Authority sees council house demand double in a year

The number of people applying for a council house has more than doubled in the last year, a local authority has said.

West Northamptonshire Council said it pledged to prioritise those residents with the greatest need for social housing.

It said it was receiving an average of 700 applications a month, compared with an average of about 335 per month during the financial year from April 2023 to March 2024.

Rosie Herring, the council's cabinet member for housing, said it was a "reflection of the issues we are seeing nationally around homelessness, no fault evictions and shortage of suitable private sector homes".

Conservative-led West Northamptonshire Council said its housing allocations scheme was introduced in April last year, replacing three separate ones in Daventry, South Northants and Northampton.

Those previously on the housing register and hoping to bid for a council property were asked to reapply under the new policy.

The council said it expected "an initial surge in applications" but Herring described it as a " huge rise".

According to figures provided by the authority, about 5,000 people are on the social housing system at any given time with only about 1,500 homes on average becoming available over a 12-month period.

It said "only those in the greatest need and highest priority" would be able to get a council home.

It included people experiencing homelessness, those with complex health and welfare needs, victims of domestic abuse and care leavers.

The council said armed forces veterans and those subject to exploitation were also prioritised.

Herring added: "We're working really hard to clear the backlog as quickly as possible and have put in place new measures to speed up the process as staff assess all applications fairly and in line with our legal duties.

"Although we are working to increase affordable homes in our area, our social housing offer is still very limited compared to the high demand for it."

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