Local people first in line for council homes

New measures will ensure local people are prioritised for homes and introduce greater transparency on who is getting a council house, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced.

New proposed statutory guidance for councils published today makes clear that only people with a well-established local residency or connection to an area can go on that council’s waiting list for social housing. It will help avoid confusion in local government about equality laws that could lead to some councils side-lining local residents.

Along with giving priority to local people, the guidance makes clear that councils are required to make an exception to members of the Armed Forces who apply for housing. Due to the nature of their work, travelling from base to base, they do not build up a local connection.

Across England, one in ten of all new social housing tenants are foreign nationals. The government believes the widespread perception that local people lose out to those who have little connection to the local area has undermined community cohesion, and is a factor fuelling unsustainable immigration.

To reinforce the guidance and ensure people have confidence that housing is allocated fairly, councils are asked to make data on the nationality and other characteristics of social tenants readily available to local people.

Eric Pickles said: “This Government is standing up for hard-working people. Local residents and the Armed Forces should be first in line for social housing.

“This is part of decisive package of government reforms to tackle unsustainable immigration.”