Decision

The interim Director of Regeneration and Place has decided to authorise the commencement of a consultation exercise in relation to the proposed amendments to the Property Pool Plus Housing Allocations Policy and Procedure as summarised at Appendix 1.

Reasons for the decision

The Council has a statutory responsibility to have a scheme for the allocation of Social Rented Housing. Since 2012 the Council has been a member of a sub-regional Housing Allocations Scheme known as Property Pool Plus (PPP, in partnership with Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, and Sefton Councils

A new PPP Policy was implemented in January 2024, since which time the partner Councils have identified several policy amendments which are required to improve its effectiveness in meeting local housing need and respond to the increased demand on homelessness services and associated temporary accommodation.

The existing scheme policy and the relevant statutory guidance inform that a consultation exercise must be undertaken prior to implementing proposed policy changes. This will include people currently registered with the Property Pool Plus scheme, partner Registered Provider Landlords who allocate their accommodation through the scheme, and other partner organisations. The consultation will run from Monday 20th January 2025 to Sunday 16th February 2025.

The changes being proposed include a variety of points of clarification, corrections, minor changes which will impact a small number of applicants, and three significant changes which will impact a larger proportion of the existing register. The changes are set out in Appendix 1.

Alternative options considered

The need and level of consultation required has been discussed and agreed with the other Councils involved in the PPP.

The option to continue to operate the existing policy without change has been discounted due to the need for the Council to improve its ability to meet housing need in the area and to respond to the increased demand on homelessness services and associated temporary accommodation pressures.