Category Archives: Allocation

All allocation and CBL related posts

Tories to regulate private rented sector? Don’t get excited…

Posted on by
9

The detail of this may have passed you by at the time, it certainly did me, but amongst the wind and posturing of David Cameron’s ‘big speech’ in March on stopping immigrants from getting things from healthcare to driving licences was quite a significant snippet on the private rental sector.

You have probably already registered the proposals for what Cameron calls ‘state sector’ housing – presumably meaning social housing – which is to introduce statutory allocation guidance:

New migrants should not expect to be given a home on arrival.  And yet at present almost one in ten new social lettings go to foreign nationals.  So, I am going to introduce

… Read the full post

‘Homeless Legislation – a thing of the past?’

Posted on by
26

[Update at the end of the post 15/11/2012]

Now that the Guardian has the story, I feel able to quote a briefing paper by Andy Gale of the DCLG that had found its way to me. This is the briefing that Andy Gale has been giving to Council officers (not councillors, as far as I know) on what he gives as the DCLG view of the post-Localism Act world, how Councils should implement it, and how officers should sell this to Councillors.

And it makes very interesting reading. Please note that there may be a more considered post on the issues and policy views to come on this blog … Read the full post

Let’s all move to … Wales

Posted on by
10

This is another one of our irregular posts on our theme of happenings in Wales; this time with an apology because it’s all rather later than I had hoped and SO much is going on in Cardiff that they must be in a state of permanent combustion.  Following on from the Welsh Government’s magnificent White Paper in May, they published Proposals for a Better Private Rented Sector in Wales and then a new code of guidance on homelessness and allocations (all 257 pages worth), a Housing Bill is in preparation (2013) and there are all sorts of rumours afoot that they are preparing a subsequent Renting Homes Bill (to implement … Read the full post

Barnet’s brave new dawn

Posted on by
9

And, like a sudden, startling and slightly embarrassing squeak from a vinyl sofa, flexible tenancies are here!

London Borough of Barnet have announced, in a manner which suggests absolutely no political motivation behind the decision at all, the ‘end of the council tenancy for life‘, as of 9 July 2012.

While no Council can offer flexible tenancies until it has published its ‘Tenancy Strategy’ (which must be by January 2013), Barnet took a considered approach and published its Strategy in April 2012. A basic overview is here.

The Tenancy Strategy itself is worth a read, not least for the number of errors it contains. For example, Barnet … Read the full post

Deckchairs/Titanic: New Allocations Code

Posted on by
5

The new allocation code of guidance was published by DCLG today – it had been trailed a little and the smiling face of Grant Shapps appears in a Murdoch rag today (he tweeted the story this morning).  There are some interesting snippets in it but, in truth, without detailed micro-examination in a specific case/local authority, there is little to go on here – after all, that’s localism for you.  One of my favourite bits is the ministerial foreword which explains what Shapps has done for social housing as opposed to those nasty New Labour types (without mention of the potential effect of welfare reform, RTB, etc). There is a sense … Read the full post

Housing and Human Rights Round-up Part II

Posted on by
Reply

Three more housing-related cases have been decided recently by the ECHR:

Bjedov v Croatia (29/5/12)

Mrs Bjedov was granted a joint tenancy of a ‘specially protected’ flat in Zadar, Croatia in 1975 and she became the sole tenant after the death of her husband in 1994. Since 1991, Mrs B had been living with her husband in another property and she moved to Switzerland after her husband’s death, returning to Croatia in 1998. Mrs B was unable to return to her flat as it had been occupied by trespassers from 1991 onwards.

Mrs B was eventually able to move back in July 2001 and she then applied to purchase the … Read the full post

Auto-bids and Lettings Choice

Posted on by
Reply

The Administrative Court has recently given judgement in the conjoined applications of Rouse Tout a Tout  and Heff v LB Haringey, which concern the lawfulness of the auto-bid system operated by LB Haringey in the allocation of their permanent accommodation.

Both Claimants were accepted as homeless several years ago and were waiting in temporary accommodation for an offer of permanent accommodation. Both Claimants were successful “auto-bidders” for properties under the scheme and although they expressed dissatisfaction with the offered properties, only Ms Rouse Tout a Tout took up the new tenancy while Ms Heff remained in her temporary let.

The common ground of challenge was that the local authority … Read the full post