North Northamptonshire Council Draft Housing Allocation Scheme consultation (November 2020)

Closed 15 Dec 2020

Opened 4 Nov 2020

Contact

futurenorthants@northamptonshire.gov.uk

Feedback updated 14 May 2021

We asked

Update on 14 May 2021: The links below have been updated following the transfer of committee meetings to the North Northamptonshire Council Moderngov website.

In October, the Shadow Executive Committee supported the aim to launch , subject to consultation, a new North Northamptonshire housing allocation scheme on vesting day, 1 April 2021, to supersede the existing schemes covering Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough Councils. 

The consultation ran for six week consultation which ran from 4 November to 15 December 2020. 

We asked for views on the proposed draft housing allocation scheme and asked respondents “To what extent do you agree or disagree with this proposal” against ten key proposals:

  1. The proposed inclusion of certain non-qualifying categories (restricting access to the housing register)
  2. The proposed local connection criteria
  3. The proposed ‘free movement’ across North Northamptonshire (some exceptions apply)
  4. The proposed priority banding criteria
  5. The proposal to disallow access to those applicants with no housing need (limited exceptions apply)
  6. The proposed approach to allocating village properties
  7. The proposed property eligibility rules – who can be considered for what property type
  8. The proposed approach to allocating disabled adapted properties
  9. The proposal to remove choice for homeless and emergency need cases to ensure timely housing solutions
  10. The proposed sanctions for property refusals 

You said

The North Northamptonshire Council Draft Housing Allocation Scheme Consultation received 238 responses.

Overall, across the ten proposals, the consultation returned a rate of 63% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with the proposals, 15% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing, and the remaining 22% of responses neither agreeing nor disagreeing or not knowing.

The consultation feedback highlighted the following areas of concern which were considered in detail by the Shadow Executive Committee on Wednesday 3 February 2021:

  • Non-qualifying applicants with ‘no housing need’ especially private renters
  • Restricting choice for Band A applicants whilst ensuring suitable property offers having regard to the proposed ‘free movement’ rules
  • The allocation of village properties and village local connection

For more information on the North Northamptonshire Council Draft Housing Allocation Scheme Consultation, please see:

We did

The North Northamptonshire Shadow Executive Committee on Wednesday 3 February 2021 resolved that:

  1. The final draft housing allocation scheme for North Northamptonshire contained in Appendix A to the report be approved.
  2. The aim to launch the new scheme on vesting day, 1 April 2021 be supported.

Reasons for Decision: The alignment of existing housing allocation schemes into one North Northamptonshire scheme will create equality of opportunity to access social housing across North Northamptonshire and bring cost savings and wider benefits to North Northamptonshire Council and its customers.

Please see the North Northamptonshire Housing Allocation Scheme report for the Shadow Executive Committee to see the impact of the consultation responses and how the consultation feedback has been used to shape the final draft scheme.

The feedback from the consultation will also inform future monitoring and reviews of the scheme and be fed into the workstreams that are considering the future Housing Strategy for North Northamptonshire and the housing allocations processes underpinning the new allocation scheme. 

Overview

The North Northamptonshire Council Draft Housing Allocation Scheme Consultation (November 2020) ran from 4 November to midnight on 15 December 2020 on the Future Northants Consultation Hub as part of preparations for the formation of North Northamptonshire Council.

The consultation has been added to the North Northamptonshire Consultation Hub as a matter of record and to provide feedback on how consultation responses assisted decision making.

All local housing authorities are required by law to have a scheme for determining priorities and procedures when allocating social housing. 

The current two-tier system of local government in Northamptonshire is changing from 1 April 2021.

On 1 April 2021 there will be a new council for North Northamptonshire, replacing Northamptonshire County Council, Corby Borough Council, East Northamptonshire Council, Kettering Borough Council and the Borough Council of Wellingborough.

Currently in North Northamptonshire, each of the borough and district Councils have a different allocation scheme.

A new housing allocation scheme is being developed for North Northamptonshire which we aim to implement sometime during the financial year, starting 1 April 2021, and your views are needed to help shape the final scheme.

This document is important as it contains the rules that the new unitary Council will follow when allocating council and housing association properties in North Northamptonshire.

The proposed draft housing allocation scheme will:

  • supersede the existing schemes covering Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough.
  • apply to existing applicants, new applicants and existing social housing tenants who wish to transfer.
  • maintain a Choice Based Lettings approach to allocations with which current service users and key stakeholders will be familiar.
  • aim to provide good quality, affordable housing to those in the most need whilst promoting sustainable tenancies and communities.

The proposed draft scheme sets out the rules regarding:

  • Who would be eligible and who would qualify for social housing in North Northamptonshire (section 4)
  • Who can apply and how the new unitary Council will process applications (section 5)
  • How the new unitary Council assesses housing need and determines who should have priority for social housing (section 6)
  • How the new unitary Council allocates social housing and who can be considered for what type of property (section 7)
  • How applications from those in the greatest housing need (including those that are homeless) will be managed (section 8)

For further information, please see the North Northamptonshire Draft Housing Allocation Scheme document.

Why your views matter

We would really like your views on our proposed draft housing allocation scheme. In particular, we are asking for your feedback and opinions on specific sections of the draft housing allocation scheme.

The consultation is open to all residents, stakeholders and people representing organisations.

The consultation will run for 6 weeks from 4 November to 15 December 2020.

Please tell us your views by completing this questionnaire. Alternatively, you can email or send your comments in by post using the contact details below.

The information provided by you in this consultation will be used only for research purposes and it will not be used in a manner that would allow identification of individual responses. We will not be asking for your name or contact details. Any personal information supplied within your comments that could identify you will not be published.

Please contact us if you have any queries about this consultation. Our contact details are as follows:

Email Address: futurenorthants@northamptonshire.gov.uk

Postal Address:

  • Allocations Consultation 
  • Future Northants
  • C / O Kettering Borough Council
  • Bowling Green Road
  • Kettering
  • NN15 7QX

Telephone: 01536 410333

What will happen next?

Once the consultation closes, we will collate all the feedback received and present this information for the North Northamptonshire Shadow Executive to consider when making their decision on the housing allocation scheme for North Northamptonshire. This will happen early in 2021.

We will then publish the scheme, with the aim to implement this sometime during financial year starting 1 April 2020. Existing housing applicants impacted by these changes will be contacted before the changes come into effect.

Interests

  • Consultations
  • Housing