Housing allocations policy

This section lays out the criteria that an applicant needs to meet to be able to register for Bucks Home Choice and be assessed to join the housing register. It also lays out circumstances when an applicant will not be eligible to join the register. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Council reserves the right in exceptional circumstances to register a household with the scheme even if the household falls into one of the non- qualifying classes set out in this Policy. Any decision to register a non- qualifying household will be subject to authorisation by a Senior Housing Officer and will be based on the individual circumstances of the household concerned. In event of a decision being made to register a non-qualifying household, the Council will record full details of the reason for the decision.

Under Section 160ZA of the Housing Act 1996, an applicant will not be eligible for an allocation of housing if they are:

• A person subject to immigration control within the meaning of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 (unless they are of a class prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State).
• A person who falls within a class of persons from abroad who have been prescribed by the Secretary of State as being ineligible to be allocated housing accommodation by a local housing authority.
• A person who falls into any other class of person prescribed by the Secretary of State as not qualifying to be allocated housing accommodation by a local housing authority.

An applicant who is not eligible for an allocation of housing under Section 160ZA of the Housing Act 1996 cannot register with Bucks Home Choice regardless of the applicant’s personal circumstances.

Under Section 160ZA(7) of the Housing Act 1996 a local housing authority may decide what classes of persons are, or are not, qualifying persons for an allocation of housing accommodation. Blanket exclusions of particular groups cannot be applied, and these exclusions may not apply to homeless applicants as they do not over-ride the Council’s duties under Part 7 (Homelessness) of the Housing Act 1996.

Applicants should note that their eligibility could change over time, and we reserve the right to verify your immigration status at any point whilst you are on the housing register.

To register for Bucks Home Choice, an applicant must: -

• Not meet any of the non-qualification criteria as set out in section 2.1
• Be aged 16 years or over (upon allocation of a property an applicant aged 16 or 17 years of age will be required to have an adult who can hold a tenancy as a trustee until they are 18.)
• Be eligible for an allocation of housing under Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996
• Must be residing in the United Kingdom
• Meet the local connection requirements detailed in 2.3 or one of the exception categories set out in section 2.4

Where two persons apply jointly for housing, at least one of the applicants must be eligible. A joint tenancy cannot be granted when one of the applicants is not eligible. The application will be made in the name of the applicant who is eligible, and a sole tenancy will be granted.

An applicant must have a local connection to the Buckinghamshire Council local housing authority area in order to qualify for Bucks Home Choice.

An applicant is deemed to have a local connection to the Buckinghamshire Council local housing authority area if the applicant:

• Is living and has lived in the Buckinghamshire Council local housing authority area continuously for at least 5 years immediately preceding the date of the application. If an applicant has lived out of the area for a single period of up to 4 calendar months whilst registered, they will retain a local connection. If an applicant has lived outside of the area for a single period exceeding 4 calendar months (or for multiple periods) and the applicant does not meet the Reasonable Preference categories set down in Appendix 3, their housing register application will be cancelled.
• If an applicant is working and has been in continuous employment in the Buckinghamshire Council local housing authority area for at least 5 years immediately preceding the date of the application and has worked for a minimum of 24 hours per week throughout that period. Employment is described as having a permanent contract or working under contract as temporary member of staff. Location of work is determined by an applicant’s main place of work. If an employee’s head office is in the area but the location of work is outside the actual area when it is carried out, this cannot be considered as being the main place of work.
• If an applicant has changed employer within the Buckinghamshire Council local housing authority area, or their hours have reduced, to below 24 hours per week, for no more than 4 calendar months, they will retain a local connection. Any applicant who no longer retains a local connection and does not meet the reasonable preference categories set down in Appendix 3 will have their housing register application cancelled.

A person who has been placed in a supported housing unit outside of Buckinghamshire, by Buckinghamshire Council will retain a local connection to the Buckinghamshire Council local housing authority area.

A person will not be deemed to have a local connection to the Buckinghamshire Council local housing authority area if the following applies:

• A person placed in a supported housing unit within Buckinghamshire by another local authority
• A person placed in temporary accommodation within Buckinghamshire by another local authority
• Any accommodation occupied or secured by another local authority in Buckinghamshire in the discharge of their duty

If an applicant does not meet the local connection criteria above within the Buckinghamshire Council local housing authority area, then the applicant will not be a qualifying person for Bucks Home Choice. The only exceptions to this are applicants who:

a) Are subject to the relief and main housing duty under Section 193 of Part 7

(Homelessness) of the Housing Act 1996 by Buckinghamshire Council

b) Are serving in the armed forces or who have served in the armed forces at any time preceding the application

c) Have recently left Ministry of Defence accommodation because of divorce, separation or the death of a spouse, who served in the regular forces

d) Are serving or have previously served in the reserve forces and are suffering from a serious injury as a result of this service

e) Persons who have been placed into supported accommodation by Buckinghamshire Council

f) Persons who were required to live outside of the Buckinghamshire

Council local housing authority area for reasons out of their control (i.e. placed in care,) and who had a local connection to the Buckinghamshire Council local housing authority area immediately prior to moving away.

