Emergency Social Housing Allocations Policy

Appendix Three – Local Connection and Community Connection definition and areas

We have two connection factors used when prioritising an allocation, which relate to a person’s requirement for that specific vacant property.

Local connection – the applicant has a connection to the County of Carmarthenshire

Community connection – the applicant has a connection to the community area where the property is situated

Local Connection to Carmarthenshire
Local Connection is defined in Section 81 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. A person has a local connection with the area because:

• the person is, or in the past was, normally resident there, and the residence is or was of the person’s own choice
• the person is employed there
• of family associations
• because of special circumstances

Applicants who do not have a local connection with Carmarthenshire or who do not fall under ‘special circumstances’ or meet one of the requirements for having an exception to local connection requirements will not be considered under this Emergency Allocations Policy.

Community Connection to an Area

Community Connection to an area within the county will usually be the area where an applicant currently lives. However, it can also apply to an area where they lived previously, have family living, work closely to, or have children in school close by. Applicants can select one area where they wish Community Connection to apply considering the following criteria

• Applicants who have lived in the community area for a continuous period
• Applicants who are working in the community area
• Applicants who have previously lived in the community area for a continuous period but have had to move out of the area to access accommodation; and/ or have a close relative who has resided in the area, and it has been assessed they need to continue to live in the area to provide essential support
• Serving members of the Regular Forces who have a community connection to the area (e.g., previously lived here/ close relatives currently living here)

Community Connection Areas

Applicants will be classified as having a community connection to the following area groupings:

If an applicant can demonstrate any other reason that they have a connection with a different community area, then we will offer flexibility to register them for that area. An example of flexibility is where the applicant is living near the boundary of a community area.

These ‘community connection area’ groups are designed to give applicants choice over a wider area than just a single village or town. This helps balance need against areas with little or no social housing.