Social Housing Allocation Scheme

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Welcome to Harrow’s Social Housing Allocation Scheme engagement page.

The London Borough of Harrow is reviewing its Social Housing Allocation Scheme to ensure it responds to housing pressures and provides a system that is fair, transparent and focused on residents’ housing needs.

The consultation will run for seven weeks from Monday 13 October until 23:59 on Monday 1 December.


Background

Every council is required by law to have a written Social Housing Allocation Scheme that explains how it allocates rented social housing it owns or to which it has nomination rights. The scheme must be reviewed every 5 years.

Harrow's Social Housing Allocation Scheme was last fully reviewed and approved by Cabinet in January 2021.

All applications for social housing in Harrow are assessed in line with the scheme. By law, the council must give ‘reasonable preference’ to the following groups when allocating housing:

  • Households living in overcrowded or unsanitary conditions
  • Those who need to move due to a medical condition or disability
  • Those who need to move for health-related or welfare reasons, including care leavers and people with high-level support needs
  • Those who need to move due to hardship.
  • Those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Residency criteria must not be applied to:

  • UK Armed Forces Veterans
  • Domestic Abuse survivors
  • Care Leavers.


The Local Housing Challenge

Harrow has a limited supply of council and housing association homes. Demand far exceeds availability.

  • 2,175 households are currently on the Housing Register
  • Around 160 council homes and 130 housing association homes are let each year
  • Current lettings meet only 13 per cent of total demand
  • Half of all lettings are one-bedroom or studio flats, often for single people or childless couples
  • Half of lettings are small units reserved for older people

The reality is:

  • 99 per cent of families needing 4–6 bedrooms will never receive an offer
  • 57 per cent of lets are for one-bedroom accommodation
  • Average wait for a three-bedroom household: around 20 years
  • Last five-bedroom property was let in April 2018 (seven years ago)
  • Last six-bedroom property was let in April 2014 (eleven years ago)
  • The council owns only 12 five-bedroom and 2 six-bedroom homes in total

Given these pressures, most applicants will never be offered a social housing tenancy no matter how long they wait.


Why we are reviewing the scheme

The council is required to review the Allocation Scheme at least every five years. The current social housing stock is insufficient to meet the housing need locally. The review aims to ensure the Social Housing Register and Allocation Scheme are used in the fairest, clearest and most effective way, prioritising those in greatest need and making best use of limited social housing resources.


Proposed Changes

The proposed changes to the scheme are as follows:

1. Reduce priority Bands (from 5 to 4)

  • Simplify the system and reduce congestion on the register.

2. Increase direct offers (up to 50 per cent)

  • Allow more homes to be allocated outside the bidding system when urgent strategic, operational or financial reasons apply.

3. Clarify the continuous five-year residence rule

  • The review will consider whether the residency requirement should be increased, reduced, or remain at five years.

4. Revise bedroom size policy

  • Treat adults aged 18+ as non-dependants (previously 21+)
  • Address households with non-dependant adults
  • Aligning Part 6 allocations policy with Part 7 homelessness guidance

5. Review refusals approach

  • Current demand for social housing is not aligned with existing refusal rules, which causes delays and inefficiencies.
  • Proposal: If a reasonable offer is made and refused, the household will be suspended from the housing register for 12 months.
  • This aims to:
    • Take a firmer stance on refusals
    • Ensure applicants engage seriously with reasonable offers
    • Speed up the move-on process so homes can be reallocated more quickly
    • Reduce the use of temporary accommodation, which is often insecure for applicants and costly for the council.

6. Define ‘Exceptional Circumstances’

  • Provide clear criteria and guidance within the scheme.


How to Get Involved

We want to hear from everyone with an interest in social housing in Harrow, including current and former Housing Register applicants, private and social landlords, and organisations delivering rehousing or housing support services.

Please share your views on the proposed changes to the scheme.

  • Read the FAQs on the right-hand side of this page for more detailed information about the proposed changes.

  • Complete our online survey.

To make sure everyone can take part, we will:

  • Add the survey link to Locata for housing applicants to access the consultation

  • Schedule an in-person event for council tenants on Tuesday 4 November at the Julie Cook Community Hall (time:4pm–6pm)

  • Plan an online Registered Providers meeting (date to be confirmed)

  • Arrange meetings with the VCS in Harrow and the Harrow Community Partnership

We will also directly contact private and social landlords and organisations delivering rehousing or housing support services.

Please note that the survey is the quickest and easiest way to share your views.

If you require a paper copy of the survey or have any questions, please email:
housing.strategy@harrow.gov.uk


What happens next? 

All feedback will be considered when preparing the final draft of the Social Housing Allocations Scheme.

The revised scheme will then be presented to Cabinet for approval.

