case for self-employed people, and the period of work. Contracts of less than 12 months may be considered short term and therefore excluded.  Work of less than 16 hours a week would be considered marginal in nature.  The level of earnings is also relevant.

If the work is occasionally in Wealden, but their main place of work is elsewhere, the work would be excluded from the regulations.

Voluntary work is excluded. Apprenticeships are included, provided the contract is for at least 12 months.

Verification:  The Council will require evidence that the work, or job offer is genuine and documentary evidence will be required such as: Employment contract, Formal offer letter, Acceptance letter, Wage slips and bank statements, Tax and benefits information.

Who will not be able to join the register

This part of the policy sets out the circumstances in which applicants who meet the criteria set out above will nevertheless not be qualifying persons and cannot join or may be removed from  the housing register.  The criteria below will apply to all applications but may, in exceptional circumstances, be waived at the discretion of a senior officer.

The following groups will not normally qualify for the Housing Needs Register.

1. Applicants without a residential connection to the Eastbourne or Lewes district areas
2. Applicants who do not have a housing need
3. Unacceptable behaviour
4. Applicants who are registered on another council's housing register
5. Applicants with sufficient financial resources
6. Applicants who own a home
7. Applicants with arrears or housing related debts
8. An applicant, or a member of their household, that has a current (unspent) conviction for drug dealing
9. Applicants making a false or misleading statement, withholding relevant information, or failing to inform the council of any material change in circumstances
10. Applicants who have refused two suitable offers of social housing
11. Introductory tenants

How to apply

Application to the housing register must be made by completing an online application form.

Applicants will be required to provide the following information:

• Household details including names, ages, gender and relationship to applicant
• The last 5 years housing history including addresses
• The housing need - why a new home is required
• Support needs of the household
• Demographic information (for monitoring purposes)
• Financial circumstances and employment
• Financial or legal interest in another property
• Any relationship to a Council officer or Councillor at Eastbourne Borough Council or Lewes District Council

The Customer First and Homes First Teams can help an applicant to:

• Understand all housing options available
• Complete the application
• Obtain information to verify their application
• Understand how quickly they may be able to secure accommodation
• Access additional support

An applicant will be notified in writing by letter or email whether they qualify or do not qualify to join the housing register. If accepted an applicant will be informed of:

a) the housing needs band they have been placed in (this determines priority)

b) the date of application (may be used to determine priority within the band allocated)

c) the size and type of properties for which they may be allocated

d) their application reference number

e) how to seek a review against their banding if they think it is wrong or if the decision is that they do not qualify under the Scheme rules

The banding system

The demand for social housing exceeds supply in Eastbourne and Lewes district and therefore this Scheme uses a banding system to prioritise the housing of applicants assessed as being in the greatest need.

To be awarded any of the bands an applicant must qualify to be included on the housing register. This means they must meet the residential connection rule and not be disqualified under any of the other adopted rules, unless the council has agreed that discretion should be applied to waive the residential connection rule, or any other qualification rule due to exceptional circumstances.

The banding system will normally be used to decide when to make an offer of accommodation and to whom. The housing bands are summarised below

Band A

Exceptionally Urgent- Need to move due to reasonable preference plus additional preference

Band B

High priority statutory housing need to move

Band C

Lower priority statutory housing need to move

To prioritise between applicants in the same band, the council uses the priority date for the applicant. An applicant's priority date is usually the date they joined the housing register (except for homeless applicants and those moving on from supported housing schemes - see below).

Where, for example, the council finds there are two suitable applicants for a home available for letting, the applicant with the most priority is the one who has the earlier priority date.

Where the priority dates are the same, the council prioritises according to which applicant:

I.      Has higher medical needs

II.    Is working; and/or

III.  Has lived in their current accommodation longest (this only applies to council tenants needing to move for regeneration or redevelopment requirements (decants).

For homeless applicants where the full duty is accepted, the priority date is the date when the homelessness relief duty ends. For housing register applicants moving on from supported housing schemes, the priority date is the date they moved into supported housing rather than the date of their Housing Register application

Assessing applications

All decisions taken under this Allocation Scheme will be by a 'Homes First' assessment officer within unless otherwise specified. Any change of procedure to outsource decisions will be agreed with the portfolio holder for housing.

