Housing allocations policy

The Council will monitor the outcomes of lettings through Bucks Home

Choice, to assess whether it is meeting the aims and the Equality Statement in Section 1.

The results of monitoring will be used to review this policy. Reviews will be carried out annually, but the Council may carry out an earlier review if monitoring shows that this is necessary.

The Policy may also be subject to minor amendments from time to time, for example, when there are changes to relevant legislation. When this is necessary, changes will be authorised in accordance with the Council’s corporate decision-making protocols.

All information held by the Council is subject to the Data Protection Legislation (including the Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA”) and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 2016 (“GDPR”). Information will be used in accordance with Buckinghamshire Council’s Privacy Notice which can be found on the website.

In order to deal with an application, the Applicants personal data will be used and the Council will contact third parties to obtain and share information in order to comply with the statutory obligation of processing the Applicant’s housing and/or homelessness application. The processing of such personal data is necessary for the Council to comply with their legal obligations under the law on housing and homelessness.

Information about the Applicants relating to their housing options, homelessness and/or threatened homelessness may be shared with third parties including but not limited to private sector landlords, Registered Providers, lettings agents, health services, children, family and adult services, education services, Department of Work and Pensions, Housing Benefit and Council Tax services, the Police, prisons, probation and youth offending services, Citizens Advice and voluntary sector organisations.

The Council will on an annual basis publish lettings information including the age, sex, ethnicity and nationality of applicants and new tenants. This information will be statistical only and will not identify individual applications or tenants.

The Council will provide to its Councillors and MPs personal data about the Applicant if the Applicant asks it to or if the Councillor or MP reasonably needs it to carry out their duties, but the Councillor and/or MP must not use it for other purposes.

Where an enquiry is received by an advocate/ organisation on your behalf, the Council may release your “personal data” in response to their queries; this may include information on your age, marital status, housing history, household type, economic status, benefits, income, support services received and medical history.

The Council will only release information and discuss an applicant’s case with an advocate agency if the applicant has given written consent to do so. The applicant will be asked to sign a data release consent form.

In framing the Bucks Home Choice Allocations Policy, we have had regard to all relevant legislation and statutory guidance including (but not limited to):

• The Allocation of Accommodation: Guidance for Local Housing Authorities in England (MHCLG – First published June 2012 and subsequently updated)
• Providing Social Housing for Local People: Statutory Guidance on Social Housing Allocations for Local Authorities in England” (DCLG – December 2013)
• Right to Move and social housing allocations (MHCLG – First published March 2015)
• Improving access to social housing for victims of domestic abuse (MHCLG Nov 2018)
• Improving access to social housing for members of the Armed Forces (MHCLG June 2020)
• The Housing Act 1996 Part 6 (Allocation of Housing Accommodation) and Part 7 (Homelessness)The Localism Act 2011
• The Housing Act 1996 (Additional Preference for Armed Forces) (England) Regulations 2012/2989 and the Allocation of Housing (Qualification Criteria for Armed Forces) (England) Regulations 2012/1869
• The Allocation of Housing (Qualification Criteria for Right to Move) (England) Regulations 2015/967)
• The Bucks Tenancy Strategy
• The Homeless Reduction Act 2017
• The Domestic Abuse Act 2021

The Policy may be subject to minor amendments from time to time (e.g. when there are changes to relevant legislation). These will be agreed and authorised by the Council using the appropriate governance procedure.