Affordable housing scheme gets shake up as demand rockets

In the 18 months since North Yorkshire’s pioneering system of allocating homes, Home Choice, went live waiting lists have increased dramatically and demand for affordable homes is outstripping supply.

The online estate agency, which is operated by housing associations across the county and all its local authorities except Harrogate, is now facing a review which could result in fresh criteria for house-hunters.

Chair of the North Yorkshire Home Choice board, Tom Brittain, said: “We know that there are simply not enough affordable homes in North Yorkshire to meet the demand.

“Demand is simply outstripping supply. About 60 per cent of people registered are currently in a priority band with little or no housing need. Most of these applicants will struggle to find housing through Home Choice because there are so many people in greater need waiting for homes. We need to find alternative ways of helping this group with its housing requirements.”

In the 18 months since the system went live waiting lists have grown dramatically, as more people than ever have taken the opportunity to register on the list and use the system to try to find a home.

Under draft proposals the current policy would see several key changes for house-hunters.

Applicants would need to have a local connection to the area covered by the partnership and they would only be allowed to bid on homes that meet their housing need.

The North Yorkshire Strategic Housing Partnership says this is to ensure customers are not penalised by changes to welfare reform that will be implemented in April.

Another key change would mean that applicants who own their own home and have sufficient equity to resolve their need for alternative housing would be excluded from the list.

Applicants are now being asked to comment on the changes.

Home Choice was set up in July 2011 with the aim of giving greater flexibility and choice and offering a more streamlined approach for anyone searching for an affordable house in seven districts.

The £350,000 scheme, which was the biggest overhaul of the county’s system of providing affordable housing, covers York, Richmondshire, Hambleton, Ryedale, Craven, Scarborough and Selby.

Figures from September 2012 show that at that point some 17,416 people were registered with Home Choice in North Yorkshire, of which 10,681 were in bronze, or lowest priority band.

In its first year of operation 11 per cent of lettings went to people with Bronze band priority.

The scheme was set up in a climate of a dramatic rise in applications for affordable homes as people struggled to secure mortgages during the credit crisis.

It was aimed at helping house-hunters looking for homes in some of England’s property hot spots, including the Yorkshire Dales and York.

A report from the National Housing Federation in November revealed a vast shortage of affordable housing in Yorkshire and Humberside and warned the shortage in the region was putting the cost of privately renting or owning a home out of reach of thousands more families.

Last summer Home Choice applicants were asked how they felt the scheme was working and how it could be improved in the future. It was also evaluated by the University of Birmingham and all the views were considered as the amended allocations policy was drafted.

People are being urged to feed into the consultation which began yesterday and will run until May 3.

At the end of the consultation each partner to the scheme will consider the changes and agree a revised policy for implementation this summer.