A north east council has developed a new policy around the way in which social housing is allocated.
Durham County Council has created a new draft policy, following a consultation with residents, housing representatives and its Durham Key Options partners early last year.
A housing allocations scheme is a requirement of all authorities, setting out the council’s eligibility, qualifying and housing need criteria, as well as how the authority assesses applications to join the housing register, to ensure priority is fairly assigned.
The council is now consulting on its draft policy and seeking views on the new banding structure for housing needs, the qualification and disqualification rules for the housing register and maintaining balanced and sustainable communities.
Cllr Nicola Lyons, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for communities and civic resilience, said: “We have 10,000 people on our waiting list and only 3,000 homes available a year.
“The new policy reinforces our continued commitment to supporting our veterans and the council is also consulting on a new rule whereby anyone joining the register must have lived in County Durham for two years.
“Social housing is a scarce resource for local communities, and the proposals prioritise people who have lived in County Durham and served in our armed forces.”
Although a new banding system will follow the structure of the current system, with four tiers ranging from urgent or exceptional housing need in Band 1 to lower housing need in Band 4, the new policy will give additional preference to applicants who are fleeing domestic abuse, have urgent medical needs or have a connection to the armed forces, or are currently living in a property that is severely overcrowded.
Following strong support in the last consultation, the new policy also introduces a local connection rule, stating that people must have lived in County Durham for a minimum of two years before they can join the housing register.
People will also qualify if they have been employed in County Durham for a minimum of six months or have caring responsibilities in the county. Exemptions apply for care leavers, domestic abuse victims, veterans and their family, and people with a homeless connection.
To read the full draft policy or take part in the consultation, people can visit the council’s consultation and engagement platform, www.letstalkcountydurham.co.uk, by 15 April.
Online consultation sessions will also be held on Tuesday 10 March at 11am and Wednesday 18 March at 6pm, where people can find out more about the policy and ask questions.
Printed copies of the surveys can be found at the council’s libraries.
Following the consultation, feedback will be reviewed and changes made, where necessary, before the final policy is agreed. An implementation plan will then be developed alongside the council’s Durham Key Options partners, with the aim of applying the policy by early 2027.
