Assessing housing need after declining a social housing property
A client who reapplies after previously declining (or failing to accept) a social housing property without a good and sufficient reason in the last 13 weeks must be assessed for eligibility for social housing.
A client who previously declined a social housing property in the last 13 weeks, may be assessed as eligible
Sometimes other factors will outweigh the client's previous decision to decline or fail to accept a social housing property and using the Social Allocation System (SAS) assessment they will be considered to have a persistent housing need that is serious or severe. This may include:
- when there has been a material change in circumstances since they were last assessed or
- it is clear the client did not fully understand the repercussions of the decline (or failure to accept a property offer by not responding)
In both circumstances the client must be assessed as having a genuine, severe and immediate housing need to be eligible for social housing. They will then be added to the housing register.
Overall circumstances suggest client's housing need not as urgent, as priority rating suggests
Generally for other cases, a client who has declined or failed to accept a social housing property in the previous 13 weeks suggests the client's housing need is not as urgent as the initial priority rating they have been assigned under the SAS criteria.
In these cases, there is discretion to change the overall priority rating to reflect the client's housing need is not as urgent and the client will be assessed as ineligible for social housing and will not be placed on the housing register.
For more information see:
Legislation
- Ministerial directions to agency section 102 Public and Community Housing Management Act 1992
- Ministerial Direction on Eligibility for Social Housing
