Other changes excluded households who were able to live with their family.Īt the end of 2013, the government gave councils statutory guidance on waiting lists, making it clear that it believed they should be looking at applicants' links with an area. The guidance said: "The Secretary of State believes that including a residency requirement is appropriate and strongly encourages all housing authorities to adopt such an approach. The Secretary of State believes that a reasonable period of residency would be at least two years." The housing minister, Kris Hopkins, told the Guardian that the new guidance was "to ensure that people in need of social housing with a long-standing connection to the area, or who have served in the armed forces, are prioritised". The move has been contested by the Local Government Association, while housing charity Shelter says that decisions to restrict lists underline the need for more homes. "There are any number of reasons why you might need a council home," says Roger Harding, Shelter's director of communications. "It could be a disability leaving you unable to work, or high private rents outstripping your wages. The fact that councils need to choose between people who typically all have fair reasons for being on the waiting list, highlights the urgent need to build more affordable homes."īut in Havering, councillor Kelly rejects the idea that there is a problem with the supply of homes. "My theory is we have got enough housing in Havering, we've just got the wrong people living in the wrong homes," she says. Under-occupation of large homes by older residents is one of the main problems the council has identified. The area has an older population than the rest of London, and the council believes some are in homes better suited to families, and is trying to entice them to move. Downsizing would be a win-win says Kelly.
"They can't heat it, they can't maintain it, the neighbour complains that the garden is not being looked after," she says. Rather than begin a major new home-building programme, Havering prefers infilling existing plots and ensuring the mix of homes is right. It is spending £5.5m on new homes, topped up with £2m from the Greater London Authority. The car park and a patch of grass next to an existing sheltered housing development has been identified as a location for three two-bedroom bungalows.
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