Agenda Reports Pack (Public) 15/10/2012, 19.00 - Meetings ...

Building a Housing Ladder of Opportunity – Housing Allocation Scheme2.13 The principles guiding the Housing Allocation Scheme are that it is fair, realisticand affordable and that applicants take greater personal responsibility for theirown actions and their future. The Council will only register eligible applicantswho qualify to meet at least one of the reasonable preference criteria set out inSection 2.7 of this document (except for allocations under a Local Lettings Plan).Whilst the Council is giving clear preference to applicants making a communitycontribution, it is also keen to have qualifying criteria which better fits the supplyof accommodation that the Council can reasonably have access to. This meansthat even in a number of instances where applicants meet the qualifyingReasonable Preference criteria described in Section 2.7 of this HousingAllocation Scheme, the Council will not accept a Housing RegisterApplication.Exceptional Cases including Classes of Person that do not Qualify2.14 Having considered the changes made to the Housing Act Part VI in the LocalismAct, the following classes of person will not normally qualify for registration:(a) Applicants who are overcrowded by only 1 bedroom and this is their onlyhousing need(b) Applicants who have been convicted of housing or welfare benefits relatedfraud where that conviction is unspent under the Rehabilitation Offenders Act1974. Any person caught by this may re-apply once this conviction is spent(c) Applicants who qualified for registration by reason of the Council havingowed them the main homelessness duty, but the Council has ceased to besubject to that duty because of the refusal of a suitable offer.(d) Homeless applicants placed in long term suitable temporary accommodationunder the main homelessness duty, unless the property does not meet the needsof the household or is about to be ended through no fault of the applicant. Longterm temporary accommodation can include private sector homes let via thecouncil or a housing association under a leasing arrangement, and non-securetenancies on regeneration estates.(e) Applicants who have not lived in the borough for a minimum of 5 years. (seesection 2.21)(f) Applicants whose income, savings and assets exceeds the limits set by theCouncil (see section 6.8)(g) Applicants who owe arrears of rent or other accommodation charges inrespect of the current tenancy or former accommodation, unless an appropriateagreement has been reached and sustained for a reasonable period. Inassessing the application for registration, the Council will take into account thesize of the debt, the means to pay and the degree of the household’s need8Page 391