Emergency Social Housing Allocations Policy
In this section
- Appendix Two – Section 55 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016
- Appendix Three – Local Connection and Community Connection definition and areas
- Appendix Four – Location, type, and size of property
- Appendix Five – ‘Criteria for Letting’
- Appendix Six – Identified Support Needs
- Appendix Seven – Reasonable Offer and Suitable Offer Flowchart
Appendix Four – Location, type, and size of property
Properties will be allocated which are appropriate to the size of the household. However, in some areas we may not have the size of home to meet exact needs.
To ensure we can maximise the use of the stock, an offer of a property may be made which is smaller or larger than would normally be made. We will ensure individual assessments are completed for applicants whose household does not fit within the standards in the table before making the offer.
| Household | Size | Property Type |
|---|---|---|
| Single people and/or couples | 1 bed | Bedsit, shared house/flat, 1 bedroom flat |
| Single people or couples 55 and over | 1 bed | Bedsit, 1 bedroom flat 1 or 2 bed bungalows and sheltered housing |
| Household expecting their first baby (and in receipt of the MATB1 certificate) | 2 beds | 2-bedroom flats, maisonettes, and houses |
| Household with one child* | 2 beds | 2-bedroom flats, maisonettes, and houses |
| Household with two children of same sex aged under 16 years | 2 beds | 2-bedroom flats, maisonettes, and houses |
| Household with two children of opposite sex where one is over 10 years | 3 beds | 3-bedroom house |
| Household with three or four children | 3 beds | 3 - or 4-bedroom houses (if available as limited stock of this size, and dependant on age and sex of children) |
| Household with five or more children | 4 beds | 4 - or 5-bedroom houses (if available as limited stock of this size, and dependant on age and sex of children) |
* Households with children – this means a person in receipt of child benefit. We do not consider a requirement to provide a secondary home. The household size requirement for pregnant applicants with children will need to be considered based on the ages of the children and if they would be able to share with the expected child.
There are exceptions to this which are outlined as follows:
Older people’s housing or ‘Sheltered Housing’ is normally reserved for those aged 55 years plus. This may vary in Extra Care Accommodation where the criteria may be based on care and health needs. For Council Schemes, an assessment will be carried out by a Sheltered Scheme Officer. To be considered, people will normally:
- Be over 55, (although some schemes may have a higher minimum age requirement).
- Be able to evacuate the building by themselves in the event of a fire (for Council-owned complexes).
The same priority arrangements are then applied.
Bungalows will normally be allocated to households with a family member over the age of 55. If there are no applicants who meet these criteria, people with disabilities and people with special housing requirements will be considered taking account of their circumstances.
Adapted properties will be allocated where a member of the household has been assessed by an Occupational Therapist and where it has been determined they require adaptations.
Extra Care – These are specialist facilities for applicants who require support and care. The assessment will be made based on the Extra Care Facilities criteria.
