The way that people in Portsmouth are allocated council housing is being updated to make it fairer and more efficient, and people living in the city can have their say in the changes.
Portsmouth City Council has recently reviewed its housing allocation scheme, which sets out the rules used to decide if someone can apply for social housing and how high they would be placed on the register, depending on their needs.
The council is now looking to update the scheme, last updated in 2019, with the aim to house people in the right homes, at the right time, and to create more availability.
As part of the changes, the council is seeking views from people currently on the housing register, housing associations that provide social housing, as well as other Portsmouth residents and interested parties.
People can give their views on who the council should prioritise when offering housing, and how the new allocation policy will work.
Cllr Darren Sanders, cabinet member for housing and tackling homelessness, said: “Councils across the country are seeing more and more people coming to them homeless. In Portsmouth, we are keen to do all we can to reduce that.
“Key to that is preventing homelessness. We want the new method of allocating council homes to help us do just that, meaning more people can have the security of a roof over their head.”
This review is the result of the new homelessness and rough sleeping strategy 2024 – 2029, which was put in place in January this year. The strategy seeks to tackle homelessness in the city in a holistic way, meaning housing is allocated in a smarter way, and fewer people will be left with no option but to sleep rough.
The consultation is available to be completed online at www.research.net/r/ALLPC24 until 3 July 2024. You can call 023 92 834 989 to request a paper copy.
Update: you can view the updated housing allocation policy here.