Is this the end for Choice Based Lettings?
York City Council announced last week that they intend to move away from the choice based lettings (CBL) system that they and many other councils currently employ as a system where officers allocate properties is a “better use of resources” and allows for the limited number of properties available to be allocated accordingly.
Hounslow and Rochdale Borough Councils have also confirmed that they intend to cease using the CBL system. Rochdale Borough Council have cited low demand locally which has led to other housing providers not playing an active role in the area as their rationale for moving away from the CBL system as administering the joint CBL scheme was deemed to be overly resource-intensive.
Hounslow Borough Council’s rationale for moving away from CBL is based on ‘ineffective bidding’ by those seeking properties whereby bids are made but subsequently withdrawn, wasting officer time, especially considering that every property has on average 72 bids.
CBL is a system adopted by the vast majority of councils where those on the housing register bid for properties, offering prospective tenants choice of where and what type of property they live in. The Chartered Institute of Housing has warned that scrapping CBL is a “backwards step” and could result in areas where community engagement is reduced.
How do you think scrapping CBL would impact on your authority? Would it reduce the amount of time officers spend allocating properties?
