There are times when a property advertised will not be let to the household in the highest priority band or with the earliest priority band date. There can be a number of reasons for this.
An applicant may have refused the offer; had a change of circumstances which the Council had not been informed about; or contact was not able to be made with the applicant.
The property advert may make it clear that in order to create a sustainable community, the property will not necessarily go to the highest bidder. This is often the case when there has been a history of anti-social behaviour with a property or in a particular area.
An applicant may not be able to be suitable for the property. For example, the applicant has been awarded an urgent medical need due to requiring a property on the ground floor, or with specific adaptations to the property, but they property they have bid does not match their criteria to meet their housing need.
An applicant may be on the Housing Register as an existing social housing tenant for a transfer, but they have rent arrears and have not been able to clear their arrears before being offered the property.
There may be a Local Letting Plan associated with the property. Local Lettings Plans are often associated with new housing developments and the Council has the power to implement them to help maintain and promote a balanced and sustainable community, to allocate particular accommodation to people of a particular description, even if they are not the highest bidder for the property.
The property may be subject to a letting panel, for example, enhanced extra care accommodation and the applicant may be deemed as not suitable for the scheme.
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