g) Prisoners who have been released from prison and had a local connection to the Buckinghamshire Council local housing authority area immediately prior to going to prison.

h) Persons who meet the criteria as set out in the Allocation of Housing

(Qualification Criteria for Right to Move) (England) Regulations 2015/.

i) Is a current or former “looked after” child currently being supported by Buckinghamshire Council’s Children’s Services and is registering on the Bucks Home Choice scheme in accordance with the terms of the Buckinghamshire Leaving Care Protocol.

j) Persons who are unable to live in an area where they do have a connection due to the level of risk to their safety or a member of the applicant’s household. This would include households who are subject to domestic abuse, witness protection arrangements, multiagency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) or multi-agency risk assessment conference (MARAC). Supporting risk assessment evidence will be sought from the Police or any other statutory body, supporting the applicant.

k) Persons who have sought protection and permanent residency in England through a Government resettlement scheme

If an applicant meets any of the criteria listed in (a) to (k) above they will be deemed to qualify for Bucks Home Choice regardless of whether or not the applicant has a local connection to the Buckinghamshire Council local housing authority area provided they are not deemed to be a non-qualifying person under clause 2.5.

Persons who do not meet the local connection criteria but meet the criteria for one or more of the Reasonable Preference categories set out in Appendix 3 will qualify for the housing register and will be placed in a band E until the applicant meets the residency requirements of this policy.

For the purposes of determining a local connection the following living arrangements will not be taken into account:

• Occupation of a mobile home, caravan, motor caravan, or houseboat which is not placed on a residential site; or
• Occupation of a holiday letting which includes a permanent building, hotel or bed and breakfast accommodation for the purposes of a holiday letting.
• Applicants placed in an institution, prison, hospital in Buckinghamshire who otherwise have no local connection.

The Council reserves the right to make further exceptions to the list of persons able to qualify for the Housing Register, who do not have a local connection to the Buckinghamshire Council local authority area, on a case-by-case basis.

• A person whose circumstances do not meet the criteria of any of the Priority Bands set down in Appendix 1
• An applicant who is deemed to be reasonable preference but they or a member of their household is considered guilty of unacceptable behaviour serious enough to make them unsuitable to be a tenant and at the time of the application for housing they are still considered unsuitable to be a tenant when considering all the relevant circumstances as appropriate (see 2.3.2).
• A person who is an owner occupier of a property (See 2.9) including properties owned overseas, unless that property is not reasonably accessible.

The following classes of person are deemed not to qualify for the Bucks Home Choice scheme under this clause 2.6 unless they are deemed to have a Reasonable Preference in accordance with Section 166A of the Housing Act 1996

• A person who does not meet the local connection criteria (see 2.3)
• A person with current or former tenancy rent arrears owed to a Registered Provider or private landlord unless the person can provide evidence that action is being taken to resolve the arrears (See 2.10)
• A person whose income, assets or savings are sufficient to enable the person to source accommodation in the private sector.
• A person who formerly owned a property within the last five years and who failed to use the capital receipt from the property disposal to secure adequate alternative housing arrangements (see 2.9).
• A person who has previously purchased a property under the statutory Right to Buy or Right to Acquire schemes (see 2.9)
• A person who has been re-housed in a social housing tenancy and who wishes to apply to be re-housed again (unless there has been a change of circumstances since the person was re-housed in which event the application will be assessed as a new application under the Bucks Home Choice policy)
• A person who has any outstanding related housing debt with a mortgage company, Registered Provider, Private Landlord or a Council. A housing related debt could be former tenant arrears whilst in temporary accommodation, former tenant arrears whilst holding a previous tenancy, mortgage arrears, housing related court costs, recharges for damages to rented properties, or outstanding repayments on loans provided by the local authority to help the applicant to secure accommodation.
• A person whose household is considered to be adequately housed as detailed in ‘size and type of property for which applicants are eligible’ but who is not using the bed spaces within their property to its optimum capacity. This includes taking account of an additional reception room or dining room that could be reasonably used as a bedroom.

Those persons who do not fall into any of the priority bandings set out in Appendix 1 are considered to be adequately housed and therefore not qualifying persons.

Unacceptable behaviour is behaviour that renders the applicant unsuitable to be offered a tenancy.

If an applicant or any member of the applicant’s household is considered to be guilty of unacceptable behaviour or considered to be causing or involved in activities that may be considered unacceptable behaviour, that is serious enough to make them unsuitable to be a tenant at the time of the application for housing, then they will be considered unsuitable to be a tenant by reason of that behaviour.

Any decision made in respect of the applicant’s behaviour making an applicant unsuitable to be considered a tenant, will include consideration of all the household's circumstances including the timing, pattern and seriousness of the behaviour and an applicant’s engagement with appropriate services.

