Help us improve the way we let our homes
We're currently reviewing the way we let council and social housing across the city.
We want the process to be easier to understand and use, helping us to house those in greatest need and giving realistic expectations to people who join the housing register.
We need to take action. There are rising numbers of people becoming homeless and the increasingly unaffordable cost of housing in Bristol is creating more demand for social housing and increasing pressure on HomeChoice Bristol.
The review is giving us the opportunity to look at who is housed and why, and to develop options for how to let social housing in the future.
It aims to ensure that people have homes that meet their needs. Giving priority to those in greatest need and making the application process easier.
What's happening now
The review process originally began in 2019 with a survey and four community events, however it was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the review restarted, we have held a number of events as part of the research stage, engaging with community representatives to get their input and suggestions for change. An event was delivered to invite feedback on the initial proposals.
We've also gathered extensive research into how the challenges are being addressed elsewhere across the country.
We‘ve developed a series of proposals to make those changes. Now we want to hear from people across the city, including people living in social housing or currently on the waiting list.
- Should we move to a system where the council takes more direct action to help someone find a home?
- Should we make changes to priority groups, including giving top priority to care leavers and under-occupiers?
- Should we extend the use of lettings policies that give priority to local people, and where should we introduce them?