Residents invited to have their say on how council allocates social housing in Banbury

The council has proposed five changes to how housing is allocated within the district.

Firstly, it has proposed changes that would better support domestic abuse survivors, people in emergency accommodation and overcrowded homes.

It has also proposed changes to see the financial cap for households applying for social housing raised from £60,000 to £80,000.

The final change proposed would see the council encourage residents with spare bedrooms to downsize their homes so that larger properties can be allocated to larger households.

Cllr Chris Pruden, portfolio holder for housing, said: “It’s essential that we make the best use of the social housing that’s available in north Oxfordshire. We are therefore asking for people’s views on changes to the policy we use to process applications to the housing register.

“People are often in very challenging circumstances when they apply to us, so it’s vital that our policy allows us to respond to these. We want to give greater priority to people in emergency accommodation and provide more options to survivors of domestic abuse when they ask for our help.

“We’d also like people’s views on freeing up more of the largest social homes and raising the financial cap on housing applications to reflect the cost of renting privately.

The online public consultation was launched last week and will be available until Tuesday, October 1.

Cllr Pruden added: “I hope lots of people have their say and help inform our vital work preventing homelessness and supporting our most vulnerable residents.”

To access the consultation, visit the council’s page here.