Portsmouth Royal Navy, British Army and RAF personnel and veterans could be prioritised for council housing

Councillors will be scrutinising an upcoming review at Portsmouth Guildhall on September 18. Portsmouth City Council reviewed its housing allocation scheme, which outlines rules for people who can apply for social housing and how high they are placed on the waiting list. The aim is to create more opportunities for residents to find a property.

People on the housing register, housing associations, council house tenants and those living in Portsmouth, all gave their views on who should be prioritised on the council housing register. They also made suggestions on how the policy should work. Over 1,300 responses were received.

Councillor Darren Sanders, cabinet member for housing and tackling homelessness, said: "Our allocation policy was in need of a refresh in light of changes in demand for our housing. I'm pleased we had such a large response to our consultation, and am looking forward to discussing the proposed policy changes."

The new report will recommend an added priority for those current and former members of the armed forces, as well as care-experienced people. Other details include increasing the number of homes let via the housing register by ensuring more moves for transfer applicants, raising the number of homes let via the housing register by using chain letting and changing the names of the priority bands to 'recognised', 'significant' and 'urgent' to reflect demand.

If approved, the policy is proposed to be effective from November 20. The review took place as part of the local authority’s homelessness and rough sleeping strategy 2024-2029 - put in place in January 2023. The strategy aims to tackle homelessness in a holistic way, where fewer people will be left with no option but to sleep rough.