Havering, where 'right to buy' was launched, has cut its
waiting list by 75% by telling applicants they are no longer eligible – and
other councils are following suit. The London Borough of Hammersmith's housing
waiting list has fallen– from 8,171 in April 2012 to just 768 in April 2013.
Warrington's has fallen from 12,091 to 3,173. Havering's is now below
3,000. Behind the extraordinary collapse
in waiting lists is not a sudden surge in the supply of council homes. Instead,
local authorities are writing to applicants telling them that they no longer
stand a chance of obtaining a home from the council unless they meet new local
criteria. Hammersmith has imposed a rule that people must live in the area for
at least five years before they can apply for a council house. Havering, which
used to allow people to apply for a council home if they had lived in the area
for six months, has changed that to two years. Read more on the Guardian
website.
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