Leeds council considers removing 18,000 applicants from housing register

Leeds City Council is considering a proposal to exclude approximately 18,000 applicants from its social housing waiting list.

The plan would involve removing individuals categorised in bands C and D, as well as those who are assessed as being “adequately housed”.

Band C is for applicants with low or no housing need, while band D is for all other households including homeowners, and households who have no connection to Leeds or are ineligible to be rehoused by the council.

The local authority is considering changing its housing allocation process to prioritise those with the highest needs and make the best use of available homes, particularly larger properties.

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The council has also said it will help it to “give realistic advice and information about who is likely to be offered a home and rehoused”.

The current proposals would primarily impact individuals seeking council housing, but will also have implications for lettings made by housing associations.

During 2022-23, the council rehoused 2,770 customers, while 900 others were rehoused through housing associations under the nominations agreements.

There are currently over 27,000 households on the Leeds homes register. Among these, over 5,000 fall into band A, the highest priority band.

The council said that most band A applicants were waiting for over two years to be offered a home.

A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: “In the last decade, as has been seen across the country, the demand for council housing in Leeds has increased.

“The more recent national cost-of-living crisis also means we are seeing more people who need our support to secure appropriate accommodation.

“As such, we are considering making changes to our lettings policy so that we are able to manage expectations and focus our resources most effectively on helping those in the greatest need.

“One of several options under consideration is the removal of applicants from our lower priority bands, bands C and D, as well as those who are assessed as being adequately housed. These applicants have little or no realistic prospect of being offered a home due to the pressures on our housing stock.

“This step would free up resources and help our teams focus on rehousing people in higher need, including those living in overcrowded conditions or who are homeless.

“It should be stressed that, with the consultation still ongoing, no decision has been taken on what changes will be made to the lettings policy . All views gathered during the current process will be used to draw up a firm set of proposals later this year.”

The findings of the survey will be used to finalise the proposed changes by summer 2024.

This month, Birmingham City Council revealed that it was considering closing its social housing waiting list due to a build up of 11,000 unassessed applications.