Have your say on who can join the housing list and how social housing is allocated

We are reviewing our Common Housing Allocation Scheme – who can apply to join the waiting list for social housing in North Herts and how social housing is allocated – and would like to know your thoughts via a short survey.  

We’re making changes to ensure that scarce social housing continues to be prioritised for those who need it the most. Changes we’re proposing include not adding people to the social housing list who earn above a maximum income – £39,000 for a studio or 1 bed, £50,000 for a 2-bed, and £64,000 for a 3+ bed. We’re also proposing not to add people who have savings above £16,000 per household – this is the maximum limit on savings that the government sets for those wishing to claim housing benefit.

We’re also looking at removing priority which is currently awarded to households with young children living above the ground floor, or without access to a garden, as this will bring our policy in line with other local authorities and reflects the high demand for social housing locally, particularly for houses.

Cllr Sean Prendergast, Executive Member for Housing & Environmental Health, said: “Social housing is scarce and we want to ensure it’s allocated as fairly and effectively as possible to those who need it most. We know demand is much higher than supply, and that this is a problem across all the UK. Therefore, adjusting the qualification criteria will help reduce pressure on the list and bring us more in line with other local authority policies. We are also striving to meet our housing needs through the adoption of our Local Plan last year, requiring up to 40 per cent of all homes over the plan period (2011-2031) to be affordable housing for local needs, and working with registered providers to deliver the homes our community needs.”

For those residents who don’t have digital access, councillors can provide support with completing the survey at councillor surgeries and residents can also call Customer Services on 01462 474000 to make an appointment to visit the Council Offices in Letchworth.

The Common Housing Allocation Scheme (CHAS) is published by North Herts Housing Partnership, a partnership between North Herts Council and settle housing association. There are currently 2,400 households on our waiting list for social housing, which includes 200 households with a high or urgent medical need to move and almost 400 households with children living in overcrowded homes.   

Please have you say by completing the survey by Sunday 5 November 2023: