Housing Allocations Scheme

Overview

Why do we need an allocations scheme?

There is a massive shortage of council housing in the UK; the problem is bigger in London than anywhere else. In Southwark, we have just over 14,000 households on our housing register but we can only house approximately 1,000 households every year.

Therefore we have to decide who gets priority and the allocations scheme is how we do this. Longer term, we are using every tool at our disposal to increase the supply of all kinds of homes across the borough, including building 11,000 new council homes for social rent.

How does the Allocations Scheme work?

We think our housing should go to those who need it the most and this is reflected in the allocations scheme.

When someone applies to join the housing register, we assess their application and place it into one of 4 bands. Band 1 is the highest priority and band 4 is the lowest. Here is a summary of the four bands in the current format and the proposed revised listings:

Allocations table and proposed changes

The above is only a brief summary- here is the existing full allocations scheme 

The full revised policy proposals can be found here.

Update 12th April

Please Note: the end date of this consultation has been extended to 1st June. A new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document was also attached below on 12th April.

There is also a printable version of the form attached below, which you can return to Housing Choice and Supply Team, Southwark Council, 160 Tooley Street, London SE1P 5LX by the closing date 1st June 2021.

If you responded to this consultation on or before 12th April, and would like to make additional comments about the Housing Allocations scheme after reading the FAQ, please go to the special feedback questionnaire here.

Why your views matter

We know that having a safe and secure home is one of the most important things in life.

We also know that we make better decisions when we listen to residents, and stakeholders, so we genuinely want to know what you think.

We will publish the results of this consultation and explain how we plan to use your feedback in summer 2021.