Archived press release

Date Published: 06/09/06

District councils in Buckinghamshire are aiming to secure government funding for a new scheme that will give people seeking housing association homes more choice and better services. At a meeting of AVDC’s cabinet last night (5 September), ...

District councils in Buckinghamshire are aiming to secure government funding for a new scheme that will give people seeking housing association homes more choice and better services.

At a meeting of AVDC’s cabinet last night (5 September), members gave the green light for the council to submit a joint bid to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for funding to introduce a county-wide choice based lettings scheme.

The scheme will see all the district councils in Buckinghamshire working together to provide new and existing social housing tenants with more choice over where they live and when they move.

Choice based lettings would mean that almost all available properties owned by the district councils and housing associations would be advertised on the internet, in a free newsletter and in local housing offices. This would ensure that those prospective tenants on the waiting list could access details about the size, location and features of vacant properties.

Applicants registered with the council or partner housing associations would be able to express their interest in the available properties, which would be offered to whoever had the highest priority according to the allocations policy.

This is new way of selecting tenants and moves the emphasis from the allocation officers deciding who should be nominated for which property, to customers being able to choose where they would prefer to live.

The district councils are seeking a contribution of £100,000 from the Department for Communities and Local Government to help 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 AVDC, Chiltern District Council, South Bucks District Council and Wycombe District Council.

If the funding bid is successful, the councils will be undertaking extensive consultation next year to seek the views of residents and partner agencies across the county regarding a new system. It is hoped that the scheme will be up and running from April 2008.

Councillor Michael Edmonds, Cabinet Member for Housing, Environment and Health, said: “In Aylesbury Vale we are committed to improving housing choice and this exciting new partnership can help us deliver this. District councils and housing associations in Buckinghamshire will be working together to offer tenants the best possible choice and services, allowing them greater mobility across the county.”