Birmingham City Council Housing Allocations Scheme

Overview

Birmingham City Council is keen to hear your views on a new Draft Housing Allocations Policy which will be implemented in 2022.

Birmingham City Council is required by law to have a Housing Allocation Scheme, which shows how it prioritises the allocation of social housing and the procedures that will be followed. The scheme is directed by legislation and guidance from the government. It requires that certain groups be given ‘reasonable preference’ within the scheme. These groups include:

• Those living in unsatisfactory housing which is, for example, overcrowded or lacking facilities.
• Those who need to move on medical or welfare grounds.
• Those who are homeless
• Those who need to move to a particular locality within the local authority area where it would cause hardship if they were not to do so.

In Birmingham the demand for social housing dramatically exceeds availability, there are many more people who need a home or who want to move home, than there are homes available for them. There are also not enough homes owned by the council and its partners (housing associations) to offer housing to those who need it most.

There are currently 19500 applicants on the Council’s Housing Register waiting for a home in Birmingham. As the demand for social housing is far greater than the supply of properties available, many applicants have a lengthy wait before they will be offered a property.

By implementing a new Allocations Policy, the Council can continue to ensure that homes that do become available are let to those in the greatest housing need.

Why your views matter

As part of the process the Council is keen to hear your views on the proposals and is now carrying out a 12 week consultation.  Starting on 29^th November 2021 the consultation will collect feedback from applicants on the housing register, tenants, and residents.  The feedback will then be taken into consideration when drafting the final version of the Policy.

A copy of the Draft Housing Allocations Scheme can be accessed by clicking on the link below.