At today’s meeting of the Housing Policy Committee, the second consultation phase was ratified.
The proactive review of the Allocations Policy is being carried out to improve things for everyone – our tenants, prospective tenants and those who work in social housing accross the city.
Earlier this year, some 1,471 people – predominantly existing tenants, those waiting to become council tenants or those registered with other social landlords – had their say in the first round of consultation.
This second phase will determine any further amendments to the policy, which will then be brought back to a committee in the Autumn for final approval. It is hoped that even more people who call Sheffield home – not just Council tenants – will have their say.
Proposed changes include:
- Whether or not to change bedroom eligibility
- Improving how properties adapted to support physical disabilities are allocated to people
- Whether to allow those who had previously been registered to bid for properties to rejoin, and how long the period before they are allowed to rejoin will be
The amendments, if approved, will mark a significant step forward in ensuring fairer, more transparent access to Council housing across the city. The changes would bring Sheffield into line with other Core Cities who are experiencing similar housing pressures.
If the draft policy is passed, applicants in Band 6 and Band 7 will also have to place at least one bid per year.
If they do not, they risk being removed. This makes the register easier to manage and the Council can better support applicants who need to be rehoused urgently.
Again, responses to this consultation will help shape this policy and it is not yet final.
Responses to the phase one consultation helped inform the new draft policy. A full summary of the phase one responses is available by heading to the Council website.
The purpose of Council housing is to provide safe, secure and affordable housing.
Currently, people with an assessed housing need are placed into priority bands A to C, depending on the level of urgency. Those without a recognised housing need are placed into Bands D or E.
The demands on social housing in Sheffield and the reasons for the policy needing to be amended were outlined when the initial consultation was announced in December 2024.
Demand on temporary accommodation for people in need also continues to increase, meaning many of these ‘general needs’ properties are having to be used as temporary accommodation to ease that pressure.
“As we said when the first consultation launched, the whole point of these policy changes is to support people to be able to maintain tenancies. We want to give people better and fairer access to the houses that we've got in our portfolio.
“We would like to thank everyone who took the time to take part in this consultation. Your participation is valuable. If a second phase is approved, then we want even more people to have their say and help us shape the final Allocations Policy.
“While we also have plenty of work going on to either build or acquire properties to boost our Council house stock, this important piece of work is ensuring we make the best use of the properties we already have.”
Cllr Douglas Johnson, Chair of Sheffield City Council’s Housing Policy Committee
More information on where residents can take part in consultations is available at the Have Your Say Sheffield website. To sign up and take part in Sheffield City Council consultations, you can head to the website now. If you sign up to this service, an alert will be sent to your inbox when the second phase of consultation goes live for you to take part in.