Welcome to Harrow’s Social Housing Allocation Scheme engagement page.

The London Borough of Harrow is reviewing its Social Housing Allocation Scheme to ensure it responds to housing pressures and provides a system that is fair, transparent and focused on residents’ housing needs.

The consultation will run for seven weeks from Monday 13 October until 23:59 on Monday 1 December.


Background

Every council is required by law to have a written Social Housing Allocation Scheme that explains how it allocates rented social housing it owns or to which it has nomination rights. The scheme must be reviewed every 5 years.

Harrow's Social Housing Allocation Scheme was last fully reviewed and approved by Cabinet in January 2021.

All applications for social housing in Harrow are assessed in line with the scheme. By law, the council must give ‘reasonable preference’ to the following groups when allocating housing:

  • Households living in overcrowded or unsanitary conditions
  • Those who need to move due to a medical condition or disability
  • Those who need to move for health-related or welfare reasons, including care leavers and people with high-level support needs
  • Those who need to move due to hardship.
  • Those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Residency criteria must not be applied to:

  • UK Armed Forces Veterans
  • Domestic Abuse survivors
  • Care Leavers.


The Local Housing Challenge

Harrow has a limited supply of council and housing association homes. Demand far exceeds availability.

  • 2,175 households are currently on the Housing Register
  • Around 160 council homes and 130 housing association homes are let each year
  • Current lettings meet only 13 per cent of total demand
  • Half of all lettings are one-bedroom or studio flats, often for single people or childless couples
  • Half of lettings are small units reserved for older people

The reality is:

  • 99 per cent of families needing 4–6 bedrooms will never receive an offer
  • 57 per cent of lets are for one-bedroom accommodation
  • Average wait for a three-bedroom household: around 20 years
  • Last five-bedroom property was let in April 2018 (seven years ago)
  • Last six-bedroom property was let in April 2014 (eleven years ago)
  • The council owns only 12 five-bedroom and 2 six-bedroom homes in total

Given these pressures, most applicants will never be offered a social housing tenancy no matter how long they wait.


Why we are reviewing the scheme

The council is required to review the Allocation Scheme at least every five years. The current social housing stock is insufficient to meet the housing need locally. The review aims to ensure the Social Housing Register and Allocation Scheme are used in the fairest, clearest and most effective way, prioritising those in greatest need and making best use of limited social housing resources.


Proposed Changes

The proposed changes to the scheme are as follows:

1. Reduce priority Bands (from 5 to 4)

  • Simplify the system and reduce congestion on the register.

2. Increase direct offers (up to 50 per cent)

  • Allow more homes to be allocated outside the bidding system when urgent strategic, operational or financial reasons apply.

3. Clarify the continuous five-year residence rule

  • The review will consider whether the residency requirement should be increased, reduced, or remain at five years.

4. Revise bedroom size policy

  • Treat adults aged 18+ as non-dependants (previously 21+)
  • Address households with non-dependant adults
  • Aligning Part 6 allocations policy with Part 7 homelessness guidance

5. Review refusals approach

  • Current demand for social housing is not aligned with existing refusal rules, which causes delays and inefficiencies.
  • Proposal: If a reasonable offer is made and refused, the household will be suspended from the housing register for 12 months.
  • This aims to:
    • Take a firmer stance on refusals
    • Ensure applicants engage seriously with reasonable offers
    • Speed up the move-on process so homes can be reallocated more quickly
    • Reduce the use of temporary accommodation, which is often insecure for applicants and costly for the council.

6. Define ‘Exceptional Circumstances’

  • Provide clear criteria and guidance within the scheme.


How to Get Involved

We want to hear from everyone with an interest in social housing in Harrow, including current and former Housing Register applicants, private and social landlords, and organisations delivering rehousing or housing support services.

Please share your views on the proposed changes to the scheme.

  • Read the FAQs on the right-hand side of this page for more detailed information about the proposed changes.

  • Complete our online survey.

To make sure everyone can take part, we will:

  • Add the survey link to Locata for housing applicants to access the consultation

  • Schedule an in-person event for council tenants on Tuesday 4 November at the Julie Cook Community Hall (time:4pm–6pm)

  • Plan an online Registered Providers meeting (date to be confirmed)

  • Arrange meetings with the VCS in Harrow and the Harrow Community Partnership

We will also directly contact private and social landlords and organisations delivering rehousing or housing support services.

Please note that the survey is the quickest and easiest way to share your views.

If you require a paper copy of the survey or have any questions, please email:
housing.strategy@harrow.gov.uk


What happens next? 

All feedback will be considered when preparing the final draft of the Social Housing Allocations Scheme.

The revised scheme will then be presented to Cabinet for approval.

Page last updated: 13 Oct 2025, 02:00 PM