Council to change housing priority rules

A council has agreed to change its public housing rules to "prioritise" those with the greatest need.

Cornwall Council said its new Homechoice policy, which sets out how homes are prioritised and let, would launch on 1 April alongside a new website.

As part of the changes, the council said it would prioritise housing need rather than connection to an area as part of its criteria for deciding who qualifies for an offer of accommodation.

Olly Monk, the council's cabinet portfolio holder for housing, said demand for affordable housing in Cornwall "far outstrips the number of homes which are available".

Monk said there were 25,000 homes on Homechoice but only 4% became available to bid on each year.

"Post-Covid, our housing crisis has become even more severe, with a doubling of the number of applicants for social housing and increasing numbers of families and people in temporary and emergency accommodation," he said.

The council said the policy aimed to reinforce "local connection criteria" to support residents to live in the place where they grew up or currently live or work.

It said its previous allocations policy prioritised "primary connection households" – which sometimes meant greater priority was given to people with a connection to a location, rather than their need.

It added the policy "aims to balance the duties we have to prioritise those in most housing need alongside the importance for many parishes about local connection".

The new policy would be reviewed annually to ensure it was "operating as expected" and could be adjusted if required, it added.

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