Housing Allocation

Social housing in Wales is managed by Councils and housing associations, sometimes referred to as community landlords. They must have a written policy explaining how they will offer their properties, taking into account a person’s needs. This is called an allocations policy.

There are stricter legal requirements on the Council e.g. there are certain people that it has to give a reasonable preference to (a head-start) including: homeless people; those living in overcrowded or unsuitable housing; people who have certain medical needs or disabilities. This also applies to transfers.

Housing associations can be more flexible in who they offer accommodation to, e.g. they might refuse to offer you housing if you already owe rent claims to another landlord.

Both Councils and Housing Associations can only offer accommodation to people who are eligible. People who are subject to immigration control or who have behaved unacceptably during a pervious tenancy may not be eligible for a property.

The Council’s or housing association’s policy will set out how it will decide who gets offered housing first e.g. a points scheme; band scheme/quotas; or a bidding system for certain properties.

We can look at:

• Whether your housing application has been dealt with properly;
• Whether the Council or housing association has properly applied its policy to your housing application e.g. whether you are in the correct band;
• Whether the organisation has told you how it has dealt with your housing application e.g. has it sent you a letter detailing any points awarded;
• Whether the organisation has delayed dealing with changes in your situation which you have told it about e.g. you have been asked to leave your home;
• Why your application may have been suspended e.g. has the Council followed the correct procedure if the reason(s) for suspension is your behaviour.

We cannot:

• Force the Council/Housing Association to give you a property, or any particular property that you may want.
• Change a properly made decision about your housing application.

There are not enough homes for everyone who wants one. The policy may limit the number of offers you can be given or restrict the areas you can choose on your housing application.

You may want to consider contacting the following organisations for advice:

Shelter Cymru which provides independent and free housing advice and support. You can contact them by phone on 08000 495 495 or via www.sheltercymru.org.uk.

Citizens Advice Cymru which provides independent and free advice and support on a range of problems (including housing). You can contact them via
www.citizensadvice.org.uk (selecting the ‘Wales’ site page option) and entering your postcode for details on how to reach your nearest CAC advice office.

Your local Assembly Member may also be able to offer advice and assistance.

If you are not sure whether we would be able to look into your complaint, please contact us on 0300 790 0203.

Also available in Welsh.