Property Pool Plus

Age

Positive impact. 

Provision within Band A for Victims of hate crime amounting to violence or threats of violence due to their age.

Sheltered and extra care housing is targeted specifically at older people, usually from 55 and upwards.

Young applicants who have been looked after, accommodated or fostered by any local authority as part of the performance of its children social care duties by the LA will be exempt from local connection requirements when preparing to leave the care arrangements so that they can apply for a social rented home in their area of choice.

Young applicants leaving the care of one of the scheme local authority children’s services for the first time are awarded Band A, which is backdated to their 16th birthday. There is also provision to award band A for subsequent moves due to housing need.

Young applicants defined as a Child in Need in accordance with the Children’s Act 1989 section 17 who are resident in homeless commissioned supported accommodation can get Band A which can be backdated to the date they moved into that accommodation.

The savings qualification criteria for joining the scheme includes a disregard for those who are unable to leave hospital due to the unsuitability of their existing home, in certain circumstances. Some of those impacted by this criteria are likely to be older people.

N/A

Disability

Positive impact.

Provision within Band A for:

• those whose medical condition is life threatening, and their existing accommodation is a major contributory factor;
• those whose medical condition is expected to be terminal, and rehousing is required due to detrimental effects caused by the present accommodation;
• those whose planned discharge from hospital is imminent and there is no accommodation available to them which is reasonable for them to occupy;
• victims of hate crime amounting to violence or threats of violence due to their disability, where continued occupation of the current dwelling could place lives at risk.

Provision within Band B for:

• those needing to move due to a disability of any member of the household.
• victims of hate crime amounting to violence or threats of violence due to their disability.

Specific arrangements will be considered for each individual applicant and property where it may be accessible, informing an applicant of a property’s accessible features and implementing a mechanism to identify the requirements of disabled applicants, to allow extra time for disabled applicants, if they need it, to accept an offer and for providing support in making applications.

Properties advertised through the scheme which have been adapted to meet the needs of those with disabilities are advertised giving preference to applicants with a verified need for an adapted property.

Applicants who can prove they have a continuing caring responsibility for someone who is resident in the scheme area, and that this care could not be provided unless they were resident in the region, will be exempt from local connection qualification requirements.

Disregards to the home ownership qualification criteria in certain circumstances for those whose household includes a severely disabled person requiring a move to a substantially adapted property.

The savings qualification criteria for joining the scheme includes a disregard for those who are unable to leave hospital due to the unsuitability of their existing home, in certain circumstances. Some of those impacted by this criteria are likely to be disabled people.

N/A

Gender

Reassignment

Positive impact.

Band A and B includes provision for those who need to move due to being victims of hate crime amounting to violence or threats of violence due to gender reassignment.

The bedroom standard includes provision to consider on a case by case basis the award of an additional bedroom due to gender identity.

N/A

Marriage and Civil Partnership

Positive impact.

Band A and B include provision for those who need to move due to being victims of hate crime amounting to violence or threats of violence due to their marriage or civil partnership.

N/A

Pregnancy and maternity

Positive impact.

Band A and B includes provision for those who need to move due to being victims of hate crime amounting to violence or threats of violence due to their pregnancy or maternity.

Unborn children are included in the bedroom calculation from the point the matb1 certificate is issued.

N/A

Race

Positive impact

Band A and B includes criteria for those who need to move due to being victims of racial harassment amounting to violence or threats of violence, and victims of hate crime due to their race.

The qualification criteria for local connection includes exemptions for:

• Homeless households who have been newly granted refugee status and are owed a Homelessness Duty by one of the scheme local authorities, and
• Households placed in one of the scheme local authority areas under the ‘Homes for Ukraine Scheme’.

Essential and appropriate checks which are carried out to establish an applicant’s eligibility to be allocated social rented housing will be monitored to ensure that they are not discriminatory on the basis of race, nationality, ethnic origin, or any other protected characteristic.

N/A

Religion or belief

Positive impact.

Band A and B includes provision for those who need to move due to being victims of hate crime amounting to violence or threats of violence due to their religion or belief.

