Housing Allocations Policy

Have your say on how social housing is allocated to residents in St Helens Borough. We are asking for people to comment on the suggested changes for how social housing is allocated to people. You can tell us what you think by completing this survey.

What are the proposed changes?
The suggested changes will affect how social housing is allocated. If agreed, these changes will affect the entire local authority area. For more information on the proposed changes, view the Policy Document.

1. The proposed Allocations Policy sets out the qualification criteria for applicants - setting out who can join UnderOneRoof.

Do you agree/disagree that the following groups of people should qualify to join UnderOneRoof?

	Agree	Disagree
People or members of their household who have been guilty of unacceptable behaviour that makes them unsuitable to be a tenant?	People or members of their household who have been guilty of unacceptable behaviour that makes them unsuitable to be a tenant? Agree	People or members of their household who have been guilty of unacceptable behaviour that makes them unsuitable to be a tenant? Disagree
People who are incapable of holding a non-supported tenancy (e.g. a person under 18 or a person defined as lacking mental capacity)	People who are incapable of holding a non-supported tenancy (e.g. a person under 18 or a person defined as lacking mental capacity) Agree	People who are incapable of holding a non-supported tenancy (e.g. a person under 18 or a person defined as lacking mental capacity) Disagree
People who have housing related debts (e.g. rent arrears, service charges) that are equivalent to more than 1 month outstanding?	People who have housing related debts (e.g. rent arrears, service charges) that are equivalent to more than 1 month outstanding? Agree	People who have housing related debts (e.g. rent arrears, service charges) that are equivalent to more than 1 month outstanding? Disagree
People who have breached tenancy conditions previously	People who have breached tenancy conditions previously Agree	People who have breached tenancy conditions previously Disagree
People who have lived in or have a connection to the borough for less than two years	People who have lived in or have a connection to the borough for less than two years Agree	People who have lived in or have a connection to the borough for less than two years Disagree
People who own a property	People who own a property Agree	People who own a property Disagree
People who have savings greater than £16,000	People who have savings greater than £16,000 Agree	People who have savings greater than £16,000 Disagree

2. What factors should the Policy take into account when considering applicants who have existing housing related debts?

When the debt occurred
The value of the debt owed
Willingness to repay the debt
Previous efforts to repay the debt
If the debt was due to damage to a property
The reasons why the debt has arisen

3. One of the key principles of the proposed Policy is to enable applicants to have housing choices. Do you agree that the council should maintain a 'choice based' allocations system?

Yes
No
Don't Know

4. Do you think that the council should...

Make a copy of the Policy available on the website
Make a copy of the Policy available on the UOR website
Support applicants who require assistance in placing a bid for a property
Allow 3 bids for each cycle of bidding
Allow for applicants to bid for an unlimited number of properties in each cycle
Publish feedback on properties allocated
Publish information on the number of members of UnderOneRoof and the number of people in each band

5. There are groups of applicants that the council has to award a priority to ('reasonable preference') however, the council has the opportunity to award additional priorities within the allocations scheme. The list below are the groups that would be in Band A and receive the highest priority for re-housing.

Do you agree that the following groups should be awarded priority?

	Yes	No	Don't Know
Applicants who are homeless	Applicants who are homeless Yes	Applicants who are homeless No	Applicants who are homeless Don't Know
Victim/Survivors of Domestic Abuse	Victim/Survivors of Domestic Abuse Yes	Victim/Survivors of Domestic Abuse No	Victim/Survivors of Domestic Abuse Don't Know
People who lose their home due to a disaster	People who lose their home due to a disaster Yes	People who lose their home due to a disaster No	People who lose their home due to a disaster Don't Know
People who are living in overcrowded properties in which they need an additional 3 bedrooms	People who are living in overcrowded properties in which they need an additional 3 bedrooms Yes	People who are living in overcrowded properties in which they need an additional 3 bedrooms No	People who are living in overcrowded properties in which they need an additional 3 bedrooms Don't Know
People who require alternative accommodation due to life threatening medical conditions	People who require alternative accommodation due to life threatening medical conditions Yes	People who require alternative accommodation due to life threatening medical conditions No	People who require alternative accommodation due to life threatening medical conditions Don't Know
People who are due to be discharged from hospital and their current home is unsuitable or unavailable	People who are due to be discharged from hospital and their current home is unsuitable or unavailable Yes	People who are due to be discharged from hospital and their current home is unsuitable or unavailable No	People who are due to be discharged from hospital and their current home is unsuitable or unavailable Don't Know
People who are leaving the care of the local authority	People who are leaving the care of the local authority Yes	People who are leaving the care of the local authority No	People who are leaving the care of the local authority Don't Know
People who need accommodation in order to foster or adopt children in the care of the local authority	People who need accommodation in order to foster or adopt children in the care of the local authority Yes	People who need accommodation in order to foster or adopt children in the care of the local authority No	People who need accommodation in order to foster or adopt children in the care of the local authority Don't Know
Members of the Armed/Reserve Forces	Members of the Armed/Reserve Forces Yes	Members of the Armed/Reserve Forces No	Members of the Armed/Reserve Forces Don't Know
Victims of hate crime who need accommodation	Victims of hate crime who need accommodation Yes	Victims of hate crime who need accommodation No	Victims of hate crime who need accommodation Don't Know
Victims of racial harassment who need accommodation	Victims of racial harassment who need accommodation Yes	Victims of racial harassment who need accommodation No	Victims of racial harassment who need accommodation Don't Know
People who have witnessed a crime and would be at risk of violence/threats of violence	People who have witnessed a crime and would be at risk of violence/threats of violence Yes	People who have witnessed a crime and would be at risk of violence/threats of violence No	People who have witnessed a crime and would be at risk of violence/threats of violence Don't Know
People who have a property that is subject to a Compulsory Purchase Order	People who have a property that is subject to a Compulsory Purchase Order Yes	People who have a property that is subject to a Compulsory Purchase Order No	People who have a property that is subject to a Compulsory Purchase Order Don't Know

6. As there are more members of UnderOneRoof than properties available, the Policy suggests a process for managing refusals of offers of accommodation. Do you agree with the following?

	Yes	No	Don't Know
Applicants making unreasonable refusals of offers should be demoted	Applicants making unreasonable refusals of offers should be demoted Yes	Applicants making unreasonable refusals of offers should be demoted No	Applicants making unreasonable refusals of offers should be demoted Don't Know
Before demoting an applicant, UnderOneRoof should consider if the offer is reasonable	Before demoting an applicant, UnderOneRoof should consider if the offer is reasonable Yes	Before demoting an applicant, UnderOneRoof should consider if the offer is reasonable No	Before demoting an applicant, UnderOneRoof should consider if the offer is reasonable Don't Know
Applicants in the highest bands should bid and accept a property in the shortest possible timeframe	Applicants in the highest bands should bid and accept a property in the shortest possible timeframe Yes	Applicants in the highest bands should bid and accept a property in the shortest possible timeframe No	Applicants in the highest bands should bid and accept a property in the shortest possible timeframe Don't Know

7. If two applicants bid for the same property and they are both in the same Band (e.g. Band B) and they have the same membership date, should we use their local connection to decide who receives the property?

Yes
No
Are there any other factors that we should consider in such circumstances?

8. The Policy suggests that applicants who are in Band A and Band B are not regularly bidding for properties or repeatedly refusing offers of accommodation will be demoted to Band D - do you agree with this?

Yes
No
Don't Know