Reviewing social housing allocation in Northern Ireland

The Minister for Social Development is seeking views on how social housing is allocated. As part of his housing strategy he commissioned independent research on this issue. The research carried out by the Universities of Ulster and Cambridge has just been published and provides independent recommendations on the future of social housing allocations in Northern Ireland.

Nicola McCrudden, our Policy Manager, provides her views on this important matter:

Accessing accommodation

The most frequently asked question from people in housing need who contact Housing Rights Service is “Can you help me get housed”? This might be stating the obvious, but sometimes we need reminding of what is important to people who are homeless, at risk of becoming homeless or living in unsuitable housing.

Last year Housing Rights Service advisers dealt almost 12,500 issues relating to accessing housing. This is around one third of all enquiries received. When we looked at this figure in a bit more detail, we discovered that the key housing aspiration for most of our clients is stability, security and permanence.

Preferred housing

Research we published last year “Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable Homeless People in the Private Rented Sector in Northern Ireland” found that ultimately what many want is a place to call their own. In most cases social housing was seen as the preferred tenure for a variety of practical reasons, but essentially as a lower cost and lower risk option. It was seen as cheaper, more affordable and therefore more accessible. Social housing was also viewed as a more secure option. Not only can it provide stability to people who have had negative housing experiences, but its ethos it seen as more caring.

However, as we know demand for social housing greatly outstrips supply. With a growing waiting list, of almost 42,000 households, the DSD has commissioned research to consider whether the current housing selection scheme makes “the most effective use of scarce public resources in identifying and meeting housing need in the context of Government’s policy priorities”.  This approach is pragmatic. It absolutely makes sense to health check our social housing allocation system, but don’t expect more people to be automatically housed as a result. 

Given the demand pressures that will continue to exist, it is important that we don’t lose sight of the purpose of social housing. In our view, it is to protect the most vulnerable with the top priority being those who don’t have a home. So, when reviewing the allocations policy there are fundamental principles which must be retained including the prioritisation of those in greatest housing need and allocation on the basis of fairness and equity.

Consultation

You can get further details on the DSD website along with the research reports. Recommendations from the research include:

• Universal access to social housing should be retained
• A needs based approach should be used to prioritise applicants using a banded system (not points based)
• A Choice Based Letting system should be introduced allowing housing applicants to proactively ‘bid’ for housing rather than wait for an offer
• Local lettings policy should be used to meet local circumstances
• Applicants guilty of anti social behaviour should be suspended for up to 2 years
• There should be a maximum of 2 offers
• Strategic Independent Allocations Scrutiny Panel should be established.