Any band awarded reflects an applicant's housing need with the higher the band awarded (with Band A being highest) reflecting the greater level of assessed housing need. 

Applicants will be required to sign a declaration, or to give informed consent, to confirm their understanding that:

• the information given is correct and that they will notify the council of any change in their circumstances
• enquiries will be made concerning their eligibility for housing and level of priority; and
• information may be sought from other organisations.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide all the information requested to assess their circumstances, and to provide any supporting information or documents that are requested. Incomplete information will mean the council is not able to complete its assessment until it has in its possession all the information it requires. 

All incomplete applications will be cancelled after a period of 28 days measured from the date further information has been requested. If cancelled, this does not prevent the applicant making a subsequent application at a later date, although in such cases the applicant's effective date of registration would not be backdated to the date of the earlier application.

The council may request information or a reference from an applicant's current or previous social landlord and may request a reference from the most recent private sector landlord (or any other recent private sector landlord) if the applicant is, or has been, a private sector tenant. This is to check whether there has been any breach of tenancy conditions. 

All applications are subject to verification checks, and these may be applied:

• at the point of initial application
• following any change of circumstance notified to the council by the applicant
• following any routine validation audits
• following an annual review of the application
• at the point of an offer of accommodation
• at the point of letting.

Medical priority

If the applicant or a member of their household believe that they have a 'Medical Need' to be rehoused, the medical circumstances section of the application should be completed. Applicants will be asked to provide information about why their current home is affecting their health. In these instances, letters of support from their GP, Consultant and/or Occupational Therapist will be requested. Evidence should outline how a condition specifically affects an applicant's current and future housing needs. Most cases will be assessed by an allocations officer using the guidelines set out in this section of the scheme and the examples in annexe 3. More complex cases may also be passed on, at the Council's discretion, for an independent medical assessment which will support council officers to make appropriate decisions on the application and banding.

Medical priority will not normally be awarded in the following circumstances:

• where the applicant has a health issue, however severe, that is not impacted by the accommodation occupied
• health problems that are not affected by housing or cannot be improved by moving
• where a move would only make a marginal improvement to the applicant's condition
• medical impacts caused by housing defects that are likely to be rectified in a reasonable time frame
• where another reasonable course of action is available to the applicant to resolve their difficulties
• time-related medical problems (e.g., pregnancy-related problems or a broken leg)
• disrepair problems not impacting significantly on the applicant's medical condition. (Note: under the Scheme an applicant may receive priority separately for living in unfit or unsatisfactory housing depending on the assessment made of their circumstances and impact)
• overcrowding not impacting significantly on the applicant's medical condition. (Note: under the Scheme an applicant may receive priority separately for being overcrowded) 
• if the situation can be resolved by equipment or minor adaptations which can be implemented in a reasonable period of time.

Medical assessments are not just related to banding. The council will also consider requests for future housing, for example regarding the floor level a household may need and whether an extra bedroom is required due to a child having autism. Guidelines for assessing extra bedroom requests for ADHD, Asperger's, sensory processing difficulties, and other mental or physical health problems are set out in Annex 3. 

Bedroom need

For the purpose of assessing a person's housing need for overcrowding and for the purpose of deciding the number of bedrooms to be allocated to a household for rehousing the following criteria will be used:

1 bedroom will be allowed for each of the following:

• Applicant and partner/spouse (if any)
• Any additional adult couple 
• Any two children of the same sex, up to the age of 18 (any three children of the same sex, up to age 18, if the room size is greater than 110 square feet)
• Any two children of either sex, under the age of 10 (any three children of either sex up to age 10, if the room size is greater than 110 square feet)

• One bedroom for any additional person (aged 18 or over)The number of bedrooms needed by an applicant depends upon the size of their family.

