Following the introduction of the new Housing Allocation Scheme last year, the Council has reviewed how the new points system is working.
During the review, an issue was identified that was affecting some applicants who previously received priority for being in work.
To correct this issue, the Council has introduced the Working Community Adjustment.
This ensures nobody in work, with no change in their housing need, will be disadvantaged when moving from the old scheme to the new scheme.
This update responds to the feedback from housing applicants and fixes an area that meant some working households, who have been on the housing register for several years, could have lost priority on the housing register even though their needs had not changed.
The adjustment ensures that affected working households now receive priority that reflects:
- their time on the housing register, and
- their contribution as economically active residents.
The Working Community Adjustment will be easily applied to existing applications to ensure the allocation of Havering’s limited social housing is fair, consistent, and transparent.
This change has been made while still protecting the Council’s legal duty to prioritise homeless households.
Existing applicants do not need to take any action. Letters have been sent to those affected by this change.
Cllr Natasha Summers, Cabinet Lead for Housing Need and Climate Change, Havering Council, said:
“The introduction of the new Working Community Adjustment ensures that our allocations scheme continues to be fair, transparent and balanced.
“The purpose of the new scheme, which launched in September 2025, remains that those with the greatest need are prioritised across a wide range of factors including overcrowding, health needs, homelessness, and time spent on the register.
“This update to the allocations scheme highlights that the Council listens to residents and has acted quickly to resolve areas of policy that disadvantaged longstanding, economically active households, which was never the intention of the new policy.”