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<p>The Localism Act 2011 gave local authorities the power to set their own qualification
criteria for social housing. They can now decide who should qualify for social housing
in their area, and develop solutions which make best use of the social housing stock.
The Localism Act also retained the statutory ‘reasonable preference’ requirements
which ensure that overall priority for social housing goes to those in housing need,
including homeless households, those in overcrowded housing, and those with medical
and welfare needs.</p><p>The Social Housing Green Paper published in August this year
(<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-new-deal-for-social-housing"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-new-deal-for-social-housing</a>)
sets out an intention to undertake an evidence collection exercise to help us understand
how the social housing allocation framework is playing out in local areas and if it
is striking the right balance of fairness, support and aspiration. The exercise will
include a focus on how local authority flexibilities on qualification and prioritisation
are being used in practice.</p>
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