A major shakeup of the council’s housing system in Harlow has been agreed as part of Harlow Council’s priority to fix council housing.
Proposals to change the allocations scheme were approved at the Cabinet meeting on 15 February. These aim to make the process of applying for council housing easier and fairer, with the priority given to those in housing need who were born and bred in the town and have lived in Harlow for 7 years or more.
The changes, which will come into effect on 1 April 2024, follow a review of the policy which included full consultation with residents and local organisations. They are a direct result of the answers given in the consultation, benchmarking against other councils, and council officers’ own daily experiences of using the allocations policy.
As a result of the agreement, the following changes will now be implemented in April:
- Increasing the local connection time from 5 years to 7 years, and removing local connection through family and working in the town to focus local connection on residency
- The removal of Band 4 of the Housing Needs Register – there are currently 2,643 residents in this band who have no identified housing need
- Increasing the lower age limit to apply from 16 to 18
- Strengthened priority for those ‘born and bred’ in Harlow
- Raising the household earnings cap from £50,000 to a stepped approach depending on the property size
- Redefined criteria and priority for applicants linked to the Armed Forces
- The quota of properties made available to third party agencies for supported housing is to be reviewed
- Time-limited bidding be removed for homeless applicants (currently 3 months) and Band 1 priority be awarded for a maximum of 6 months
- The definition of a carer, who requires a separate bedroom, be defined as: “A carer who provides permanent 24-hour ‘live in’ care – confirmation is required from social services – will be eligible for an additional bedroom.”
- More effective management of refusal of properties, where applicants can refuse one property but refusal of a second will result in a bidding suspension of 12 months
- Living in a flat above ground floor with children will no longer be considered as an assessed housing need
- Deliberately worsening circumstances to secure a move will now result in exclusion from the Housing Needs register for 2 years
- The removal of ‘tied tenants’ (those who live in council housing as part of their employment, such as a caretaker) from Band 1; there are no tied tenants in Harlow
- Band 2 priority to be given to two council households who wish to move into a single property together
At this time no-one needs to contact the council as information on the changes will be sent out directly to everyone currently on the register.
Due to the extensive nature of these changes, and the fact that at present there are around 5,500 people on the Harlow Housing Needs Register, a phased implementation of the new policy will be carried out from 1 April. Anyone newly applying to join the register from April will be immediately subject to the new criteria; for existing applicants, between 1 April and 1 October 2024 the council will manage implementation of the new policy, with a requirement for all applicants to re-apply to ensure they meet the new eligibility criteria.
Re-application will need to be complete by 1 October as a new online applications system will be live from this date.
Commenting on the changes, Councillor David Carter, deputy leader and cabinet portfolio holder for housing, said:
“This is a major overhaul of how we allocate housing here in Harlow and shows how serious we are about making sure Harlow homes go to Harlow people. Under the changes we are giving greater priority to those in housing need who have lived here for more than 7 years and were born and bred in Harlow.
“One of our main priorities over the past year has been to fix council housing – that priority stretches beyond simply improving housing repairs, which we have been doing, but also making the council’s housing system truly works better for our residents. It is necessary to make changes given the feedback that we get from residents and the concerns that our residents have that people from other councils will get the priority for homes. Our changes tighten and strengthen the system, so that we can genuinely say that council homes are for Harlow people.
“With an acute shortage of council housing, unfortunately, we can’t house everyone who wants a home only those who need a home. The changes ensure that the housing register is just for those most in housing need.
“There is much work to be done, in addition to the huge amount already carried out on this project, to put it all into action but we are fully committed to making the system work for Harlow people and we will keep you all informed as we make progress throughout the year.”