Consultation on Lewisham Council's Draft Housing Allocations Policy

A consultation into changes to the Housing Allocations Policy is now live. The proposals were presented at Mayor and Cabinet on 11th November and approval was given to proceed to public consultation.

You can access the consultation here . Web address - https://consultation.lewisham.gov.uk/strategic-housing-and-regulatory-services/https-lewisham-gov-uk-media-lewisham-housingal/

Further details of the proposed changes are provided throughout the consultation and in the Mayor and Cabinet report, referenced above, but the six, main proposed changes are as below:

1. We will change the banding structure. This will help us to reallocate priority for different rehousing reasons, ensuring that the Allocation Scheme is responsive to housing needs within the borough.

2. We will modify the “overcrowded” rehousing reason to ensure that those experiencing the most severe overcrowding are prioritised.

3. We will create a new “priority homeless with additional need” rehousing reason to ensure that we are able to respond to very specific cases of homelessness across the borough.

4. We will increase the number of properties an applicant can bid for each week.

5. Where applicable, we will reduce the “Three Offer” rule for refusing a property to a “Two Offer” rule.

6. We will ring-fence up to 20% of properties on the register. This will help us to make best use of the available social housing with the resources that we already have.

We would like to encourage responses from applicants on the housing register, social housing tenants and housing organisations. A notice will be made available on the Homesearch website to advise applicants about the consultation and we are writing to housing associations.

If you have any specific questions, please them to email housingconsultation@lewisham.gov.uk

The consultation closes on 14th February.