New housing allocations policy set for summer start

Wednesday, 4 November 2020 17:22

City of Wolverhampton’s new Housing Allocations Policy will come into force from summer 2021

The policy determines how council homes in the city are allocated to first time applicants and transferring tenants, including nominations to registered providers (Housing Associations).

Following a wholesale review by the city’s Better Homes Board - which includes representatives from Wolverhampton Homes and Tenant Management Organisations - throughout 2019, including a six-week public consultation period, the council’s Cabinet approved a revised Housing Allocations Policy in February 2020.

Due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, work to implement the full revised policy and its new ICT systems was delayed as staff were required to focus on day to day service delivery.

As a result, the council’s Cabinet is set to approve a report next Wednesday (November 11) to delay the roll out of the full policy from February 2021 until summer 2021.

Councillor Jacqueline Sweetman, Cabinet Member for City Assets and Housing, said: “This is a crucial piece of work focusing on how we allocate our limited council housing stock.

“The consultation enabled people to have their say and addressed the challenges being experienced by residents, which is reflected in the new housing allocations policy.

“The Covid-19 pandemic, as with many projects up and down the country, has meant staff have had to prioritise their time on more urgent matters, so to ensure the full policy is implemented properly with all the right systems in place it is sensible to roll it out in summer rather than February.

“We can only apologise for the delay while remaining committed to the objective of giving people in the greatest housing need the greatest opportunity to access suitable housing that best meets their needs.”

Prior to the new policy going live, all applicants will have to reregister in order to determine their eligibility to join the Housing Register.

The council will be contacting all applicants in spring 2021 to provide them with instructions on how to reapply. Until then all current applications are still valid, and no action is required.