London borough suspends direct offers of properties to those on waiting list following threat of legal action

The move follows reports in June that there had been no properties on ‘Southwark Homesearch’, a website used for allocating council and partner housing association properties, for up to two months.

A spokesperson for the council told Southwark News in June that there were “fewer options to bid for” as it prioritised those in very high need.

The council also claimed its ‘new annual lettings policy’ (ALP) allowed it to offer a home to a person or family directly, alongside the bidding system.

The Public Interest Law Centre (PILC), acting for members of Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth (HASL), issued a letter before action over the practice.

PILC said: “Instead of allocating social homes through the bidding system, these homes are now being allocated by direct offers, with residents having little idea of how people are selected. This disorganised and unfair approach has meant that there have been no homes for those with the highest housing need to bid on.”

It claimed that usually, people who are in bands 1 and 2 of the housing waiting list would be able to bid for social housing within a few weeks or months. “But since the council introduced the new policy there have been no homes for those in the highest housing need to bid on.”

The letter before action requested that Southwark:

• "stop allocating accommodation under its unpublished direct offer policy;
• agree that the unpublished policy was used unlawfully and discriminatorily;
• agree not to implement any such scheme in the future."

In response, Southwark confirmed that it would “suspend the operation of the ALP with immediate effect, pending a review of local housing needs and circumstances”.

It stressed however that this review and pause of the ALP was not an acceptance that the policy was unlawful and discriminatory.

Southwark added that its full Housing Allocations scheme 2013, permits the council to introduce an annual lettings plan. “The development of this plan included the development of a Equalities Impact and Needs Assessment and took into consideration the council’s Public Sector Equalities duties.”

This report plan went through a cabinet member decision making process and was signed off in May 2024, it said.

Southwark added that it is reviewing its full Allocation Policy, which will be consulted upon from October 2024.

Cllr Sarah King, cabinet member for council homes at Southwark Council, said: “The review of our annual lettings plan is in response to an urgent shortage of homes we can offer our residents, including those who are homeless, combined with the recent legal challenge.

“The long-term shortage of social housing alongside spiralling rents in the private sector means that more and more of our residents need support. Despite Southwark’s extensive council housing build programme, the dire economic conditions over the past few years have brought all of these challenges to a critical point. The need to accelerate moving residents from Ledbury towers has caused even further pressure.”

Cllr King added: “We know that the number of homes people are waiting for far exceeds the number available in the coming months. As such, the council is taking action to consult on and deliver a new policy which is fit for purpose in these difficult circumstances and takes into account the current situation with housing supply, while providing full transparency.

“As well as this, the council has met with the Deputy Prime Minister, and joined forces with councils across the country to highlight the importance of funding council housing to tackle the housing crisis.”

Harry Rodd