Review of Brent’s Housing Allocations Scheme Consultation

Review of Brent’s Housing Allocations Scheme

Introduction

We are reviewing the Council’s Housing Allocations Scheme to ensure that social housing is allocated fairly and reflects current levels of demand.

Brent has one of the highest levels of demand for social housing in the country. A Local Government Association Peer Challenge in January 2025 found that Brent had the second highest number of households on a housing waiting list nationally, with over 33,000 households registered at the time. The review recommended that the Council revisit its Housing Allocations Scheme and update the housing register to better reflect current need.

Following a re-registration exercise, the number of active applications has reduced to approximately 8,349 households. Around 6,421 of these households have an identified housing need/priority to bid, meaning they require rehousing because of circumstances such as overcrowding, medical needs, homelessness, welfare concerns, or unsuitable housing conditions.

This means that around 1,928 households currently on the housing register do not have an identified housing need and are therefore unlikely to ever receive an offer of social housing.

At the same time, only around 650 social housing properties become available in Brent each year, and many of these are one-bedroom homes. Demand for social housing continues to far exceed the number of homes available. As a result, the Council must prioritise those households in the greatest housing need.

The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on a number of proposed changes which aim to:

• Ensure social housing is prioritised for those in the greatest housing need.
• Make the housing allocations process fairer and easier to understand.
• Better manage demand for the limited supply of available social housing.
• Create greater consistency between the rules applied to housing register applicants and homeless households.
• Ensure applicants have a realistic understanding of their chances of being rehoused through the Council.

Housing Act 1996

Social housing is allocated under different parts of the Housing Act 1996, which sets out how housing is provided to housing register applicants and to people who are homeless.

• Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996 covers the housing register and how social housing is allocated based on priority and need as set out in the Council’s Housing Allocations Scheme.
• Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 covers the Council’s duties to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, including the provision of temporary accommodation and suitable offers to end homelessness.

There are differences in the way these provisions are applied under separate parts of the Housing Act 1996, for example, households owed a homelessness duty under Part 7 may receive one suitable offer of accommodation, whilst applicants on the housing register under Part 6 can currently refuse suitable offers without affecting their priority. There are also differences in how bedroom needs are assessed for some households, for example, same-sex adult household members aged 21 and over may be entitled to separate bedrooms under the housing register (Part 6) but may be expected to share a bedroom when assessed under homelessness duties (Part 7).

Proposed Amendments

To help manage demand, ensure fairness and create a more consistent approach, the Council is proposing 3 changes to the Housing Allocations Scheme:

• Removing Band D (for applicants without an identified housing need):
• This means people who do not have a recognised housing need would no longer be able to join or remain on the housing register.
• Introducing a one-offer policy for suitable housing:
• This means applicants would receive one suitable offer of housing. If they refuse it, this may affect their priority or access to further offers. This aligns more closely with how offers are made to homeless households.
• Updating bedroom sharing rules for some households:
• This means that same-sex adults aged 21 and over living in the same household will be expected to share a bedroom. This change would align the rules used for households on the housing register with those applied to homeless households.

We are keen to hear your views on these proposed changes and welcome your feedback which will help inform any final decisions on the Housing Allocations Scheme.

The consultation closes on: 13th September 2026, 11:59