Council Tenancies/Social Housing

There is a severe shortage of affordable housing in Hackney. Almost 13,500 households are waiting for social housing in the borough, but only around 600 social tenancies become available each year. The waiting list is growing all the time. This means it is only possible now to allocate social housing to those in greatest need. The circumstances of residents deemed to be those in greatest need include:

• Households with emergency need, such as people who have lost homes due to fire or flooding or who have had to move due to witness protection;

• Households suffering severe overcrowding (more than two rooms short, with living spaces counted as a potential bedroom space);

• Households with a significant medical need;

• People with a significant social need, such as facing a threat to life;

• Families who are statutory homeless.

Despite this, the council recognises its unique responsibility to Hackney care leavers and so reserves a small number of social tenancies each year specifically for care leavers. Whilst in an ideal world we would offer a social tenancy to every Hackney care leaver who wants one, in reality the care leaver quota is sufficient to make this offer to only around 6 in every 100 care leavers who are under the age of 21 each year. This option is not available to care leavers over the age of 21. In line with the Council’s wider lettings policy, the care leavers who will be offered social tenancies will be those deemed to be in greatest need. 

How do we decide who is in greatest need?

Each year, all care leavers aged 19 and 20 are considered for the quota places (we believe that most young people are not ready to be responsible for their own permanent tenancies at 18).

At stage 1 of the process, we review these key questions:

• Does the care leaver want to live in Hackney (as we only have access to social tenancies in Hackney through the quota scheme)?

• Does the care leaver have leave to remain in the UK? You cannot be offered a social tenancy if you are not a British national, or do not have settled status or refugee status in the UK.   

• Do you have a significant issue with rent arrears? The housing department will not be willing to offer anyone a tenancy in these circumstances. 

• Will the care leaver be able to maintain a tenancy?

At stage 2 of the process, we think about key areas of vulnerability for all those eligible from stage 1. At this stage, we think about things like:

• Social isolation e.g. whether or not each care leaver has any important relationships with previous carers, family, friends or partners;

• Mental health needs and whether we have significant worries about each care leaver’s emotional well-being;

• Any substance misuse issues that affect each care leaver’s day to day functioning; and

• Whether each care leaver has  additional learning needs but is unlikely to meet threshold for housing through adult social care

• At stage 3 of the process, a multi agency panel will carefully consider in more detail the circumstances of care leavers with high levels of vulnerability, to make a final decision on who is deemed in greatest need of the 18 tenancies available in any year, at that point in time. 

We acknowledge that this is not a perfect process and it is likely to feel very disappointing to the majority of Hackney care leavers that we cannot offer a social tenancy to.

If you are offered a social tenancy, you will receive written confirmation of this and your practitioner will talk to you about the next steps. 

Frequently asked questions about the quota system

• Can I be offered a social tenancy over the age of 21? No - unfortunately not, this is only available up until the age of 21.

• Can I appeal the decision if I’m not offered a social tenancy? No - we’re afraid due to the set number of places, once these are allocated, there is no way to offer additional places for people through an appeal system.

• If I do not get a care leaver quota place, is there any other way I can access a social tenancy in the future? Yes, you could:

  • Apply for social housing with another Local Authority, if you evidence that you meet the criteria to go on their housing register (all areas have slightly different criterias, your practitioner can help explore this with you);

  • You may meet the Hackney Lettings Policy criteria in other areas, for example, if you have children and are homeless at 21. However, it is important to know that  due to the extremely high levels of demand waiting lists for permanent tenancies through this route are extremely long, often many years. For the latest information on wait times see - https://hackney.gov.uk/housing-application

  • If you need to go into temporary accommodation post 21, you may go on the housing register at this point, however, again, your wait for a permanent tenancy through this route is likely to be very long and we would prefer to help you avoid a temporary accommodation pathway at 21 if possible.  Temporary accommodation  is not stable accommodation.  It is likely to be shared, in a hostel or even Bed and Breakfast accommodation.  Therefore,  private rented accommodation should be pursued where at all possible.  While waiting in temporary accommodation, housing are able to discharge their main housing duty to you if an offer accommodation on the Private Rental Sector is made.  If this occurs, you would then be seen as being suitably housed and removed from the housing register.