Housing Applications and Lettings law and practice

Introduction

It is important to understand Allocations law under Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996 and how to apply it when assessing applications to a local housing authority’s housing register and making housing allocations. This is to ensure that housing need is accurately determined, and allocations are made in a transparent and equitable manner.

Overview

This Block equips participants with a comprehensive understanding of Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996 and its associated guidance. It focuses on applying this knowledge to assess housing register applications, including determining qualification criteria and assigning banding or points to evaluate housing need. Participants will also learn how to make housing allocations in alignment with the housing allocation policy and legal requirements.

The Block should take 8-10 hours to complete, with 4-5 hours of follow-up readings.

At the end of the Block there is an Assessment to test your understanding. The assessment is made up of 40 randomly generated yes/no questions. The pass mark is 70 per cent. This means that 28 of the 40 questions must be answered correctly. Once the assessment has been passed, you will receive a certificate showing your accomplishment in your personal dashboard.

Contents

• Introduction
• Assessing applications & qualifying for the housing register
• Applying the law when assessing applications and making allocations
• Types of allocations schemes
• Determining housing need (banding and points)
• Allocations according to the council’s policy and the law

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit, you should have a clear understanding of:

• The legal requirements and the process for assessing applications to a local authority’s housing register.
• What the legislation on applications and lettings requires a council to do, for example, setting qualification rules for joining a housing register.
• How to legally determine housing need and assign banding or points by applying the law on what is called ‘reasonable preference’.
• The requirement to make allocations to social housing only in accordance with the council’s legal Housing Allocations Policy.

Conclusion

The conclusion to the learning block.

References & Further Reading

At the end of the Block, you will find all the links to the references and there is also some suggested further reading that may also interest you.