N/A

Sex

The procedure does not contain specific provision which positively discriminate due to gender, although the gender of each member of an applicant household is fully considered during the assessment process regarding the size and type of accommodation that would be suitable, due to children over a certain age not having to share a bedroom with a child of a different sex.

N/A

Sexual orientation

Positive impact.

Bands A and B include provision for those who need to move due to being victims of hate crime amounting to violence or threats of violence due to their sexual orientation.

N/A

Domestic abuse victims.

Positive impact.

Band A and B include provision for those who need to move due to domestic abuse.

The scheme qualification criteria includes disregards to the local connection, home ownership and rent arrears criteria for those who need to move due to domestic abuse.

N/A

Armed Forces

Positive impact.

Band A includes provision to assist members, and former members of the armed and reserve forces who are in housing need. This provision also extends to bereaved spouses and civil partners of members of the Armed Forces leaving Services Family Accommodation following the death of their spouse or partner, which was wholly or partially attributable to their service.

The scheme qualification criteria includes a disregard to the local connection element for certain Armed Forces personnel and members of the armed forces community.

The scheme qualification includes a disregard to the savings criteria for compensation payments received for an injury or disability sustained on active service.

The scheme discretion criteria includes a point which states that discretion can be used where a member of the Armed Forces community has been disadvantaged in respect of their ability to access suitable housing through their own or their family member’s service in the Regular Armed Forces or Reserve Forces.

N/A

All

Positive Impact.

The discretion criteria includes scope to assist individual cases with an exceptional and urgent welfare need for rehousing which is not specifically referenced elsewhere within the policy. This could positively impact people in any of the protected groups who have an exceptional and urgent welfare need for rehousing which is not specified in the policy, by allowing individual circumstances to fully taken account of in the assessment of their housing need.

N/A

All

Potential negative impact in respect of the following points which have been included in a recent policy update. These changes could negatively impact some applicants who are in the protected characteristic groups in respect to the number of property allocations to these groups. Changes include:

• The increase in priority to Band A for those ready to move on from Local Authority commissioned / funded homeless provision of supported housing / hostels
• The local authorities have the option to implement a period of direct matching for a proportion of properties to key groups.
• The local authorities have the option to implement pilot trials of new ways of working to inform future service delivery and potential scheme improvements to resolve housing need.
• Implementation of a 5% net cross boundary mobility cap to ensure that the majority of properties in any local authority area are allocated to residents of that area.

Any negative impact from the recent changes are likely to be mitigated by the following points which will be monitored quaterly by the LCR CBL Lead and Contract Board:

• Care Leavers receive a backdate to the Band A award to their 16th birthday which affords an extra advantage which will limit any impact of these changes.
• Those applicants moving into Band A under the recent changes will be mainly one bedroom need applicants who will not be competing for larger properties thereby limiting the impact on applicants requiring properties with 2+ bedrooms.
• Some of those in Band A for reasons linked to health / disability may require specific types of accommodation such as properties with adaptations. Properties of this type are advertised giving preference to those who need these facilities.
• In respect of direct lettings, it is likely  that those receiving a direct let will include some applicants who are in the protected characteristic groups.
• Properties which are adapted would not be direct matched to applicants who do not need the adaptations.
• The impact on those who need / wish to move to sheltered accommodation and are aged 55+ is limited due to the restrictions on allocating sheltered accommodation to those aged 55+.
• Those in the highest housing need will still have a high priority based on the urgency of their situation so may still receive an offer of accommodation regardless of the recent changes.
• Some Armed Forces cases and all those with a priority for a move due to domestic abuse receive a local connection and relative priority for all scheme local authority areas thereby affording additional opportunity for rehousing.
• Exemptions to advertising properties giving preference to local authority residents under a 5% cap will be afforded to some members of the Armed Forces community, Domestic Abuse victims and Care Leavers.
• Anyone in Band B whose urgency for a move escalates may be reassessed and awarded Band A subject to meeting relevant criteria.
• Anyone registered with the scheme who is at risk of becoming homeless or who becomes homeless can seek assistance from the relevant homelessness service, which may impact the level of priority, and the type of assistance provided.
• Implementation of a period of direct lettings will be subject to a separate equality impact assessment.
• Quarterly reporting and monitoring will be undertaken to monitor any adverse impact of the recent changes.