Allocated Council Home Lettings
The supply of housing (Council and housing association homes) available to let in Hackney has reduced significantly since 1997/8 when over 3,500 homes were let to 2000/01 when 1,935 homes were let. In addition the supply of property becoming available to let is not evenly spread across the borough and demand is high for some areas in particular, noticeably for the north of the borough.
The shortages are most acute in the supply of homes with three or more bedrooms; around 80% of lettings are of homes with only one or two bedrooms.
However the demand for housing from the housing list and the statutory homeless queue remains high. This mismatch between supply and demand means that waiting time for those who need larger homes, regardless of their priority, are much longer than for those needing smaller homes. This is true even though we are using some of the smaller homes as temporary accommodation. Because of this mismatch households in our Priority Band who agree to accept a permanent home with one bedroom less than our standard bedroom rules say they need, will be moved into the Urgent Band and will be considered for an offer ahead of those in the Priority Band.
Homelessness demand
The Council is not able to offer permanent homes to all the households whom we owe a duty to house because they are homeless each year. Because of this we have to use various types of temporary housing, including hostels and bed and breakfast hotels and households often have to wait extended periods for a permanent home. This is particularly true for those needing larger homes.
Page updated: 25 Jan 2008