Allocating properties

The council makes every effort to match applicants' preferences as far as is possible given the supply of housing available to it. In selecting properties to allocate and which applicant is most suitable, the council will normally take into account the following factors:

• Whether a home is a house, maisonette or flat;
• The size of the home, how many bedrooms it has, and whether it has double or single bedrooms so the council can match the minimum and maximum number of people suitable for that home (for example, a home with 3 bedrooms of which two are double rooms and one is a single room is suitable for a household with 4 or 5 people in it); ­
• Where a home has two or more living rooms, the council, where possible, designates one as a bedroom. For example, a three-bedroom home with two living rooms, one of which can be used as a bedroom, is designated and let as a home with 4 bedrooms; ­
• Whether children are allowed to live in the home; ­
• Whether age limits apply. For example, for some homes for older people applicants have to be aged over 50 and others over 60; ­ Whether pets are allowed (see section 3.4.4); ­
• The floor level of the home, whether the home has lift access, ­ or any adaptations
• The weekly rent charged and any other additional charges, and whether an affordability assessment indicates the applicant can afford them; ­ ­
•  The area in which the home is located
• Any essential requirement concerning the type or location of re-housing
• The housing band into which the applicant's case falls; and
• The date registered within that band (except for when a property may be allocated outside of band and date order)

The council will not normally take into account non-essential preferences concerning the location or type of rehousing requested by the applicant;

Viewings

Once matched to a suitable property, the council will invite the successful applicant to view the property. The invitation to view a home is made via a telephone call and/or an SMS text message and immediately followed up with an email and/or letter.

At the time of being contacted by phone and/or SMS text message, the council asks the applicant to confirm they will attend the viewing as well as confirm they are clear about the address of the home to be viewed. Where the council has left a voice message for the applicant and/or sent an SMS text message about a viewing, the council expects a response within one working day to confirm attendance. Failure to confirm attendance may result in the applicant being bypassed for a viewing and having their application removed from the housing register.

In the follow up invitation to view email/letter, the following information about the home is supplied including the: ­

• Address of the home; ­
• Rent and service charges payable; ­
• Number of bedrooms and bedspaces; ­
• Who the landlord is; ­
• Floor level and whether there is a lift; ­
• Type of heating; ­
• Adaptations if relevant;
• Whether pets are allowed.
• Whether the home is ready to move into straight away (it may still be occupied as the current tenant has given notice, or repairs may still be needed.) 
• That the applicant will need to make a decision at the viewing about whether they will accept the home.

If an applicant does not attend a viewing of a home, whether they confirmed they would attend or not, the council will suspend their housing application and contact the applicant to find out why they did not attend the viewing.

The council will decide whether the reasons for not attending the viewing were reasonable or not. Examples of acceptable reasons for not attending a confirmed viewing include: ­

• Life-threatening health issue; ­
• Having an operation at the same time as the viewing; ­
• Breakdown of transport beyond the applicant's control, e.g. train or bus strike.

If the council accepts the reasons for not attending the viewing on this occasion, then the housing application will be reinstated, and the applicant can be considered for other homes and invited again to view one that matches their needs.

If the council does not accept the reasons for not attending the viewing, the council will: ­

• If the applicant is a homeless applicant owed the full housing duty by the council, end its duty to house the applicant.
• If the applicant and their household are occupying temporary accommodation which the council provided because the applicant was homeless, the licence will be terminated with reasonable notice. The applicant will then have to find their own accommodation. ­
• If the applicant is a Transfer tenant, the council may suspend their Housing Register application for 12 months and they may not be considered for further suitable homes during that time.

Refusing an Offer of Accommodation

If an applicant does not reply to an offer within two working days of receiving the offer it will be deemed to have been refused, unless there are exceptional circumstances as to why there is no response.

Reviews and complaints

Every active applicant on the register will have their application reviewed annually, or more frequently if required, to ensure the application information is kept up to date and to efficiently manage the administration of the register.

At the anniversary of the application date, or when carrying out a review, each applicant will be contacted, usually by letter or email, to confirm their application is still required and will be asked to check their application details are still correct against their online portal and update them where necessary. In the instance of an applicant being unable to check and update their online application, a paper review form will be issued and should be returned within the timescales provided. 

Under the housing legislation an applicant has a legal right to request a review of any of the following decisions reached by the council:

• a decision that an applicant is ineligible, or not a qualifying person to join the Housing Register
• a decision regarding which band an applicant has been awarded
• the priority date granted for the band awarded
• to remove an applicant from the housing register
• any decision about the facts of the case that has been used to assess their application including the decision the council has made regarding who can be included in the application where an applicant considers that a decision has been reached based on incorrect information.

