More than 1,000 people removed from council's social housing waiting list after requirements change

More than a thousand people were removed from Peterborough City Council’s (PCC) social housing register after it changed its requirements last year.

The new policy, which came into effect in May, meant that people still on the waiting list had to confirm they wished to remain on it to do so.

The policy also slightly altered the criteria for who qualifies and how they're ordered: for instance, people who “work with us to prevent their homelessness are awarded greater priority”, PCC says.

In practice, this means that people will be prioritised if they report the threat of homelessness to the council as soon as possible rather than waiting until there are few alternatives.

Between May and December, 98 people were taken off the register because they no longer qualified, with most of these (87) removed in May when the policy was first enforced.

In the same period, 1,163 people were removed because they didn’t confirm they wanted to be on it, figures obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request show.

The figures also show that no more than two per cent of people on the register were allocated social housing in any given month in that period.

May had the worst odds: 48 people out of 5,014 secured housing, meaning a success rate of 0.9 per cent.

Between June and December, meanwhile, there were, on average, 2,500 live applications each month with 40 people receiving housing – or 1.6 per cent.

'Housing is in short supply'

PCC acknowledges that “housing is in short supply in Peterborough and waiting times are very long”, but says its new allocations policy simplifies the process to attain the rented accommodation.

Social housing is provided by the council or local housing associations with rent pegged to local incomes, meaning it's usually cheaper than the private sector.

Most people on the register will be on a low income, have a disability requiring specialist support, have a precarious living situation or have previously been a child in care.

PCC's eligibility changes included removing the preference for people who have lived in Peterborough for at least five years and adding priority access for people who “contribute to their local community” and for families with children under 18.

Meanwhile, people banned from the register because they have been guilty of “unacceptable behaviour” – such as failing to pay rent, breaking the terms of a tenancy agreement or antisocial behaviour – can for now be reconsidered if they hold down a tenancy without issue for at least a year, which wasn’t the case before May.

One of the biggest changes, though, is the push to prevent homelessness which helps bring PCC's policy in line with national requirements.

The idea is to help keep people in their current accommodation rather than risking incentivising holding off until emergency intervention is needed.

In its allocation policy, PCC says that homelessness shouldn't be seen as a "route into social housing" and that "we will primarily be exploring options in the Private Rented Sector" when it occurs.

"Homelessness has harmful effects on households and where possible the council wants to prevent it from happening in the first place," it adds.