feature: Home delivery
14 September 2007
Each year Haringey Council enables hundreds of people to find a new home. Read on to find out what's being done to reduce the borough's housing register and what help is on offer to tenants and landlords.
Home life is definitely a national fascination. Switch on your television and you can’t escape programmes on moving house, home improvement tips or home makeovers.
But for thousands of people across London just finding a home in the first place is their number one concern.
Haringey Council’s Strategic and Community Housing Services Home Connections scheme receives, on average, around 4,000 bids each week.
Each applicant is allocated a number of points, determined by a number of factors – how long they’ve been on the housing register, whether they are vulnerable, whether they have children. Those with the most points are then given priority when new housing becomes available.
The demand for housing in Haringey far exceeds supply. The fact is that Haringey, like all other boroughs in London, simply does not have enough available housing to cater for all who request it.
But the council is making significant headway through a range of alternative schemes – asking residents to report empty private properties so that they can be brought back into use, working closely with developers to lobby for the inclusion of a high percentage of affordable housing in new developments, looking at further developing relationships with good private landlords to explore options for housing people through its Accredited Lettings Schemes and even helping people to move in other parts of the country where there are more properties available.
The council has also secured, together with its partner housing associations, one of the highest allocations of government funding for new social housing – almost £90million over the next two years, which should result in more than 1,000 new social housing units.
Cabinet member for housing Cllr Isidoros Diakides said:
“We would love to be in a situation where we could offer housing to everyone who comes through our doors. But the reality is that we’ve got a housing crisis in London and there is simply not enough housing to go round.
“We are lobbying the powers that be as hard as we can to press the need for more social housing. But in the meantime we will continue to look at alternative solutions to ensure we can house as many people as possible.
“I would ask anyone in need of a council property to continue to apply through Home Connections, but also to contact the council if they would like any further advice or assistance. We cannot make promises, but we will always do our best.”
Haringey also offers a range of advice to private tenants, landlords and leaseholders. To find out more call 020 8489 4309, email preventionandoptions@haringey.gov.uk or visit www.haringey.gov.uk/housingadvice
Management of council properties is now carried out by the council’s Arms Length Management Organisation, Homes for Haringey. If you are a council tenant wishing to report a problem or ask a query in relation to your property, please call Homes for Haringey on 0800 195 3404.
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