Decision

The Assistant Director
Housing Services has agreed to implement a policy, effective from
12th January to 12th July 2026 that 50% of
all vacancies that would normally be advertised through the
Council’s Property Pool Plus Scheme, will be made available
for direct matching to homeless households in temporary
accommodation. 

Reasons for the decision

The
current sub-regional Property Pool Plus (PPP) allocations policy is
focused on tackling housing need and there has been a particular
emphasis on applicants with a homelessness priority
need.
 
The PPP
Policy was originally approved by the (now disbanded) Housing
Committee in March 2022. However, a further review of the policy
took place in2024/25 and changes were made to the policy, which
were agreed by Economy, Regeneration and Housing Committee June
2025. These changes have increased the total number of properties
allocated to applicants with a homelessness priority i.e. those
living in homeless commissioned supported accommodation who are
ready to live independently.
 
Despite
the positive impact of the policy direction outlined above,
homelessness in Wirral continues to be at critical levels. The
economic situation together with various policy developments have
resulted in increases in homeless households seeking assistance
from the Council.
 
Currently there are over 200 homeless households that have been
placed in temporary accommodation. The accommodation provided is
often unsuitable for long term occupation and has a negative impact
on the life chances of vulnerable adults and families with
children. Due to the shortage of social housing and that the
private-rented sector is largely unaffordable for most homeless
households, people are remaining in
Temporary Accommodation for significantly longer periods of
time.
 
The PPP
policy does allow discretion to be exercised by the Council’s
relevant senior officer to depart from the policy in certain
prescribed circumstances. Paragraph 4.6.4 of the policy also allows
the Council to implement a period of ‘direct lets’ to
specific groups in circumstances “…where it is
considered necessary to meet local housing needs and taking into
account the local authority’s current tenancy and
homelessness strategies.”
 
Therefore, for a period of 6 months, 50% of all vacancies that
would normally be advertised through the PPP Scheme, will be made
available for direct matching to homeless households in temporary
accommodation commencing on 12th January
2026. The remaining vacancies will
be allocated as usual, through the choice-based lettings scheme in
accordance with the published allocations policy.
 
In
2024/25, a total of 896 properties were allocated through PPP. If a
similar number of properties were let during the period of the
direct matching initiative, 224 properties would be made available
to homeless households in temporary accommodation. It should be
noted that the current PPP policy does award homeless households
the highest priority for social housing (when eligible to apply)
already, however without the ability to direct match,
it  cannot 
be guaranteed that 50% of available properties will be awarded to
those in Temporary Accommodation  due to
other PPP applicants, not placed in Temporary Accommodation , who
may have held a priority banding for longer. This is particularly
relevant to single households requiring one-bed housing, which is
in scarce supply.

Alternative options considered

Demand for Temporary
Accommodation has reached a critical level and action is needed to
reduce the numbers of homeless households currently placed in this
accommodation.
 
The Private-Rented
Sector is not currently viewed as a viable option for most homeless
households due to affordability issues and the reluctance of
private landlords to accommodate benefit claimants.
 
As such, social
housing remains the suitable option for most homeless households
and therefore the alternative option to the direct letting
arrangement proposed in this notice, is to not implement such an
arrangement. Given the urgency of the situation and the need for
immediate action, doing nothing has been discounted as an
option.