Have your say – Affordable Housing Allocation Changes (Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy and Allocations Scheme Changes 2026)

Have your say – Affordable Housing Allocation Changes (Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy and Allocations Scheme Changes 2026)

Westminster City Council wants your views on proposed changes to its Allocations Scheme and Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy.

The survey is open from 29^th October 2026 to 9^th December 2026 at 11:59pm. It should take about 10 minutes to complete.

Your answers are confidential. You can stop the survey at any time, but your response will only be counted if you complete it.

You can complete the survey here.

Read about the proposals below.

The Proposals

We are consulting on changes to our current Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, and our Allocations Scheme. The changes cover two areas: 

1. Private Rented Sector Offers to households experiencing homelessness.  
2. Employment Points.  

Private Rented Sector Offers

What is changing?

A new Private Rented Sector Offers Policy is being introduced and we need to make changes to the current Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy and Allocation Scheme in order to do this. 

Private Rented Sector Offers will mean that some households experiencing homelessness owed the Main Housing Duty may be offered a suitable private rented home instead of remaining in temporary accommodation for many years and then being offered Social Housing. Some households owed the Relief Duty may also receive this offer.

Why is this changing?

Westminster faces severe housing pressures. Demand for Social Housing continues to grow, while the number of social homes available is limited. The Council is proposing this change to: 

• Help more homeless households move into suitable, settled homes sooner, rather than spending many years in temporary accommodation while waiting for Social Housing.
• Reduce the negative effects that long periods in temporary accommodation can have on households’ health and wellbeing, as shown by the Council’s evidence.
• Make greater use of suitable private rented homes, which can provide a more secure option under new Renters’ Rights legislation which has ended no-fault evictions.
• Respond to financial pressures including a cut of government grant funding of over £100 million.  

What this means

• Some Private Rented Sector Offers may be outside London, where homes are generally more affordable and more larger homes are available. There are currently 1,470 households waiting for a three or four-bedroom home. However, only 54 social homes of these sizes became available in 2025/26, resulting in very long waiting times which can be twenty years.  
• Westminster has some of the most expensive private rents in the country, a two-bedroom home can cost at least £680 per week. Because benefits are capped, they do not cover these high levels of rent.
• Support will be offered to help households resettle where needed.
• If a suitable offer is made, the household will not remain on the Social Housing Register, whether they accept or refuse it.
• A suitable offer will consider factors such as: household size, bedrooms needed, medical needs, adaptations, affordability, location, travel, support and safeguarding needs.
• The new policy will replace the current “Choosing the Private Rented Sector” approach in the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy and Allocation Scheme which enables households owed the Main Housing Duty to remain on the Social Housing Register
• Not everyone will be made a Private Rented Sector Offer as they won’t be suitable for everyone.

Employment Points 

The Allocations Scheme currently enables some households to have Legacy Employment Points. Employment Points, which give certain workers extra points for Social Housing, were removed from the Allocation Scheme in 2025. 

Legacy Employment Points were kept however for those already in receipt of them before 3^rd March 2025 for 36 months.

What is changing?

• The Council is proposing to remove Legacy Employment Points.

What this means

• Anyone with Legacy Employment Points will no longer get any additional priority for Social Housing because they are working and their points will be removed.  

Why is this changing?

• A legal ruling found that Legacy Employment Points can indirectly discriminate against households who cannot work through no fault of their own, including carers and people with physical or mental disabilities.

You can also read our proposals around how Intermediate Housing is Allocated to Key Workers and have your say here.