Decision details

Cabinet approved the following temporary changes to the Housing Allocations Scheme (set out in detail in Appendix A of the report) for a fixed period of 9 months, commencing on 1 October 2017 and ending on 30 June 2018:

(a)  Where the Council accepts a rehousing duty to a household whose homelessness application has taken more than 8 weeks to investigate and determine – including those households whose applications are part of the backlog of outstanding homelessness decisions – the household’s ‘priority date’ in the Emergency Band will be adjusted to a date that is 8 weeks after the date that their homelessness application was received;

(b)   Where a homeless household is living in temporary accommodation and 6 weeks have elapsed since the Council has accepted a rehousing duty to them, Northampton Partnership Homes will proactively consider them for a ‘direct offer’ – based on their relative priority – and, after notifying the household, the Council and/or Northampton Partnership Homes may undertake ‘proxy bidding’, for all suitable properties, on their behalf; and

(c)     Northampton Partnership Homes will set aside an average of up to 5 properties a fortnight for ‘direct offers’ to homeless households for whom the Council has accepted a housing duty.