Renting a council or housing association home

Housing Allocation Scheme

Apply to join the Housing Register

You can view the Housing Allocation Scheme (PDF, 420.14 KB) for detailed information about allocating council and housing association homes in Enfield.

Enfield has seen a 246% increase in the rate of homelessness over 7 years. This compares with 35% across the rest of London.

The scale of this challenge means that a radical change in direction is needed to meet the needs of our most vulnerable residents. We are determined to help everyone access a stable, secure and decent home regardless of tenure.

To do this, our strategy is to:

• step in to prevent people from becoming homeless at the earliest possible stage, rather than waiting until they have a crisis
• equip people with the skills to manage a tenancy in the private rented sector through training and support
• reshape the housing market to improve access to housing in the private rented sector for residents, whilst improving quality

The reason for our strategy

We’re introducing this strategy because we want everyone to have a safe and secure home.

Enfield has the second highest level of temporary accommodation in the country, with 3600 households living in temporary accommodation. Each year around 550 social housing properties become available to let, and around 4000 people approach us for help. This means that people spend many years in temporary accommodation whilst they wait for a property to become available – often more than a decade. Every year the number of people in temporary accommodation increases.

Outline of the changes

People who move out of temporary accommodation and into the private rented sector will get increased priority for social housing. You will get an extra 50 points when you move, and 50 more points after six months. Each year your points will go up by 10%.

People who became homeless before November 2012 will also benefit if they move into the private rented sector, and will receive 100 extra points.

What help is on offer?

The type of help we offer depends on your circumstances and the property you are currently living in.

Homefinder

All residents have access to the council’s Homefinder scheme. This works in 2 ways. Our staff will help you to find a home, and help with deposits. If you find your own property, the team may also be able to help you with negotiating with the landlord. The team works with a wide range of landlords and Capital Letters (a joint project with 14 other London boroughs).

Single Homelessness Prevention Service

The Single Homelessness Prevention Service works with residents who do not have children, or need supported housing. The service works with a range of private landlords to help people to find a home.

Leased properties

We already lease properties from private landlords to use as temporary accommodation. We’re in the process of transferring some of these properties to the council’s housing company, Housing Gateway. This will mean that residents in the properties transferred will automatically benefit from the changes. You will be asked to sign a new tenancy agreement as part of this process.

If your property is not being transferred you can still find your own property, to benefit from the changes to the Housing Allocation Scheme.

Nightly paid accommodation

If you live in nightly paid accommodation, the council will either find you a suitable privately rented home or try to change your existing property to a privately rented tenancy. You can also find your own property so that you can benefit from the changes.

Moving out of Enfield

If you move to a property outside the borough of Enfield, you will be able to stay on the Housing Register for 5 years. You will still get the annual increase in points, and be able to bid for properties through Home Connections.

Staying in temporary accommodation

Homeless after November 2012

For people who became homeless after November 2012, we will usually find you a suitable privately rented home. If you reject this offer, this will end our duty towards you and you will no longer be entitled to temporary accommodation or to be on the Housing Register.

Homeless before November 2012

For people who became homeless before November 2012, we will help to find you a suitable privately rented home. If you reject this offer, you will still be entitled to temporary accommodation but you won’t get the increase in points or be able to bid for properties through Home Connections. We will make you one offer of a suitable social rented home, but you won’t be able to choose.

If your benefits have been capped so you cannot afford to move

There are 2 ways to become entitled to full benefits:

• If you receive any form of disability benefit, the cap does not apply. If you have any health or medical issues, this may mean that you’re entitled to an increase in benefits. Find out more about benefits and how to claim.
• If you’re in employment. We have partnered with online crowdfunding platform Beam to help homeless people access employment support and training.

How to benefit from the changes

Temporary accommodation is not meant to be a long-term home. For most people, this means that you should find a privately rented home to benefit from the changes. We can help, but you will have a much better choice if you can find your own home. You can find advice on our how to find a property page.

People groups who cannot bid for properties

Under the new Allocations Scheme, there are several groups of people who won’t be able to bid:

• If your need is extremely urgent, you will have been awarded very high points. In this case, we will find a suitable property for you and, because of the urgency, we will offer you the first suitable property that becomes available.
• If you’re hoping to move to a smaller property, we will search for a suitable property for you
• If you applied as homeless before November 2012 and are in temporary accommodation, we will search for a suitable property for you. You can increase your points to 750 by moving to the private rented sector. This would also allow you to continue to bid for properties.
• If your application has been assessed at less than 100 points, you will not be able to bid for properties because there are other households who have much greater levels of need. Because of the shortage of social housing we need to make sure that properties go to those who need them most.

Will medical/ASB/DV/overcrowding criteria affect a transfer?

Points are calculated by the needs that you have. Many people will have increased their points, but there will be some people with lower levels of need who will have a lower number of points. We have written to everyone on the Housing Register to let them know their new points.

Appealing your points award

If you do not agree with the points that have been awarded, you can appeal by contacting us via email at housing.assessment.team@enfield.gov.uk. You will need to set out why you do not agree with the assessment.