Examples of Unacceptable Behaviour could include but are not limited to:

a) Having been evicted for anti-social behaviour or rent arrears on a previous tenancy, either with a Registered Provider or Private Landlord in the last 5 years.

b) Causing nuisance and annoyance to neighbours or visitors.

c) Committing criminal offences in or near the home and still posing a threat to neighbours or the community

d) Relevant conviction for criminal offence

e) Being violent towards a partner or members of the family.

f) Being verbally or physically abusive towards a member of the Council’s staff

g) Allowing the condition of the property to deteriorate, including temporary accommodation provided by Buckinghamshire Council or another Local Authority.

h) Allowing any furniture provided by the landlord to deteriorate due to ill treatment.

i) Obtaining a tenancy by deception, for example, by giving false or misleading information.

j) Paying money to illegally obtain a tenancy.

k) Having lost accommodation provided in connection with employment due to conduct making it inappropriate for the person to reside there.

l) Subject to an Anti-Social Behaviour Order

m) Breaking the terms of a tenancy agreement and a notice to quit has been issued.

If an applicant is accepted onto the Housing Register and is subsequently found to be guilty of unacceptable behaviour (including one or more of (a) to (m) above) then the Council will review the application and may remove the applicant from the Housing Register.

A person is considered to be a current owner for the purpose of this policy if they are the owner or joint owner of any residential property regardless of location. They will not be a qualifying person unless;

• The person falls into one of the statutory Reasonable Preference categories (see Appendix 3) and are not deemed to be a non-qualifying person under clause 2.5

or

• It is not possible for the person to remain in their current address (e.g. because adaptations are required and cannot be undertaken) and the person does not have sufficient financial resources available to secure other accommodation without the Council’s assistance.

In considering the issues raised in this section, the Council will take specialist advice as required (e.g. from an Occupational Therapist).

If an applicant has a legal, financial or beneficial interest in a property, the full circumstances will be investigated. If the applicant can realise their interest in the property and it would be sufficient to secure suitable alternative accommodation without the Council’s assistance, the applicant will be considered to be an owner occupier.

If the applicant is not a current owner occupier and has formerly owned a property within the last five years, the applicant will be asked to provide evidence of the sale and details of any capital receipt arising from the sale. If the applicant subsequently disposed of any capital receipt without making adequate housing arrangements, then the applicant will be deemed not the qualify for Bucks Home Choice (unless the applicant falls into one of the statutory Reasonable Preference categories (see Appendix 3) and is not deemed to be a non-qualifying person under clause 2.5).

An applicant has previously purchased a property under the statutory Right to Buy or Right to Acquire schemes will be deemed not to qualify for Bucks Home Choice (unless the applicant falls into one of the statutory Reasonable Preference categories (see Appendix 3) and is not deemed to be a non- qualifying person under clause 2.5).

a) An applicant who has been evicted from a previous tenancy on the grounds of rent arrears within the five year period preceding the date of application (or who voluntarily surrendered a tenancy in advance of a warrant for possession being executed on rent arrears grounds) will not be a qualifying person for Bucks Home Choice unless the arrears have been cleared in full or the applicant falls into one of the statutory Reasonable Preference categories (see Appendix 3) and is not deemed to be a non-qualifying person under clause 2.5.

b) Where an applicant or a member of their household owes rent arrears to a current or former landlord, at the time of the application or at any period during the application they will be placed in a Band E until such times as they provided evidence that the arrears have been cleared. Once the arrears are cleared the application will be re-assessed and a banding awarded. The banding date will take affect from the date of the re-banding.

There may be exceptional circumstances where the Council may depart from this Policy including for example –

• Where the rent arrears have arisen due to exceptional circumstances beyond the applicant’s control the Council may depart from this policy and the decision will be referred to a Senior Officer.
• Registered Provider tenants transferring who have accrued rent arrears solely through a shortfall in housing benefit/ universal credit housing cost payments due to under-occupying their property may apply to the housing register. Each case will be looked at on an individual basis by a Senior Officer; the tenant must be able to demonstrate that they are trying to resolve the situation at an early stage by seeking a smaller property and making an attempt to cover any shortfall.

The provisions in 2.10(a) may not apply if the Council has accepted a main housing duty under Section 193 of Part 7 (Homelessness) of the Housing Act 1996. The Council will contact the current or former landlord of the applicant or any member of their household to confirm the facts.

If the Council has made a decision that an applicant is not a qualifying person and cannot join Bucks Home Choice, the applicant will have the right to request a review of this decision within 21 days of being notified of the decision. The review will be undertaken by a Senior Housing Officer who was not involved in the original decision. The review decision will be made within a 56-day period.

If we decide that an applicant has become ineligible in law or no longer qualifies to remain on the housing register; we may remove your application. We will confirm our decision in writing, giving clear grounds for taking the action and how to request a review of the decision.