Choice words

HOMELESS households have not lost out under choice-based lettings, according to new research for the DCLG.

An idea first borrowed from the Dutch five years ago and now adopted by a quarter of English local authorities, the system aims to open up housing allocations by letting applicants view details of homes and choose which ones to apply for. Go here to find out more.

There had been fears that would mean homeless families being shunted in to low demand areas – and there have been legal challenges to individual schemes. But the research says the opposite has happened: their chances of being housed in high-demand areas have actually risen.

Meanwhile, the average number of bids for each advertised property has been rising fastest in less popular areas, suggesting bidders are applying where they think they more chance of success.

There are some buts though. Paternalism is dead, long live paternalism?

‘Whilst bidding rules and procedures appear fairly well understood by applicants, many report having little understanding of applicant ranking rules. In part, this probably reflects the fact that in their CBL publicity material many landlords focus on the former somewhat to the exclusion of the latter.’