Archived press release

Date Published: 20/12/06

District councils in Buckinghamshire have been given £100,000 in government funding to create a new choice based lettings scheme for people seeking social rented housing. Choice based lettings is a new way of allocating council and housing ...

District councils in Buckinghamshire have been given £100,000 in government funding to create a new choice based lettings scheme for people seeking social rented housing.

Choice based lettings is a new way of allocating council and housing association properties. It enables applicants to take an active role in their re-housing, rather than registering, and then waiting for the council or housing association to allocate a property that it considers to be suitable at some time in the future.

The scheme will ensure new and existing social housing tenants have greater mobility, choice and flexibility over their housing.

AVDC is working in partnership with the other district councils in the county and housing associations with properties in the area to develop the new scheme. It will involve almost all available properties owned by the housing associations and Wycombe District Council (who have not transferred their housing stock) being openly advertised in a variety of ways such as online, at council offices and in a free newsletter. 

People looking for a home will be able to register an interest in a particular property that they wish to be considered for. The property will then be offered to the household that expressed an interest and has the greatest level of housing need, whilst satisfying some local connection rules.

The scheme will be widely consulted on in the first part of 2007 and it is likely that the new system will go live in early 2008.

The £100,000 grant from the Department for Communities and Local Government will help to meet 60 per cent of the costs of setting up the scheme. The funding for the remaining 40 per cent of the costs will come via the district councils.

Councillor Michael Edmonds, AVDC Cabinet Member for Housing, Environment and Health, said: “This is the best way to meet the long term housing requirements of those who need social housing. Research across the country has shown that tenants are greatly in favour of the new ‘choice based’ systems and understand more clearly the basis on which properties are let, and how long they will have to wait for a property of their choice. The aim is to give people more choice, but still recognising that those in the greatest housing need should be given the highest priority for the limited number of properties that become available each year.”