Wiltshire scraps housing list; applicants must re-apply
Thousands of people on housing waiting lists in Wiltshire are being told to reapply under new rules about who is eligible for a home, according to the BBC.
Up to 23,000 people waiting for social housing in the county have until 8 February to re-register.
Wiltshire Council said the changes to its banding categories will prioritise those most in need as there are many registered with no housing requirement.
But Chippenham-based Doorway said people may not be aware of the changes and it could leave some vulnerable people in the county without a home. Spokeswoman Lisa Lewis urged people to reapply and said: “If you don’t, you’re going to drop off the list.
“I appreciate the council have got to lose a certain number of people on the list – it’s the way they are doing it we have concerns about.”
A Wiltshire Council spokesman said there are thousands of people on the housing register with “no housing needs” and the new policy “aims to manage client expectations better by not registering those who are unlikely to be rehoused”.
The problem is that many people will not realise they have to re-apply, will be removed from the list – and won’t even know about it.
People with disabilities are particularly vulnerable .
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Well done for getting the word out Mike – people need to know about this and being a rural county newspapers are not very widely circulated in Wiltshire. And if people are homeless awaiting a home I doubt they will get TV coverage either.
Wiltshire is not the only one, My Son had same letter and form from Havant Council and I believe this to be Hampshire-wide – they gave the same excuses.
What next, a firing squad? This country is finished and those at the top are doing their best to make it happen.
Ah I see they learning just like rtu ids they now found a new way
to cut the list just like rtu they now resetting their housing list
ops
Yes – it’s exactly the same methodology; instead of actually trying to solve the problem, they change the way it is calculated.
I do not see the purpose of this scrapping the list and having applicants all re-apply surely it would make more sense to allocate housing accommodation accordingly to needs of the applicants…instead of this stupid bureaucratic red tape…seems stupid to me!!!
They’re just trying to clear the list in the hope that fewer people realise they have to apply again.
its absolutely ridiculous…changing the waiting list to suit the powers that be….surely its illegal? Those already on the waiting list qualify and I know allocations are done on priority or who is at the top of the list when accommodation becomes available.
This has already happened in Swindon Wilts (a unitary authority). Applicants had previously been classified A B or C in priority. They scrapped C altogether and asked A+ B to reapply . The result was just what they wanted. Problem solved !!!! From 16,000 down to 3,600ish although it is creeping up again now. Needless to say theres been no new Council house building for years and Housing Assoc has been negligible.
in our area your put on the list then have to look online or in local paper each week for whats available in the area your looking for and thats suitable for you and your household. you then bid to say your interested.only then does it go by which of those that have put a bid in are top priority. some people desperate to move,like my son who is in a first floor flat and finding it harder to get downstairs as time goes on is probably one they think is adequately housed as they say hes not classed as in need for health reasons. possibly cos hes only on ESA not DLA or PIP. at that rate not many will be rehoused.most that are available are in other towns. but far too far away from his family.