Applicants who are unhappy with a decision made under the Allocation Scheme should in the first instance contact the Homes First Team and explain why they think the decision is not correct or not reasonable. An initial informal review will then be undertaken by either the housing officer who dealt with their case or an equivalent officer.

The applicant will be notified whether the decision still stands and the reasons for this usually within two working days via a telephone call, text, email, or letter.

If an applicant wishes to take the matter further, they can make a request for a formal review of the decision within 21 days of being informed of the outcome of the informal review. The request can be made verbally or in writing by letter or email. In these cases, the applicant will then be invited to make a written submission stating the reasons for their request for a review. Formal reviews will be conducted by a 'Homes First' Service Manager who will notify the applicant of the outcome of the review in writing, including the reasons for their decision. The council aims to notify the applicant within 56 days; however, this is a target timescale and may be longer depending on operational pressures.

There is no right to request a review of a review decision.

Service standards

In delivering all services associated with our Allocations policy, including assessing housing register applications, prioritising applicants, matching and allocating properties, corresponding with applicants, renewing applications and dealing with complaints and reviews, we will:

• Treat all of our customers equally and with respect, in accordance with their need and, where possible, their preferences for housing regardless of age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership or gender reassignment.
• Enable housing register applicants to state their preferences about what type of home they would like to live in
• Provide free information and advice about applying to the housing register, demands on social housing, as well as realistic housing options.
• Make sure any information about housing options is easy to find and to understand.
• Ensure all allocations of council homes and nominations to housing associations are carried out in accordance with the rules set out in this Housing Allocations Policy
• Make available: - The Housing Allocations Policy, both in full and as a summary, for download from the council's website (printed versions can be made available on request­.) https://democracy.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/documents/s6277/housing%20allocations%20policy%20kd%20-%20appendix%20b.pdf
• Comply fully with the Data Protection Act 199810 and ensure all information Housing Register applicants provide is treated in the strictest confidence.

The council's legal duties

Data protection

Eastbourne Borough Council and Lewes District Council will ensure personal information of all applicants (new, existing, and deleted) is:

• stored lawfully
• processed in a fair and transparent manner
• collected for a specific, explicit and legitimate purpose
• kept up to date and held until it is no longer required; and
• shared only with other organisations for legitimate processing.

The council's privacy notice, which sets out when and why it collects personal information about people who access its services, how it uses it, how it keeps it secure, and individuals' rights, can be found on its website: https://www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/article/1342/Privacy-notice

The UK-GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 provide individuals with a right to request access to any of their personal data held by the Council, and a right to know where the data came from, how it is used, and why it is held. Such a request is called a "subject access request" and applies to personal data in housing files. Information about making a subject access request is available on the Council's website: https://www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/article/1113/Make-a-personal-data-request

Subject access requests can be made in writing to the Council at accesstoinformation@lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk or by post to the Council's office at the Town Hall and must describe the information sought. Applicants must state their name and provide proof of their identity, such as a copy of a passport, driving license, or recent utility bill.

Any applications made by third parties on behalf of an applicant (for example by a lawyer acting for a client) must be accompanied by written evidence of authority to act. If this is not possible by reason of disability, the Council should be contacted in order to make alternative arrangements.

The Council will not usually charge a fee to deal with a subject access request.

Once the Council has received the information and proof of ID, it must provide the requested information within one month. There is a limited range of exemptions from the right of subject access.

Housing files may contain information about other people (third parties). If the Council cannot respond to a request without giving information about other people, it is not obliged to include this information in its response unless they consent, or unless it thinks it is reasonable in all the circumstances to disclose this information without their consent.

The Council is committed to ensuring that the Scheme, and the implementation of all associated guidance and procedures, are non-discriminatory, taking into account the needs of groups protected by the Equality Act 2010, the Human Rights Act 1998, and for children, Section 11 of the Children Act.

To help the council identify the needs of applicants, the application form contains specific questions relating to vulnerability, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, and other relevant criteria. The information obtained will be used to monitor the impact of the Scheme to enable a better understanding of people's housing needs and ensure no one is discriminated against as a result of the way this Scheme has been framed or during the administration of it.

Under the Equality Act 2010, and in particular Section 149 of the Public Sector Equality Duty, a council is required to give due regard to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not, when exercising a public function such as implementing their legal Housing Allocation Scheme.